Herro to the Rescue with Game-Winning 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was the biggest shot of his life, but Tyler Herro felt like he does every time the ball leaves his hands.
 
“Every shot feels pure to me,” Herro said.
 
But if you think Herro is confident in himself, that’s nothing compared to his teammates’ belief in him. As Herro lined up a would-be go-ahead 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of Sweet 16 thriller against Houston, PJ Washington had no doubt.
 
“He works on that shot every day,” Washington said. “I’m very confident in Tyler’s game.”
 
Immanuel Quickley, on the bench mere feet away from Herro, was even surer.
 
“As soon as he shot it,” Quickley said, “I said, ‘We’re going to the Elite Eight.’ “
 
Of course, Quickley was right. Herro buried that 3 to give UK a two-point lead and soon after sealed a 62-58 victory with a pair of free throws to send second-seeded Kentucky (30-6) past No. 3 Houston (33-4) and into the Elite Eight.
 
Washington set the play up with a block of Corey Davis with 35 seconds left. Herro pounced on the ensuing rebound, dribbled up the floor and passed ahead to Keldon Johnson. Johnson returned it to him and Herro nailed the shot from that same left wing that was the site of Aaron Harrison’s heroics. The idea that his shot will live on in UK lore for years to come – particularly if the Wildcats continue their run past an all-SEC showdown with Auburn on Sunday – hadn’t struck Herro until he was asked about it postgame.
 
“I don’t really think about it, but that would be cool,” Herro said.
 
Herro had a game-high 19 points in a gut-check win for Kentucky, but even his self-confidence was momentarily shaken as a game Cougar squad rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit. That happened with 7:22 left when Herro missed the front end of a one-and-one with UK’s lead trimmed to seven, his first free-throw miss in a month and a half.
 
“I haven’t seen him miss a free throw in a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” John Calipari said. “He missed that free throw. I looked at my bench. I go, ‘This doesn’t look good for us because, you know, when he misses a free throw, this could go south in a hurry.’ “
 
Sensing a big moment, Washington directly addressed his freshman teammate.
 
“When he missed the free throw,” Washington said, “he looked at me and said, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s going on.’ I said, ‘Chill out, you’re Boy Wonder.’ “
 
Chill Herro did, but he didn’t take another shot – neither a free throw nor a field goal – until the decisive 3-pointer in the closing seconds. When it came time to let it go, Boy Wonder didn’t hesitate.
 
“He’s got a lot of guts,” Quickley said. “I don’t think I’d put my money on anybody else. … Tyler, he made a really big bucket.”
 
Is that really any surprise from a player who actually calls himself a bucket?
 
“I love it,” Herro said. “I just like taking big shots, making big shots and it’s just what I do.”