PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The eagerly anticipated first meeting between Connecticut and Kentucky proved well worth the wait.
Connecticut took control early, then survived a strong comeback bid by the Wildcats in an 87-83 victory Sunday that put the No. 1 seeded Huskies into the next round of the NCAA tournament.
Marcus Williams scored 20 points, including four clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds, and Rudy Gay had 19 for Connecticut (29-3), which next faces the University of Washington in the semifinals of the Washington Regional. The Huskies defeated Washington in the round of 16 seven years ago.
Patrick Sparks scored a career-high tying 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting for No. 8 seed Kentucky (22-13), which failed to reach the round of 16 for the third time in the last 12 seasons. The Wildcats are 3-8 against No. 1 seeds since the selection committee began using seeds in 1979.
Kentucky and Connecticut have combined for nine NCAA titles, including three of the last eight, but the two elite teams never faced each other until Sunday.
At first, the matchup appeared to be a mismatch. UConn led by 12 at halftime and 13 with 13:37 remaining, but that’s when the Wildcats finally found their shooting touch.
It was 66-57 before Kentucky’s Sheray Thomas scored from the baseline and Bobby Perry added a 3-pointer to get the Wildcats within four with 7:58 left.
After UConn upped the margin back to eight, Thomas hit a 3-pointer and Rajon Rondo beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer during a 10-4 spree that got Kentucky to 74-72 with 3:16 to go.
The Huskies built their lead back to eight, but Sparks hit a 3-pointer and Thomas made a layup to get the Wildcats within two with 53 seconds to play.
Williams made two foul shots before Perry hit a layup to make it 83-81. Then, after Williams made two more free throws and Perry scored on a putback, Gay iced it with two foul shots with 3.3 seconds left.
Kentucky lost despite 17-for-30 shooting in the second half, including 7-for-14 from 3-point range.
In its previous two games, a loss to Syracuse in the Big East tournament quarterfinals and a harrowing first-round win over Albany, the Huskies fell behind by 12 points. Connecticut was determined to reverse the trend against Kentucky by getting off to a good start – and did just that.
Beginning with Hilton Armstrong’s dunk off the opening tap, the Huskies were sharp at the outset on both ends of the court.
In building a 25-12 lead, UConn made six of its first eight shots and got four 3-pointers from Rashad Anderson, who was held scoreless by Albany. Kentucky, in contrast, missed nine of its first 12 shots and had six turnovers in the first 11 minutes.
It was 33-20 before the Wildcats made three baskets in a 24-second span to get within seven. Minutes later, Shargari Alleyne ended Kentucky’s 0-for-9 drought from 3-point range to make it a six-point game.
But UConn closed the half with an 8-2 spurt to make it 43-31.
