ARLINGTON, Texas — Anyone who’s watched Kentucky’s last three games needs not be told the Wildcats have been clutch in advancing to the Final Four.When UK needs a big 3-pointer, there’s Aaron Harrison or James Young. When the Cats need an important free throw, Andrew Harrison calmly steps to the line. You surely remember many of the big plays UK used to take down three 2013 Final Four teams. But until you look back on the collection of them all, it’s not entirely clear just how good the Cats have been when it mattered most.UK has had 22 total possessions that started in the final five minutes of wins over Wichita State, Louisville and Michigan and scored a ridiculous average of two points per possession. Only twice has UK come up empty on a possession during the stretch, and never when trailing. It began against Wichita State with the Cats down five and on the brink of a round-of-32 exit. With no room for error, UK scored on its final seven possessions — 14 points and two points per possession — and survived a last-second 3-point attempt by Fred VanVleet to advance. The Cats hit 9 of 12 free throws, 2 of 3 from the field and grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive.Against U of L, the Cats were down 64-57 when they took over with 4:48 to go. Aaron Harrison snared a defensive rebound, raced the length of the floor, drew a foul and hit two free throws to get his team going for the game’s final nine possessions. Including Aaron Harrison’s free throws, UK would score on eight of those possessions, racking up 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, 7 of 8 from the line and another two offensive rebounds.To clinch a spot in the Final Four, the Cats just didn’t miss at all. Protecting a one-point lead against Michigan, UK made its final five shots, including three 3s by Aaron Harrison. The only empty possession came on a shot-clock violation, UK’s only turnover in the final five minutes of any of their last three games.Here are the composite offensive stats for all three games:

• 22 possessions
• 44 points
• Two points per possession
• 11 of 15 (73.3 percent) from the field
• 5 of 6 (83.3 percent) from 3
• 17 of 21 (80.1 percent) from the free-throw line
• One turnover
• Four rebounds on seven free misses (offensive-rebounding percentage of .571)

And believe it or not, UK has even better when trailing:

• Nine possessions
• 21 points
• 2.33 points per possession
• 6 of 8 (75 percent) from the field
• 2 of 2 from 3
• 6 of 8 (75 percent) from the line
• Zero turnovers
• Four rebounds on five free misses (offensive-rebounding percentage of .800)

In playing three straight instant classics, UK has likely raised the collective blood pressure of the Big Blue Nation. The Cats, however, hardly seem to register a pulse when it comes to crunch time.To bring you more expansive coverage, CoachCal.com and Cat Scratches
will be joining forces for the postseason. You can read the same great
stories you are accustomed to from both sites at CoachCal.com and
UKathletics.com/blog, but now you’ll enjoy even more coverage than
normal.