March Madness Update: UConn Advances To Final Four With 65-63 Win Over Arizona

The Connecticut Huskies will go to the Final Four after barely hanging on in their Elite Eight game against Arizona. The Huskies withstood two different shot attempts in the closing seconds that would have won the game, escaping with a 65-63 victory.

The Wildcats had the ball with 18 seconds remaining, and ran a play to get Derrick Williams the ball. Williams caught it at the top of the key and decided to fire a three-pointer and go for the win. It caromed off the back rim, but Kyle Fogg grabbed the offensive rebound. He kicked the ball out to Jamelle Horn, who had an open look from the corner, but his three-pointer missed. There was a scramble for the rebound, and time ran out.

Up 63-57, UConn started to milk the clock, but missed a shot, leading to a transition opportunity and a three-pointer for Kyle Fogg that cut the lead to 63-60 with 1:30 remaining. But then, it was Kemba Walker time. Walker dribbled the clock down, stepped back and hit a borderline-impossible fadeaway jumper with a man in his face to push UConn’s lead to five.

Arizona kept coming, though. Horn knocked down a three-pointer out of an out of bounds play, and Arizona crept to within 65-63 with 52 seconds remaining. Arizona double-teamed Walker and blocked his shot, eventually grabbing the rebound and calling timeout with 18.2 seconds remaining.

Walker led UConn with 20 points, while Jeremy Lamb added 19. Williams had 20 to lead Arizona. The Wildcats join Butler in the Final Four after the Bulldogs topped Florida in overtime earlier Saturday. UConn will face the winner of Sunday’s game between North Carolina and Kentucky.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for score updates. And to follow along with fans, check out SB Nation’s UConn Blog, the appropriately-named UConn Blog, and our Arizona blog, Arizona Desert Swarm.