ARLINGTON, Tex. - Aaron Harrison on the wing is a very dangerous thing.
The Kentucky freshman proved that last week with his three-pointer to beat Michigan for the Midwest Region championship and he did again Saturday night to Wisconsin. With the Wildcats down two points and the final seconds of the national semifinals draining away, his twin brother Andrew Harrison found him in that lethal spot.
Aaron Harrison rose up over Josh Gasser and put in the three-pointer, giving Kentucky a 74-73 win before a record crowd of 79,444 at AT&T Stadium and setting up an improbable championship game.
The Wildcats (29-10) will meet Connecticut in Monday's title game. It's not just a meeting of a No. 8 seed and No. 7 seed in the final, it's two teams that didn't even make the NCAA Tournament last season.
Kentucky was in the NIT, losing in the first round to Robert Morris. UConn was ineligible for postseason play, a penalty for poor performance in the classroom.
Harrison's bucket left time for Wisconsin (30-8) to get one try at the win, but Traevon Jackson's jumper hit the backboard and rim and came off.
The Wildcats are seeking their ninth crown and second in three years. Three years ago Kentucky met UConn in a national semifinal and lost as the Huskies went on to take the crown.
James Young had 17 points, Julius Randle had 16 points and Dakari Johnson had 10 points and seven rebounds for Kentucky, which is the first team since the Fab Five to start five freshmen in a national championship game.
Ben Brust and Sam Dekker each scored 15 points, and Jackson had 12 points for Wisconsin.
Kentucky went up when Andrew Harrison found Alex Poythress for a layup with 2:11 to play for a 71-69 lead. Wisconsin tied it with about a minute to play when Frank Kaminsky put back Traevon Jackson's missed jumper with 1:15 left.
Jackson got fouled by James Young on a three-point try at the shot clock was expiring and made two of three for a 73-71 lead with 16.4 seconds left.
The first few minutes of the second half were all Kentucky as the 'Cats reeled off 15 unanswered points for their biggest lead, 51-43, with 15:33 to play.
Wisconsin answered with a 15-4 burst that included a pair of Brust three-pointers and seven points from Duje Dukan. A driving layup by Jackson put the Badgers up 58-55 with 10:51 to play. Over the next six minutes neither team scored consecutive baskets, exchanging punches like heavyweights in the middle of the ring.
Brust had a pair of three-pointers to cap a 10-0 run that put the Badgers ahead 17-9 with 13:09 in the half and they carried the lead all the way to the break, going into the locker room up 40-36.
Wisconsin was very aggressive, making drives to the basket and getting layups or, more often, drawing fouls that put it on the line 14 times. It was 14-for-14 on the stripe in the first half.
Randle made a jumper that sheared the margin to two points, but soon after was replaced because of what appeared to be a turned ankle or a recurrence of the cramping in his legs that has plagued him at times this season. A two-point deficit was 25-20 when he returned two minutes later, but the Badgers pushed it out to 34-25 on two Bronson Koenig free throws with 4:13 in the half.
Randle got it down to 38-34 on a jumper with 1:28 to the break.
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