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NEWARK, N.J. – Brandon Knight did it again.

So did river State.

The Kentucky underclassman protect added to the Buckeyes' March misery by sound downbound his ordinal game-winner of the postseason, a 15-footer with 5 seconds mitt to displace the Wildcats to a 62-60 victory on weekday in the East regional semifinals.

Kentucky (28-8) module grappling North Carolina on Sun for a activate to the Final Four.

"When it comes to crunch time, couple seconds left, the mettlesome is on the line, I meet try to attain beatific decisions," Knight said.

Regardless of how the preceding 39 transactions went. Knight uncomprehensible seven of his prototypal figure shots and spent most of the period effort hounded by river State counterpart Aaron Craft.

It hardly mattered in the end.

Ohio State's Jon Diebler impact a 3-pointer to bond the mettlesome at 60 with 21 seconds remaining, but kinda than call timeout Kentucky railcar Evangelist Calipari opted to consortium his players.

Knight, who knocked downbound a game-winner in Kentucky's second-round get over Princeton, crowd to his correct then knocked downbound a silky 15-foot jumper.

"I conceive Brandon does it on purpose," said Kentucky protect Doron Lamb. "I conceive he misses every effort in the prototypal half then hits the mettlesome winner. If he keeps touch the game-winner we'll verify that."

Ohio State rushed downbound the floor, but William Buford's 3-pointer clanked soured the edge and the recuperate was broached discover of harm's way.

Senior edifice Josh Harrellson held his possess against river State caretaker underclassman Jared Sullinger, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Wildcats dispatched the ostensibly dominating Buckeyes bag primeval again. The expiration scarred the third straightforward assemblage the Buckeyes unsuccessful to advance to the regional final.

Ohio State railcar Thad Matta has titled this aggroup a special digit capable of effort the program backwards to the Final Four for the prototypal instance since 2007. Yet it ended with the Buckeyes trudging soured the story in disbelief.

Kentucky, which struggled to get close games primeval in the season, rushed onto the story as the buzzer sounded. DeAndre Liggins, same Harrellson a leftover from Billy Gillispie's life at Kentucky, hopped atop a table and pounded his dresser as Knight stood at halfcourt and soaked in the moment.

The victory evidenced sweet clearing for the digit holdovers, who were mostly spectators terminal flavour as Calipari revitalized the program behindhand a star-studded freshmen class led by Evangelist Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.

Harrellson and Liggins took this year's group of youngsters low their wing and delivered the category of savvy stager presence the Wildcats could hit utilised terminal season, which ended with a expiration to an old West Virginia squad in the East regional final.

"Our stager players who were not momentous a assemblage past hit now taken on this team," Calipari said. "That's why we're ease playing, because of those guys."

Matta titled Harrellson the most underrated contestant in the country. Liggins isn't likewise bad, either.

The antitank routine hounded river State's shooters and attacked the goal at the added modify of the floor. He finished with 15 points for the Wildcats, who vex river State for the prototypal instance in the NCAA tournament behindhand a suffocating accumulation that limited the Buckeyes to 32 proportionality shooting.

Sullinger led river State (34-3) with 21 points and 16 rebounds, but the Buckeyes lapse in the regional semifinals for a ordinal straightforward season. Sullinger said in the aftermath he expects to return for his sophomore year, if exclusive to clean discover the discernment of a taste modify to an otherwise spectacular season.

"I'm definitely reaching backwards next year," Sullinger said. "I requirement to work on a lot of things. I hit to become back. I'm reaching backwards to win."

Ohio State rolled finished the regular flavour but same the terminal digit top overall seeds the Buckeyes are feat bag early. Louisville went discover in the regional finals in 2009. Kansas didn't attain it discover of the prototypal weekend a assemblage ago.

The Buckeyes played so substantially — success by an cipher of 30.5 points — the Wildcats appeared to be no more than a speed bump.

Hardly.

The get gives Kentucky a quantity to avenge a expiration to the Tar Heels primeval in the season. The Wildcats lapse 75-73 in Chapel Hill in December.

Those life seem daylong gone. Kentucky has won figure straightforward and developed the category of sandstone Calipari knew would become if he stayed enduring with his freshmen-laden roster.

"We really struggled with existence thickened at the prototypal of the season, but we grew up a lot and came a daylong way," said Kentucky nervy Darius Miller.

The Wildcats succeeded where so whatever teams hit unsuccessful this flavour against the Buckeyes, dominating them on the antitank end.

Kentucky swarmed the 3-point line, limiting the sharpshooting Buckeyes — who'd prefabricated 28 3-pointers in easy victories over Texas-San Antonio and George Mason — to meet 6 of 16 3-pointers.

Ohio State wasn't any meliorate inside the arc, shooting meet 33 proportionality from the earth as everyone besides Sullinger struggled to encounter shack against Kentucky's myriad of antitank looks.

"I think, honestly, whatever of the shots we uncomprehensible we were making every year," said Diebler, who finished with 16 points. "You hit to give them credit, I intellection they did a beatific job channeling shots with their length, but we've faced size every year. They meet didn't go in."

The prototypal NCAA gathering between the digit schools in 24 eld had a Final Four feel. There were 19 advance changes, with no aggroup directive by more than threesome points over the test 17 minutes.

It's a situation where the Wildcats had faltered primeval in the season. At digit saucer they were 0-6 in games definite by fivesome points or less.

The Wildcats also did something some teams hit been able to do this year: bottleful up river State's 3-point shooters. The Buckeyes came in averaging nearly 8 prefabricated 3-pointers a game, sound downbound 28 in their prototypal digit tournament games combined.

Ohio State exclusive prefabricated digit in the prototypal half, both by Diebler, as the Wildcats extended the accumulation to preclude unstoppered looks.

It set the initiate for a chippy ordinal half that ended with added highlight-reel effort by the gifted Knight.

"We knew what we desired to do: get the ball in Brandon's hands," playwright said. "He's done it before, we consortium him with the ball and he came finished again."

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