Kentucky needs buzzer-beating three to survive Northern Arizona's upset bid at Rupp Arena
Kentucky needed a last-second three-pointer from Alex Wilkins to beat winless Northern Arizona 78-77 at Rupp Arena.
Key points
- The Wildcats were favored by 25 when Evansville won at Rupp Arena in 2019 and by 26 when Gardner-Webb won there in 2007.
- Then Northern Arizona came into Rupp, having scored an average of 62 points in their two losses to New Mexico and No.
- Kentucky cut the deficit to two on a basket by Mason Williams, then had to intentionally foul Northern Arizona.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE When Northern Arizona went to the line with a chance to go up four, I wondered how far back I’d have to go to find a Kentucky loss as a 30-point favorite.
Max Majerle, son of former Phoenix Suns All-Star Dan Majerle, missed the front end of the one-and-one, but a Kentucky player knocked the ball out of bounds in the scramble for the rebound.
Additional details
- Grambling State comes to Rupp on Monday before Kentucky plays Indiana on Friday.
- NAU, which entered the game as a 30.5-point underdog, had every opportunity to pull off a massive upset in the closing minute.
- The Wildcats grabbed the board with 7 seconds left, moved the ball into the frontcourt on a pass from Mason Williams to to Wilkins, and Wilkins hit the game-winner.
- Northern Arizona got the ball in the hands of Chris Komin, an 82% free throw shooter last season.
- The team it barely beat Friday had lost its first three games by an average of 24 points.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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