Best of UK in the NCAA: Brandon Knight Beats Princeton at the Buzzer

As March of 2020 continues without Madness, KSR will be revisiting Kentucky’s best NCAA Tournament moments. On what was set to be the opening day of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, we turn back the clocks to opening day of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, aka one of my favorite days to ever grace planet Earth. 

John Calipari’s second season did not feature the same fireworks as the first. Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb were an exceptional freshman triumvirate in almost any season, except following in the immediate footsteps of John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins.

A season that started with exhibitions in Canada and a trip to Maui provided plenty of promise, until the close losses piled up. It all started with a two-point loss at North Carolina that snowballed into SEC play. Kentucky was 2-6 against SEC opponents on the road, losing each game by an average of only three points.

Almost every SEC road game came down to one final shot for the win, only for Brandon Knight’s attempt to fall short. Since the Elite Eight loss to West Virginia the year prior, the BBN felt snakebitten. Little did we know at the time that each last-second miss was just practice for the NCAA Tournament.

Calipari’s Cats used the SEC Tournament to gain momentum. Third-place finishers in the regular season, the Cats steamrolled the competition in the Georgia Dome. Kentucky won three games by an average of 13 points to take home the SEC Tournament title and earn a four-seed. Kentucky’s first foe — the Princeton Tigers.

The 13th-seeded Ivy Leaguers were a popular upset pick by college basketball analysts as UK’s talented freshmen played like they were on upset alert. The trio made only 8-of-23 shots (34.7%) to combine for 19 points. It was the most important ingredient for an upset and validated the widespread belief that you could not win in the NCAA Tournament with a team that relies on freshmen.

Luckily, Darius Miller and Josh Harrelson were ready to help the Wildcats weather the storm. Maysville’s Miller had a team-high 17 points while Jorts contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds during the back-and-forth affair.

A close game in the final minutes, Knight was never rattled despite missing his first seven shots. Even after he was subbed out for a defensive possession in the final minute, he remained confident. Scoreless for more than 39 minutes, Knight’s only two points came with two seconds to play. All of the lessons learned from those last-second misses in SEC play paid off when Kentucky needed it most.

As the ball banked off the glass and rattled through the rim, I erupted into cheers with a dozen other friends in a hotel room at Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The buzzer-beating win was the secret ingredient to a perfect day.

St. Patrick’s Day during my first collegiate spring break experience, Louisville actually tipped off the NCAA Tournament action just before Kentucky hit the hardwood. Leading into the First Round action, my fraternity brothers consistently warned a group of nearby Cardinal football players of their imminent demise. They should have listened.

Facing the Morehead State Manimal, Kenneth Faried, Demonte Harper ended UofL’s season with a three-pointer from the top of the key with less than four seconds to play. Onions.

As soon as Knight’s shot rolled through the rim, from a third-story balcony we kindly reminded the Louisville football players who owned the Commonwealth.

It was a perfect day (for everyone except my buddy, Sean. If he didn’t want me to break those sunglasses with a chest bump, he should have had them on his face), one I will never forget.