Kentucky Saved by Last-Second Three-Pointer, Beating Northern Arizona 78-77 at Rupp Arena

The Kentucky Wildcats narrowly avoided a major upset in US college basketball at Rupp Arena on Friday night. They beat winless Northern Arizona by just 78-77, with the win coming from a three-pointer by Alex Wilkins at the very end of the game.

Northern Arizona had gone into the game as 30.5-point underdogs. Yet they held the chance of victory until the final minute. With 22 seconds left to play, they led 77-73.

Mason Williams then scored to cut Kentucky's deficit to two points. Kentucky fouled intentionally as they tried to regain possession of the ball.

Northern Arizona's Max Majerle, the son of former Phoenix Suns All-Star Dan Majerle, missed the front end of a one-and-one. In the scramble for the rebound, the ball went out of bounds off a Kentucky player.

Kentucky had to foul again. This time the ball went to Chris Komin, who had shot free throws at 82 percent last season. He too missed the front end of the one-and-one.

Kentucky grabbed the rebound with seven seconds left. From a pass by Mason Williams, Wilkins received the ball and hit the game-winning three-pointer.

The statistics, however, did not suggest Kentucky had played badly. They shot 56.4 percent and committed only four turnovers in the whole game. Northern Arizona, meanwhile, made 13 of their 26 three-point attempts on their way to 77 points.

According to CBS Sports, Kentucky's current roster is one of the most expensive in college basketball, in a spending tier of more than 20 million dollars. A winless team's fight against such a side is what has made the game a talking point.

Rupp Arena has seen upsets before. Evansville won there in 2019 when Kentucky were 25-point favourites, and Gardner-Webb won in 2007 when Kentucky were favoured by 26 points.

Kentucky's next game is on Monday, against Grambling State at Rupp Arena. They then play Indiana on Friday.