Kentucky finds its (Tyler) Herro, gets past Houston 62-58 to advance to Elite Eight

Kentucky freshman Tyler Herro lived up to his name.

With the Wildcats trailing by one, Herro swished a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to provide the go-ahead score in a 62-58 triumph against Houston.

After Herro’s shot and a timeout, Houston guard Corey Davis Jr., the team’s senior leader, went straight to the basket, but his contested layup with 13 seconds remaining was no good.

Herro then buried two free throws to clinch the game and send Kentucky into Sunday’s Midwest Regional championship contest against Auburn. The all-SEC final will begin at 1:20 p.m. Central time at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

The game-winner was no big deal Herro said. He made a pass, got the ball back “and made a shot.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari had a different interpretation.

“He didn’t listen to me,” Calipari said. “When it caught it, I said, ‘Drive the ball, drive the ball.’ He shot it. I said, ‘Great shot, Tyler. Way to make those plays.’”

The Cougars trailed by 13 early in the second half but took a 51-49 lead with 3:39 remaining. The Houston margin increased to 58-55, but Kentucky’s PJ Washington, playing in his first NCAA Tournament game after nursing an injured foot, scored near the basket to begin what would become a 7-0 run to finish the game.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said the team knew Kentucky was going to Washington in that spot and had a defensive breakdown.

“We missed an assignment,” Sampson said.

Washington, who finished with 16 points, missed his free throw after being fouled on the basket, but then came up big on the defensive end, blocking a Davis layup.

Getting through the game was chore for Washington.

“I took some pain pills before the game,” Washington said. “Kind of started hurting in the second half, but I have to tough through it. Through the end of the game, it was trying to cramp up. I’m definitely going back to get some treatment after this and try to get a good night’s sleep.”

Washington’s block set up Herro’s big triple. He finished with 19 points.

“If you give him that shot, he’s a good shooter,” Davis said. “Nine times out of 10 he’s going to make it.”

Houston’s best season since the Akeem Olajuwon-led Phi Slamma Jamma team reached the 1984 national title game came to an end with a 33-4 record. The Cougars got this far with a tough-minded, defensive oriented team. But they couldn’t finish the deal Friday night.

Kentucky (30-6) advances and will bid for its first Final Four appearance since 2015 on Sunday. The opponent is a familiar one. The Wildcats swept the season series from Auburn, and they were the last team to defeat the Tigers, who have won 11 straight.

“We know how good they are,” Calipari said “We’ve had battles...We respect them. We respect their players and what they do and how they play and how hard they play. We’re a little different than them. They’re going to take 35, 40 threes. It’s what they do. We’re not going to shoot that many, but we’ll take them if they’re there, and, you know, it should be a good game. One good thing means that the SEC will have at least one team in the Final Four.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Kentucky finds its (Tyler) Herro, gets past Houston 62-58 to advance to Elite Eight."