NEWARK, N.J. - As Sunday afternoon turned to evening and the minutes in the East Regional final ticked away, Brandon Knight was doing a whale of a job of trying to be the hero. Unfortunately for Kentucky, Harrison Barnes was doing a little better.
Thanks to a variety of difficult Barnes shots, a lead that had been Kentucky's since very early in the game dwindled. North Carolina had the ball trailing by a point with just over a minute to go, and Tar Heels point guard Kendall Marshall drove for what looked like it would be the go-ahead bucket.
Except DeAndre Liggins went higher than Marshall -- higher than most are capable of going -- and blocked it. And then UK's defensive stopper really made the play of the game as Darius Miller found Liggins in the corner for a huge 3-pointer with 37 seconds left.
North Carolina called timeout. The lead was four, which meant the game was all but over. And a smiling Liggins was met on the sideline by his coach.
"I kissed him on the forehead," John Calipari said, only half-joking.
The celebration that ensued involved lots of kissing by blue-clad fans. Kentucky is going back to its first Final Four in 13 years.
Kentucky survived the NCAA Tournament's toughest regional partly because Knight played like a superstar, but more because the Wildcats' other guys played their best basketball of the season. As timely as Knight's late jumper to beat Ohio State was Friday night, the timing of Liggins' big plays and the overall impact players like Josh Harrellson, Miller and Liggins -- you know, those "non-Calipari" upperclassmen -- made is the biggest reason the Wildcats, a four-seed and a team that lost four games in February, might now be the favorites to win the national championship.
Liggins was a surprise addition to the starting lineup Sunday. Calipari said he chose to start Liggins and put him on Marshall from the start of Sunday's game because Marshall "is a terrific basketball player...and we just wanted (Liggins) to try to bother him."
That Liggins finished with 12 points, 4 assists, that 1 very important block and 3 steals says Calipari was on to something. Marshall, who'd been on absolute tear through March, shot 2-of-10.
North Carolina Coach Roy Williams initially said he wasn't sure who'd made the "big-time block" on Marshall, but he cited it as one of the game's biggest plays. Informed later it was Liggins, the same guy who sunk the big 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, Williams wasn't surprised.
"He's a big-time player," Williams said. "If you remember, too, I don't know if he meant to bank the 10-footer in front of the goal but he banked that in, too. And you have to give kids credit for making plays. I love DeAndre's game, I really do. He is a 6'6", 6'7" long athletic kid that can guard and wants to guard people.
"He had not started but one of the last six games. He started today, and I thought he was marvelous. He is involved and as athletic as all get-out. A lot of athletic kids don't have the heart and desire, and I think he is extremely important to their team."
Liggins is, and his is a story of redemption. Once a top-50 recruit who finished his high school career at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, the Chicago native was an immediate contributor to Billy Gillespie's final Kentucky team as a freshman. He received a problem-child label of sorts when he refused to go in for the second half of a game in Las Vegas.
He started Calipari's first season under suspension, the background of which remains uncertain, and never fully seemed to get out of the dog house, eventually averaging 15 minutes per in 29 games. But he's made 27 starts this year and locked down several blue-chip opponents along the way. Sunday was his best performance yet.
In both Friday night's upset of Ohio State and Sunday's win, Liggins' intensity picked up over the final minutes. His aggression got him warned and almost warranted a technical foul Friday night, but he defended Ohio State wings David Lighty and William Buford like no one had all season. His block on Sunday set up a shot just as big as Knight's winner over the No. 1 Buckeyes.
"You can't be afraid to take that big shot and you can't be afraid to miss it," Calipari said. "We try to tell the guys that. But theonly way you have that self-confidence to make that play is if you're a hard worker and you have the reserves to stand up, dig your heels in and say I'm not budging. And DeAndre, he does.
"I talked about what an amazingly hard worker (Knight) is. DeAndre works just as hard. DeAndre has overcome a lot. And you look at him now, he defends, he is unselfish, he makes plays, his skills are improved. You know, he and Josh, all these guys I'm proud of, but especially him. He performs. He is making plays."
Enough to earn an on-court kiss from the guy who once suspended him. And enough -- two, in particular -- to push Kentucky to the Final Four.
Who will guard UConn's Kemba Walker Saturday night? Probably DeAndre Liggins, and it certainly will be his biggest challenge yet.
