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Is Andrew Harrison ready to lead a Championship Team?

One of the most important question marks about next year’s Kentucky team is Andrew Harrison.

Andrew Harrison - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

– photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

basketball has every reason to be thinking national championship for its loaded 2014-15 roster, but that doesn't mean that the Wildcats don't also have some question marks. One of the most important is Andrew Harrison, who's coming off a less-than-stellar debut season at the point.

Shabazz Napier's star turn in the 2014 NCAA tournament served as a stark reminder to the Big Blue runners-up: A superstar point guard is the shortest path to a national title. Harrison arrived in Lexington with all the hype of a top-tier floor leader, but the reality didn't quite measure up.

Like so many freshmen, the 6'6” Texan was wildly erratic for most of the year, fluctuating from one assist to six or five points to 16 in consecutive games at various points. Along with twin brother Aaron, though, he found his footing in the NCAA tournament.

Despite his struggles in 's SEC tournament loss to Florida, Harrison put together six consecutive strong games to help spur the Wildcats' run to the title game.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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