Veteran title contender Connecticut and surprise package Georgia Tech advanced to the NCAA championship game with down-to-the-wire victories on Saturday.
Connecticut needed a 12-3 run at the end of the game to stage a come-from-behind 79-78 victory over Duke, giving the Huskies a chance to capture their first title since 1999.
Georgia Tech led for most of the game but it was left to a Will Bynum lay-up in heavy traffic with 1.5 seconds on the clock to provide the Yellow Jackets with a 67-65 victory over Oklahoma State.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I told the kids that the one thing Duke has besides terrific talent is a champion's heart," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said.
"I thought they would lose three times against Xavier [a 66-63 win in the regional finals] and they wouldn't lose. The only way to beat them is to beat them.
"You're going to have to find a way."
Two free throws by Chris Duhon with 3:28 left gave Duke a 75-67 lead but Connecticut scored the next 12 points to seal the win.
Huskies center Emeka Okafor came up big down the stretch with a key basket and a free throw in the final 25 seconds to finish with 18 points after going scoreless in a foul-plagued first half.
A desperation three-pointer at the buzzer by Duhon made the score appear close than it was.
"We have momentum, we're up late in the game," Duhon added.
"We just couldn't get the ball in the hole ... We just couldn't make any plays down the stretch."
Connecticut shot 63 percent from the field in the second half to end Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's dream of a fourth national title.
"It was difficult for either team to stop one another in the second half there for a while, right until at the end," he said.
"They make a couple of stops and then they're able to knock the ball in. Obviously, we're extremely disappointed."
Georgia Tech 67,
Oklahoma State 65
In the other semifinal, Oklahoma State guard John Lucas nailed a 21-foot, three-pointer with 26 seconds left to knot the score against Georgia Tech at 65-65.
The Cowboys called time-out to set their defense up.
The six-foot Bynum drove to the hoop on the right side -- passing Lucas in the process -- and scored the lay-up over a host of Oklahoma State defenders.
"This is the biggest shot I ever took in my life," Bynum said.
"I mean, it's like a dream come true, making a shot like this at this high level. I can't describe how I feel right now.
"The coaches and players, they instilled a lot of confidence in me," he added.
"They had the confidence in me to take the last shot. Luckily, I made it."
Georgia Tech has never won the national basketball championship. In fact, they've never been in the title game.
Not bad for a team picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"Honestly, we're going to give it a great effort," Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt said. "I think we have an outstanding chance to win the national championship.
"But this team will be together forever," he added. "Anytime something major happens in their life, they'll talk with each other, communicate with each other. That's the good thing, the positive thing about this experience."
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