DENVER - This wasn't how Arizona was supposed to lose to Kansas.

The third-seeded Wildcats were supposed to be bullied to submission in the paint by the taller, bigger Jayhawks. But instead, it was the KU perimeter people that scorched the Wildcats and dragged the No. 2-seeded Jayhawks (29-4) to the West Regional final with a wild 83-80 win Friday in front of 17,074 at McNichols Sports Arena.

"If you told me we'd hold the big guys to eight points and eight rebounds, I'd have told you we'd win big," said senior forward Corey Williams.

Indeed, undersized UA, which finished the season 26-7, fronted KU's big men all night and shut down Kansas' towers of power. The Jayhawks' 6-foot-11, 220-pound Raef LaFrentz was held to one point and four rebounds while 6-10, 250-pound Scot Pollard had seven points and four rebounds.

That result is all the more remarkable when you consider Joe McLean, who was supposed to match up against LaFrentz, played just 13 minutes because of food poisoning he contracted the night before.

But the Jayhawks' perimeter people lit up McNichols, as Paul Pierce (20 points, five rebounds), Jerod Haase (16 points, 10 rebounds) and reserve B.J. Williams (18 points, nine rebounds) proved to be too much for Arizona.

It was a Haase's 3-pointer with 36 seconds left that gave KU the lead for good at 81-79. That shot capped an amazing series of runs as neither team could find any sort of sustained offensive rhythm.

After seeing KU put 28-10 and 24-13 runs on the board in the first and second halves, Arizona found themselves staring at a 72-60 deficit with seven minutes to go in the game.

A comeback seemed unlikely, as point guard Reggie Geary was saddled with four fouls and the Wildcats looked to be exhausted by the altitude and the speedy Jayhawks. But out of nowhere, sophomore forward Michael Dickerson hit consecutive 3-pointers, and the next thing you knew, Arizona had reeled off a 17-2 run to take a 77-74 lead with one minute, 55 seconds to go. Dickerson, who finished with 21 points, also scored the last four points of the spurt.

"I started feeling it, they gave me the ball and I started hitting," Dickerson said. "Even when we were down 11 or 12, we knew we would win, we were better, they just came out with the win."

"I thought we showed some courage when we were down 12 and it looked like serious trouble," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "They just pulled together like they've done all year long with some good defense and with boards and got some opportunities to get the break going with some turnovers."

But the Jayhawks were far from finished. Free throws from Williams and Pollard cut the lead to 79-78 with a minute left. After Dickerson missed a 3-point attempt, KU's splendid point guard Jacque Vaughn (13 points, 11 assists) found Haase - who spent his freshman season paired in the California backcourt with Jason Kidd before transferring to Lawrence - alone in the left corner for the 3-pointer.

"I told the kids at the two-minute mark to have faith, implored them, pleaded with them, begged, to just have faith," Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. "It will work out if you do what you are supposed to do."

Trailing by two, UA got the ball to Ben Davis down low, but the senior was forced to alter his shot in the lane and couldn't convert. Vaughn then dribbled the clock down to 9.1 seconds before any Wildcat could foul him.

Vaughn, a second-team All-America selection, calmly made the first shot. After Arizona called a timeout, he buried the second for an 83-79 lead. McLean was fouled with 3.6 seconds left and made the first shot. He missed the second on purpose, got the long rebound, but couldn't get a shot off in time.

It was the first time all season UA scored 80 or more points and lost. There were 17-0 in such games before Kansas.

"Our team didn't give up, maybe we were expected to roll over, but that's not the attitude of this team," said sophomore Miles Simon, who tied Dickerson for game-high honors with 21 points. "Both teams played their hearts out. Everyone knows you win or you're out. That's the way it has to be."

Arizona began the night strong, reeling off a 17-7 run to take a 31-18 lead with eight minutes left in the first half before Kansas began its run.