No. 1 Kentucky Meets Second-Seeded Kansas in NCAA Title Game

No. 1 seed University of Kentucky and second-seeded University of Kansas will meet tomorrow to decide the national men’s college basketball championship.
Kansas (32-6) rallied from a 13-point deficit to defeat No. 2 seed Ohio State 64-62 in the final minutes of their game and Kentucky defeated rival and fourth-seeded Louisville 69-61 to reach the National Collegiate Athletic Association final at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Kansas took a 2-0 lead in the opening minute, then trailed Ohio State through most of the game. The Jayhawks got their largest lead of the game, 62-59, on Elijah Johnson’s layup with one minute, five seconds left to play.
William Buford dunked to bring the Buckeyes (31-8) within a point at 62-61 with nine seconds remaining. Two seconds later, Tyshawn Taylor sunk two free throws, restoring Kansas’ three- point lead 64-61.
With two seconds left in the game, Aaron Craft was fouled. He hit the first free throw to narrow the gap to 64-62. In his attempt to grab the rebound when his second shot hit the rim, Craft rushed the ball and stepped over the foul line early, causing a turnover and giving Kansas the victory.
“It’s a dream for these kids to play on the biggest stage for college basketball and to play the No. 1 team,” Kansas coach Bill Self said in a televised press conference.

‘No Energy’

The Jayhawks fought back from 13-point deficits five times in the first half. They ended the half behind 34-25.
“We were awful,” Self said. “There was no energy, we were tight. That was not who we were in the first half. We were much more aggressive in the second half.”
Thomas Robinson had 19 points and Travis Releford added 15 for Kansas, which is seeking its fourth NCAA title.
“It feels great,” said Releford who hit four free throws in the final three minutes. “We’ve been in those situations before throughout the season, where we played from behind, played grind-it-out games. We still got another goal. We can’t be too excited about this win.”
Buford led the Buckeyes with 19 points and Jared Sullinger had 13, while Craft had 11.
Kentucky is going to its first championship game since winning its seventh NCAA title in 1998.

‘Closer to Dream’

“We’re one game closer to our dream and our goals,” Kentucky’s Anthony Davis said in a televised interview after he scored a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds. “We’ve got to come out Monday night and perform.”
The Wildcats (37-2) had a 13-point lead in the second half before the Cardinals chipped away at their advantage. Back-to- back baskets by Russ Smith started Louisville (30-10) on a 15-3 run that tied the game at 49-49 on Peyton Siva’s 3-pointer with nine minutes, 13 seconds left in the game.
Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored a layup and dunked within a 40-second span as Kentucky started to pull away a minute later.
Siva led the Cardinals with 11 points.
“They never stopped playing,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said of the in-state rival. “They got up into our bodies, created turnovers and gave themselves a chance to win.”
Kentucky shot 57 percent from the field while Louisville was held to 35 percent.
“It took so much energy to get us back in the game,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino told reporters. “Our conditioning was awesome the whole year. The difference was that Anthony Davis is the best player in the year.”
Freshman Davis was named the winner of the Wooden Award as the nation’s top player yesterday, one day after being tagged as the Associated Press player of the year. The Wooden Award is voted on by members of the national college basketball media.

Recap: Kansas vs. Ohio State

A phantom traveling call, a putback dunk, an inbounds steal, a foul-shot lane violation on an intentional miss -- the Kansas-Ohio State game had a little bit of everything.
And that was just the last 27.4 seconds.
"It certainly wasn't a pretty game," said Kansas head coach Bill Self, "not artistic at all."
But he'll take the outcome.
Thomas Robinson scored 19 points on Saturday and Kansas survived a breathless final moments to beat Ohio State, 64-62, in the Final Four and reach the NCAA title game for the second time in five years.
The Jayhawks rallied from 13 points down in the first half, took their first lead since 2-0 with under three minutes left and moved on to play Kentucky for the national championship on Monday.
Among the game's bizarre turns, Ohio State guard Aaron Craft was whistled for a lane violation when he broke from the line too early while trying to brick his second attempt off the rim with 2.9 seconds left.
The Buckeyes, caught off-guard, didn't react to Kansas inbounding the ball and were left looking around as the Jayhawks dribbled off the remaining seconds.
"They never gave up," said Jared Sullinger, the Ohio State star. "I mean, it was a great game."
Travis Releford added 15 points, including four gutsy free throws that helped Kansas (32-6) take the lead for good, while Elijah Johnson had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Tyshawn Taylor scored 10.
William Buford scored 19 to lead Ohio State (31-8) and Sullinger had 13 with 11 rebounds.
The Buckeyes -- like Kansas, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament -- controlled the first half, took a 34-25 lead into the break, then went cold in the second half the same way North Carolina did last weekend against the Jayhawks.
Still, they clung to the lead until Releford's free throws with 2:48 remaining capped a 7-0 run and gave Kansas a slim 56-55 lead.
Then, the fireworks.
Ohio State scored four in a row, including Craft's layup after a steal for a three-point lead, but Taylor followed with a double-clutch bank shot and the final go-ahead points of the game came on Releford's free throws with 1:37 left.
Jeff Withey had seven blocks, including one that led to Johnson's layup for a 62-59 Kansas lead. Robinson stole the ball at the other end, but Withey was called for traveling to erase a Kansas bucket -- replays didn't show a clear walk.
Deshaun Thomas missed a three for Ohio State, but Withey kicked the rebound away near the baseline. Thomas missed again, but Buford crashed the net for a putback dunk that got the Buckeyes within 62-61 with 9.6 seconds left.
Taylor's free throws pushed the Kansas lead to three -- then, with a heads-up play that birthed a bone-headed move, he stole the inbounds pass and attempted a bounce pass to a streaking teammate.
The ball went out of bounds on the far side, and Kansas sent Craft to the line with 2.9 ticks left. After Craft made his first try, he leaned in to clank the second off the front of the rim, leaving the line too early.
Afterward, Ohio State coach Thad Matta admitted that his team wasn't ready to defend the inbounds pass.
Even CBS wasn't ready -- its broadcast was showing a replay while Kansas threw it in and held on to wind the final seconds off.
"Down the stretch, as this tournament goes, it comes down to making some plays," said Matta. "Give them credit -- they did a great job of finishing [while] we had the ball, had some great shots [that didn't] go in for us."
Monday's title game, also to be held at the Superdome, will pit the same two coaches from the 2008 Final against each other. In that one, Self bested John Calipari, then the Memphis coach but now at Kentucky.
"After we got it down to six points, or four, these guys have been in so many close games they just stepped up and made plays," said Self after his team shot 53.8 percent in the second half to beat Ohio State.
The Jayhawks also beat Ohio State on Dec. 10 in Lawrence, though the Buckeyes were missing Sullinger in that one. Kansas, appearing in its 14th Final Four, will play for its fourth national title on Monday.
Ohio State had leads of 7-2 and 26-13 in the first half, the latter on Thomas' layup with around six minutes remaining.
The Buckeyes shot 46.2 percent in the half and enjoyed a double-digit lead for much if it, but Kansas drew within 34-25 on Releford's buzzer-beating layup, which followed a Withey block at the other end.
The Jayhawks, no stranger to a down first half in this tournament, had nine turnovers and shot 36.7 percent in the half. Taylor attempted their first free throws of the game with 23 seconds left, making both of them.
Kansas started its comeback with a 12-2 run that spanned the first and second half.
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NCAA basketball Final Four: Kansas comes back, beats Ohio State

NEW ORLEANS — Trailing by nine points at halftime, Kansas had Ohio State right where it wanted in Saturday’s national semifinal.
The Jayhawks’ NCAA tournament run has been defined by strong second-half performances, and they offered another with the help of indomitable forward Thomas Robinson. As he has all season, Robinson played at a higher level than everybody else on the floor at the Superdome, leading the Jayhawks to a 64-62 victory over Ohio State before 73,361
The nine-point halftime deficit was second-largest halftime deficit overcome in a national semifinal.
“You couldn’t have scripted it any better,” said Robinson, a Washington native who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. “When we’re down, we stick together.”
Said Jayhawks Coach Bill Self, “These guys have been in so many close games, they have so much confidence.”
Kansas (32-6) earned a trip to its first national title game since 2008, when it beat a John Calipari-coached Memphis team to give Self his first national championship.
This season, Self’s ninth in Lawrence, may be his finest coaching job. After losing to mid-major programs Virginia Commonwealth and Northern Iowa in the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, Self took a team with middling preseason expectations to its eighth consecutive Big 12 regular season title.
He watched Robinson rebound from personal tragedy to turn himself into a national player of the year candidate. He saw erratic senior Tyshawn Taylor overcome an up-and-down career arc to deliver a sterling performance in a Midwest Region final victory over North Carolina. And he witnessed center Jeff Withey blossom into the Big 12 defensive player of the year (he had seven blocks on Saturday night to give him 27 in five NCAA tournament games).
And Saturday night provided another sterling effort and turnaround. Kansas had excelled in the second half in the NCAA tournament, particularly in the second round against Purdue and in the Elite Eight against North Carolina. The Jayhawks were poised for another second-half surge Saturday, when the Buckeyes missed their first 10 shots from the field in the half.
Robinson’s emphatic dunk cut the deficit to three points. Elijah Johnson’s layup in transition tied the score at 38, capping a 17-4 run. It took nearly seven minutes into the second half before Ohio State (31-8) had its first field goal, a corner three-pointer by Aaron Craft.
Meantime, Deshaun Thomas, who had been one of Ohio State’s best offensive players throughout the tournament, picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes 30 seconds remaining.
Ohio State’s William Buford and Kansas senior Conner Teahan traded three-point baskets down the stretch. With Kansas trailing by one point with three minutes to play, Robinson demanded the ball in the post, but he could not convert against Jared Sullinger.
Moments later, two free throws by Travis Releford gave the Jayhawks their first lead since the opening minute of the game, 56-55. But back came the Buckeyes and Craft, the school’s all-time single-season steals leader, who stole the ball and raced the other way for a layup .