Kentucky Wildcats Wins NCAA National Championship

He finally did it.
John Calipari has finally added a championship to his resume.
Despite a rough shooting night by the best of Kentucky's talented freshmen, Anthony Davis, the Wildcats defeated Kansas 67-59 on Monday night to win their eighth national title, and first since 1998.
Davis, who might have had the most dominating six-point night in the history of college basketball, earning the nod as the most outstanding  player. Midway through the first half, he was scoreless but still on pace for a triple-double. He finished with 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals — and made his only field goal with 5:13 left in the game.
Kansas and Kentucky Advance to Title Game 
It was a surefire illustration of how the 6-foot-10 freshman can exert his will on a game even on a rare night when the shot isn't falling.
"I love the fact Anthony Davis goes 1 for 10, and you all say he was biggest factor of game," Calipari said. "He was 1 for 10. I asked these guys what they would do without scoring. You have an idea what he does."
Over the next few weeks, Davis will decide whether to return to college — unlikely — or head to the NBA, where he'll probably be the top pick. Kidd-Gilchrist could go second.
Kansas (32-7) also has a lottery pick in AP All-American Thomas Robinson. He was harassed all night by Davis and Terrence Jones and finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds on a 6-for-17 shooting night. He was huge in the second half, while the Jayhawks were making one of those desperate comebacks that have become their trademark this year. This time, KU trimmed Kentucky's lead to five with 1:37 left. But the Wildcats made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
"It (stinks) that we have to be down 14 before we want to start fighting," KU guard Tyshawn Taylor said. "Guess that's kind of what happened."
So, the Jayhawks settled for the "B'' League title this year, as Calipari avenged a final-game loss to Bill Self back in 2008 when Calipari was coaching Memphis. The Tigers missed four late free throws in blowing a nine-point lead in that one. Kansas didn't get any such help this time.

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Calipari last season not only coached the Wildcats but also coached the Dominican Republic, trying to revitalize their basketball program.
It’s not known whether the Dominican Republic  team will have Calipari and his coaching staff back this upcoming season.
With Calipari at the helm, the team has a good chance of success. Calipari helped the D.R. win the bronze medal last summer in the FIBA Americas Championship.
Even with the loss, it wasn't a bad season in Lawrence,KS considering where KU began.
Kansas lost four of its top five scorers off last year's roster. There were times early in the season when Self and his old buddy and mentor, Larry Brown, would stand around at practices and wonder if this was a team that could even make the tournament. It did. Won its eighth straight conference title, too.
"Nobody even expected us to be here in the first place, for us to have a great season," KU guard Travis Releford said. "And we did. We were able to compete for a championship. We had a great year."
Kentucky's was better, and Davis certainly did nothing to hurt his draft stock despite missing more shots in this game than he had in the last three.
He set the tone early on defense, swatting Robinson's shot twice, grabbing rebounds, making pretty bounce passes for assists.
Early in the second half, he made a steal that also could have been an assist, knocking the ball out of Robinson's hands and directly to Jones, who dunked for a 46-30 lead.
Then, finally. With 5:13 left in the game, he spotted up for a 15-foot jumper from the baseline that swished for a 59-44 lead, putting a dagger in one of Kansas' many comebacks.
"He was terrific," Self said. "The basket he made was one of the biggest baskets of the game."
His only bucket of the game — could that be a different sort of spin on "one and done?"
Well, if Davis does choose to leave, Calipari can certainly handle it. He has mastered the art of rebuilding on the fly.
He's the coach who brings in the John Walls, Brandon Knights and Derrick Roses (at Memphis) for cups of coffee, lets them sharpen up their resumes, then happily says goodbye when it becomes obvious there's nothing left for them to do in school.
The coach refuses to apologize for the way he recruits or how he runs his program. Just playing by the rules as they're set up, he says, even if he doesn't totally agree with them. Because he refuses to promise minutes or shots to any recruit and demands teamwork out of all of them, he says he comes by these players honestly.
He has produced nine first-round picks in the last four drafts, including five in 2010. That draft day was as big a moment for the school as any, Calipari said. A pretty big statement for the program built by Adolph Rupp.
"The reason was, I knew now that other kids would look and say, 'You've got to go there,'" Calipari said.
This latest group came and won it all.
"I wanted that," Calipari said. "I told them I wanted this to be one for the ages."

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.