Kentucky Hangs On For 8th National Championship

There was no question throughout the season that the Kentucky Wildcats were the nation's best team, so they knew they had to finish business against the Kansas Jayhawks tonight in New Orleans.  The game gained alot of attention because it featured college basketball's two winningest programs and the tournament's top two defensive teams.  The head coaches were also familiar to the Final Four stage, as the two coaches, Kentucky's (then Memphis') John Calipari and Kansas' Bill Self, faced off for the 2008 National Championship in San Antonio.  Self's Jayhawks ultimately hung on in the overtime thriller, but each have outstanding accomplishments throughout their head coaching careers.  Calipari has taken three schools (Massachusetts, Memphis, and Kentucky) to four Final Fours and two National Championship games, and Kansas' Bill Self has taken Kansas to two Final Fours and National Championship games in the past four years.  Everything was set up to be a classic National Championship game.

As expected, the game remained close throughout the opening moments as Kansas took the early lead and hung with the nation's best team.  They began to struggle and eventually lost control, as Kentucky began to dominate with rebounds, steals and blocks.  They expanded their lead to double-digits as Kansas went scoreless for an entire four minutes and shot 3/13 to finish out the first half.  As the Jayhawks struggled to find their groove, they found themselves in familiar territory down fourteen at halftime.  The Jayhawks had put themselves in deep holes throughout the tournament and had come back every time.  Could they do it again, this time facing their largest halftime deficit of the tournament?

After 66 1/2 tournament games, the Wildcats had the game in hand and looked to be headed to an eighth National Championship in school history.  Nothing in the first half said different until the Jayhawks made a late run in the second half.  Kansas finally took Kentucky out of its game with a 13-3 run, pressuring the ball-handler and causing turnovers, to get within five with a minute to go in the game.  Kansas erased a fifteen point deficit, but it would not be their night.  Kentucky converted on five late free throws as they pulled out the victory.  With the help of stars Doron Lamb and Anthony Davis, Kentucky escaped with their eighth National Championship, and Coach Calipari finally won the big one.  Davis recorded six points and sixteen rebounds in the win and became the fourth freshman to win the Men's Final Four Most Outstanding Player.  Lamb added twenty-two points and was the game's leading scorer.  Without them, Kentucky fans might not be celebrating an eighth National Championship tonight.