Kansas 64, Ohio State 62
BOX SCORE
NEW ORLEANS -- Same story, new night for Kansas. The team that's been teetering on the edge of the tournament since before it even began is now one of the last two left.
Tyshawn Taylor made two big free throws late, and Thomas Robinson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds Saturday night to lift the Jayhawks to a come-from-behind 64-62 win over Ohio State in the Final Four -- a game Kansas led for a grand total of 3 minutes, 48 seconds.
After scoring the first bucket, Kansas didn't lead again until Travis Releford made two free throws with 2:48 left. That lasted for 11 seconds, but the Jayhawks (32-6), who trailed by as many as 13, overcame another deficit and finally held on against the Buckeyes (31-8).
The game played out sort of the way the whole season has in Lawrence.
Early in the year, coach Bill Self wondered if this team was even tournament material. The Jayhawks trailed most of the night against Purdue in the regional semifinals and were no better than North Carolina for most of the next game.
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One win. Then another. This latest one came on the biggest stage -- in the Superdome. Next, a meeting Monday with Kentucky and a chance to bring the second title in five years back to Allen Fieldhouse.
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Kentucky 69, Louisville 61
BOX SCORE
NEW ORLEANS -- Bragging rights in the Bluegrass State are mighty nice.
Kentucky has its sights set higher.
Much higher.
Anthony Davis and top-seeded Kentucky are right where they planned to be all along, playing for the national title after finally putting away pesky Louisville 69-61 in the Final Four on Saturday night.
"I have a team that's had teams come at them all year," coach John Calipari said, "and they responded again today."
It will be Kentucky's first appearance in the title game since winning a seventh NCAA crown back in 1998 and gives Calipari another shot at the title that has eluded him. The Wildcats (37-2) will face the winner of Kansas-Ohio State on Monday night.
As the final seconds ticked down, Davis pointed to the court and screamed twice "This is my stage!"
Yes, yes, it is.
With a star-studded roster that includes at least three, maybe as many as five NBA lottery picks, Kentucky was the top seed in the tournament and the heavy favorite to cut down the nets when the whole tournament was done. And Calipari wouldn't let his young players consider anything else, saying repeatedly this was "just another game."
But playing in-state rival Louisville (30-10) is never just that, and the Cardinals made Kentucky work deep into the second half to grind this victory out.
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