Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
The University of Kentucky defeated the University of Kansas 67-59 on Monday in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, delivering controversial coach John Calipari his first ever championship and the eighth overall for the school.
The top-seeded Wildcats were the clear favorite throughout the tournament, led by freshman center Anthony Davis, who won National Player of the Year honors and earned the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award. Davis went just 1-for-10 shooting on the night, but his 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals demonstrated his dominance over the Jayhawks. Kentucky’s Doron Lamb led all scorers with 22 points, and freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and one block that halted a Kansas comeback.
The victory cemented Kentucky’s place in history as one of the most dominant teams of all time, finishing with a 38-2 record and never trailing in the second half of any tournament game. It also proved that a team led almost entirely by underclassmen could win a championship — something Calipari failed to do with his previous teams at Kentucky, the University of Memphis and the University of Massachusetts, which went deep into the tournament but could not overcome their youth and inexperience.
The Wildcats completely outplayed the Jayhawks in the first half, taking a 27-17 lead after 10 minutes and not allowing Kansas within eight points of them for the rest of the half. Kentucky entered the break with a 41-27 lead.
Kansas would not back down, however, having faced double-digit deficits in three other tournament games. Although Kentucky led by as much as 16 in the second half, Kansas found a way to cut the lead to single digits with just over five minutes to play. Coming out of a timeout down 63-57 with a minute to play, Kansas inbounded the ball to a seemingly wide-open Tyshawn Taylor, who went up for a dunk. Kidd-Gilchrist blocked Taylor from behind, ultimately leading to a Kansas turnover and free throws by Marquis Teague. It was inevitable that the Wildcats would bring home their first title since 1998.
Calipari avenged his 2008 championship loss to Kansas, when his Memphis team failed to make free throws and put away the Jayhawks, blowing a nine-point lead in the closing minutes and ultimately losing in overtime.
Kansas, the second seed in the Midwest region, finished their season with a 32-7 record. All-American Thomas Robinson led the team with 18 points and 17 rebounds in what was likely his final collegiate game.