Kentucky beats Kansas for NCAA crown 67-59

The Final Four of 2012: Ohio State, Louisville, Kentucky, and Kansas

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—No matter where Anthony Davis and his buddies go to make their millions, their ol’ Kentucky home will long remember this championship season.
 
The Wildcats hit the jackpot with their lottery picks Monday night, ignoring Davis’ bad shooting night and parlaying a roster full of NBA talent into a 67-59 victory over Kansas for the team’s eighth national title—and its first since 1998.
 
The one-and-doners did it in a wire-to-wire victory—a little dicey at the end—to cap a season in which anything less than bringing a title back to the Bluegrass State would have been a downer. They led coach John Calipari to his first title in four trips to the Final Four with three different schools.

“This is not about me. This is about these 13 players,” Calipari said. “This is about the Big Blue Nation.”
 
Doron Lamb, a sophomore with first-round-draft-pick possibilities, led the Wildcats (38-2) with 22 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that put them up by 16 with 10 minutes left.
 
The Jayhawks (32-7), kings of the comeback all season, fought to the finish and trimmed that deficit to five with 1:37 left. But Kentucky made five free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Davis’ fellow lottery prospect, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, was another headliner, creating space for himself to score all 11 of his points in the first half.
 
Davis, meanwhile, might have had the most dominating six-point night in the history of college basketball, earning the nod as the most outstanding player. 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. 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.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: Marquis Teague #25 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 in the National Championship Game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: (L-R) Darius Miller #1, Anthony Davis #23, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist #14, Terrence Jones #3 and Marquis Teague #25 of the Kentucky Wildcats walk on the court in the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

NEW ORLEANS, LA - APRIL 02: A general view as the Kentucky Wildcats take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the second half of the National Championship Game of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on April 2, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)