On April 12, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 to win the Division I NCAA National Basketball Championship. This was Kentucky’s eighth basketball title, and its first since 1998.
Led by freshman center Anthony Davis, the Wildcats finished the season with a 37-2 record. Davis won the Naismith Award (National Player of the Year) and also took home the Final Four MVP. Davis is tipped to leave Kentucky for the NBA next season, where he will likely be drafted with first overall pick.
In the championship game, Davis only had six points but finished with 16 rebounds and six blocks. Sophomore Doron Lamb had to take most of the offensive responsibility and led the team with 22 points. Marquis Teague contributed with 14 points and Terrence Jones had nine.
“It was a really entertaining game. Kansas came back in the second half to make it interesting,” senior Trent Gurley said.
Head coach John Calipari took over the Wildcats in 200, and has a 101-14 record in three seasons. This year, Calipari was able to avenge a 2008 title game loss to Kansas while he was the head coach at Memphis.
“Kentucky owned those Jayhawks. Unibrow went hard in the paint,” senior Peter Schrupp said.
Kentucky’s road to the championship game involved wins over Western Kentucky, Iowa State, Indiana, Baylor and Louisville. Kansas defeated Detroit, Purdue, North Carolina State, North Carolina and Ohio State before falling to Kentucky.
The following night, the Baylor Lady Bears defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the Division I NCAA Women’s National Basketball Championship.
