National Basketball Association
Kentucky 69, Louisville 61
When: 6:09 PM ET, Saturday, March 31, 2012
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials:
# Doug Shows, # Joe DeRosa, # Les Jones
Attendance:
73361
By SportsDirect Inc.
Kentucky 69, Louisville 61: Anthony Davis led another strong performance by the Wildcats, who used an 11-2 second-half run to beat their bitter in-state rival in the Final Four in New Orleans.
The victory sends Kentucky (37-2) into Monday’s national championship game against either Ohio State or Kansas. The Wildcats are one victory away from their first national title since 1998, and the first of head coach John Calipari’s career.
Davis, who was named the national player of the year earlier Saturday, scored 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, adding 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Tied at 49-49, the Wildcats scored 11 of the next 13 points to open up a nine-point lead. Darius Miller hit a key 3-pointer during the run, and his two free-throws with 4:29 remaining gave Kentucky a 60-51 advantage.
Ahead by seven at halftime, the Wildcats used a 10-1 run to go up 45-32 on two Davis free throws with 16:14 remaining. The Cardinals (30-10) answered with a 17-4 spurt, Peyton Siva’s 3-pointer with 9:13 to go tying the game at 49-49.
But Louisville, which shot 34.8 percent, did not make another field goal until Chane Behanan’s dunk with 2:54 remaining.
Siva led the Cardinals with 11 points.
Top Game Performances
Louisville |
|
Kentucky |
Peyton Siva 11 |
Scoring |
Anthony Davis 18 |
Peyton Siva 3 |
Assists |
Marquis Teague 5 |
Gorgui Dieng 12 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Davis 14 |
Chane Behanan 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Anthony Davis 4 |
Gorgui Dieng 2 |
Steals |
Terrence Jones 2 |
Gorgui Dieng 4 |
Blocks |
Anthony Davis 5 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Louisville
|
61 |
34.8 |
4-11 |
9-13 |
7 |
37 |
4 |
5 |
12 |
Kentucky
|
69 |
57.1 |
2-7 |
11-20 |
9 |
32 |
7 |
7 |
14 |