The first Final Four matchup was the Battle of the Bluegrass between Kentucky and Louisville. Kentucky built the lead early behind great defensive prowess, especially that of Anthony Davis. Louisville looked like it had a chance when they pulled even on Peyton Siva's three-pointer with just over nine minutes to go in the game, but the Cardinals failed to score over the next six minutes. The Wildcats took over during that stretch, and the Cardinals could never recover. In the game, Davis showed why he is the best player in the country. He had 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. That in and of itself is impressive, but that doesn't even take into account the number of shots Davis altered or influenced. The Wildcats had the better talent on the floor, and it showed in the result.
Kansas 64 Ohio State 62
In the second Final Four game, Ohio State came out on fire. They built the lead to 26-13 and seemed to be in complete control. Kansas head coach Bill Self called a timeout and whatever he said turned things around for the Jayhawks. Over the next 12 minutes, Kansas went on a 25-12 run to tie the game up at 38. Ohio State regained the lead, but were never able to put away the Jayhawks. With 2:22 left in the game, Aaron Craft put the lead at 3 for the Buckeyes. From that point on, the Kansas defense took it up a notch. In the final seconds, Ohio State trailed by 3, so Kansas fouled Aaron Craft before he could get off a shot. He made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose. However, he was called for a lane violation trying to get the rebound. The Buckeye players were so busy yelling at the official that Kansas inbounded the ball and won the game. Everyone will talk about Kansas' Thomas Robinson's dominance on offense in the paint as the difference in the game, I would argue that it was the other Jayhawk big man, Jeff Withey, who was the biggest difference maker. Withey quietly had 8 rebounds and 7 blocks. He bothered Ohio State star Jared Sullinger all night and made every shot in the paint difficult for the Buckeyes. Kansas showed why once again why you can't count them out. Kentucky might be the big favorites on Monday, but don't count out the Jayhawks just yet.
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