First Half Score: #1 Kentucky 42 - #3 Baylor 22
The first 5 minutes of the game were better than Scott Drew could have imagined for his Baylor ball club. The Bears took an early 10-5 lead and they were executing very well offensively. Their length on the defensive end was causing Kentucky issues in the half-court, as Quincy Miller had two blocks on Marquis Teague, who was struggling to score with the athleticism of Baylor's frontcourt.
After John Calipari called a timeout to settle his guys down, the half totally changed course. From that timeout until the end of the half, Kentucky went on a 37-12 run. Baylor had multiple scoring droughts, which all lasted at least 3 minutes and their missed field goals as well as their carelessness with the ball lead to numerous easy buckets for the Wildcats in transition. Baylor shot 4 for 20 (20%) for the rest of the half and had 9 turnovers. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis were able to get out on the fastbreak and score easy layups and dunks in transition, as Kentucky fed off the missed shots and changes of possession. Gilchrist's ability to drive into the lane put pressure on Baylor's defense, as he had 17 first half points.
If Baylor wants to get back into the game, their star forward Perry Jones III will have to be much more effective. In the first half, Perry Jones was 1 for 5 from the field and had just 2 points and one rebound to go along with his 3 turnovers.
Final Score: #1 Kentucky 82 - #3 Baylor 70 (Not as close as the score indicates)
Although Baylor played much better in the second half and made some runs to get back into the game, they fell way to far behind in the first half. Every time the Bears put some buckets together, the Wildcats just needed to put a few good possessions together to keep their lead in double digits. After Brady Heslip nailed a three with a little under 9 minutes remaining to get the Bears within 13 points, Baylor expanded to much energy crawling back and Kentucky needed just three quality possessions to bring their lead back up to 20.
The scariest moment of the second half came within the first few minutes when Anthony Davis was fouled by Perry Jones III and the two forwards collided. The SEC Player of the Year stayed down on the floor and appeared to have a knee injury. However, Kentucky fans were able to breathe again because Davis returned to the game just a few minutes later and played major minutes for the rest of the half.
The Wildcats will be making their 15th appearance in the Final Four and their second straight after Brandon Knight lead Kentucky to the National Semifinals last year. Kentucky is now one of only four schools along with Duke (15), North Carolina (18), and UCLA (18) to have reached at least 15 Final Fours.
The Wildcats will be looking for their 8th National Championship and close the gap between them and UCLA, which has won 11 National Championships.
John Calipari will be making his 2nd Final Four appearance (Calipari made the Final Four in 1996 as the head coach of UMass and 2008 as the head coach of Memphis, but both appearances were later vacated by the NCAA due to violations). Calipari joins Adolph Rupp (6), Joe Hall (3), Rick Pitino (3), and Tubby Smith (1) as the only Kentucky coaches to take the Wildcats to the Final Four. He will be looking to become the 5th Kentucky coach to win a National Championship.
Final Score: #1 Kentucky 82 - #3 Baylor 70 (Not as close as the score indicates)
Although Baylor played much better in the second half and made some runs to get back into the game, they fell way to far behind in the first half. Every time the Bears put some buckets together, the Wildcats just needed to put a few good possessions together to keep their lead in double digits. After Brady Heslip nailed a three with a little under 9 minutes remaining to get the Bears within 13 points, Baylor expanded to much energy crawling back and Kentucky needed just three quality possessions to bring their lead back up to 20.
The scariest moment of the second half came within the first few minutes when Anthony Davis was fouled by Perry Jones III and the two forwards collided. The SEC Player of the Year stayed down on the floor and appeared to have a knee injury. However, Kentucky fans were able to breathe again because Davis returned to the game just a few minutes later and played major minutes for the rest of the half.
The Wildcats will be making their 15th appearance in the Final Four and their second straight after Brandon Knight lead Kentucky to the National Semifinals last year. Kentucky is now one of only four schools along with Duke (15), North Carolina (18), and UCLA (18) to have reached at least 15 Final Fours.
The Wildcats will be looking for their 8th National Championship and close the gap between them and UCLA, which has won 11 National Championships.
John Calipari will be making his 2nd Final Four appearance (Calipari made the Final Four in 1996 as the head coach of UMass and 2008 as the head coach of Memphis, but both appearances were later vacated by the NCAA due to violations). Calipari joins Adolph Rupp (6), Joe Hall (3), Rick Pitino (3), and Tubby Smith (1) as the only Kentucky coaches to take the Wildcats to the Final Four. He will be looking to become the 5th Kentucky coach to win a National Championship.
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