Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Recapping the Final Four

Published on April 3, 2012 by Scott Shirley   ·   No Comments

Final Four

Kentucky-69 Louisville-61

-The star for the Wildcats was once again Anthony Davis. Just like Kentucky is clearly the best team in the country Davis is clearly the best player in the nation. All the freshman did against Louisville was finish with 18 points, bring down 14 rebounds, and block 5 shots. He was 7 of 8 shooting from the field. Two of those field goals were highlight real alley oops.

-Guards Doron Lamb and Marquis Teague once again were solid for the Wildcats. These two have played their best basketball in the tournament. Teague finished the game with 8 points 5 assists, and only 2 turnovers. He had 2 driving layups early that really set a tone for the game. Lamb finished with 10 points. He needs to make some threes if the Wildcats are going to cut down the nets on Monday.

- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist picked up two fouls and sat the rest of the 1st half. He never got into a rhythm but he still finished with 9 points all in the second half. Gilchrist got most of the points late in the half that sealed the victory for Kentucky. Most of those points were on strong drives to the basket. Terrence Jones struggled on offense this game finishing with 6 points on 3 of 8 shooting. He did bring down 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

-Darius Miller was once again a star off the bench. He finished with 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Miller was also 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Miller hit a key three when Louisville made a run. He would a starter at every other school in the country. Kyle Wiltjer also gave Kentucky solid plays off the bench with 5 points including 1 three.

-For the game Kentucky shot lights out from the field. They were 28 out of 49 that is 57 %. They also played excellent defense holding the Cardinals to 35 % shooting from the field. As a team the Wildcats finished the game with 7 steals and 7 blocks.

- The Wildcats do need to clear some things up if they want to win the championship on Monday night. First they were outrebounded by 5 and gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the Cardinals. Kentucky only shot 11 of 20 from the free throw line. They also didn’t shot the three very well they were just 2 of 7. Lastly they need to take better care of the ball. They had 14 turnovers compared to only 9 assists.

Kansas-64 Ohio State-62

- Once again the Jayhawks play excellent defense in the second half to move on to the title game to play Kentucky. This Jayhawk just does not give up. They were down as many as 13 points in this game and they only led for a total of 3 : 48 minutes. They just have the will to win, that other teams don’t have.

- Leading the Jayhawks was once again Thomas Robinson, who finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Robinson though did his work on defense limited the leading scorer in the tournament Deshaun Thomas to 9 points on 3 of 14 shooting. He also got Thomas into foul trouble.

- Jeff Withey only had 4 points but he was a beast on the defensive end. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the year finished with 8 rebounds and 7 blocks. He probably alters a lot of shots too. He frustrated Ohio State Jared Sullinger into 5 of 19 shooting from the field. Withey’s length gave him all kind of problems.

- Travis Releford really stepped up his offensive game for Kansas last night. Coming into this game he was only averaging about 8 points in the tournament against Ohio State he had 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting. He was 4 of 4 from the line with all the free throws coming late in the 2nd half. Releford also finished with 6 rebounds.

- Point guard Tyshawn Taylor shooting woes continued but he did make two free throws late to seal the victory for the Jayhawks. Taylor was just 3 of 11 from the floor. He has not made a three this whole NCAA tournament. Taylor did impact the game with his passing he finished with 9 assists but he also had 5 turnovers. He did come up with a big steal late. If Kansas is to beat Kentucky Taylor needs to play a lot better.

- Elijah Johnson continued his hot play in the tournament. In this game he finished with 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting including 1 big three pointer. He also brought down 10 rebounds not bad for a guard. Johnson had a layup late to give the Jayhawks a three point lead.

- Conner Teahan hit a big three for Kansas off the bench and Kevin Young brought down 5 rebounds. 4 of those rebounds were offensive.

- Last time out the Jayhawks outrebounded UNC the best rebounding team in the country. This game was no different as they outrebounded Ohio State by 11. The Jayhawks played lights out defense the whole game limiting the Buckeyes to 34 % shooting from the field.

- If the Jayhawks want to beat Kentucky on Monday night they are some things they need to improve. They cannot commit 17 turnovers and shoot 3 of 11 from behind the arch.

Championship Game

Kentucky-67 Kansas-59

- First congrats to John Calipari for winning his first NCAA championship. Give him tons of credit for bringing a lot of young players together and getting them to play hard and as a team.

- The star of this game was once again Anthony Davis and he was only 1 of 10 from the field and had 6 points. However, Davis brought his A-game in every other area. Davis had 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists and 3 steals. Talk about filling out a stat sheet. Davis averaged 13.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.8 blocks, and 3 assists for the tournament.

- Doron Lamb could also be considered Kentucky’s best player in this game. Lamb, one of the best shooters in the nation finished with 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor. He also nailed 3 threes with two of those coming late that sealed the victory for the Wildcats. He averaged 16.5 points per game in the tournament compared to 13.2 points in the regular season. He also shot about 50 % from three.

- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was once again solid for the Wildcats he finished the game with 11 points and 6 rebounds. He was 4 of 7 from the floor. For the tournament he averaged 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. He just overpowered everyone with his strength in the tournament. Gilchrist is so versatile.

- Freshman point guard Marquis Teague has came a long way since the beginning of the season. He finished the championship game with 14 points and 3 assists. He also made 2 big threes. Teague averaged 13.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds during Kentucky’s championship run.

- Terrence Jones was inconsistent sometimes at the beginning of the season but at the end of the season he was playing his best basketball. In the championship game against Kansas he finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. For the tournament Jones averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds.

- If Darius Miller played anywhere else in the country he would be starting. He didn’t score in double digits this game but he still had 6 rebounds. In the tournament Miller is averaging 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. He is also shooting 17 out of 18 from the free throw line. Not bad for a bench player.

- Everyone always talks about Kentucky’s offense but their defense is pretty darn good. They forced Kansas to shot 35 % from the field and had 10 block shots. Another key for the Wildcats was they outrebounded Kansas by 5.

 

 

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