Jojo Doria

New Orleans, LA

Anthony Davis proved once again he's perhaps the best college player in the country, recording 18 points, 14 boards and 5 blocks to power the Kentucky Wildcats to a 69-61 victory against the Louisville Cardinals in Saturday's Final Four showdown at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Kentucky advanced to the National Championship game for the first time since 1998 and did so by topping their in-state rival the Louisville Cardinals and head coach Rick Pitino, the man who led the Wildcats to a national title in 1996.

Davis was a dominant force inside, shooting 7-for-8 from the field and 4-for-6 from the free-throw line and anchoring Kentucky's suffocating defense.

Darius Miller came off the bench and delivered 13 points, while Doron Lamb netted 10 points for the Wildcats, who shot an astounding .571 percent on the floor and smothered the Cardinals to just .348 percent shooting.

The Wildcats raced to a 10-point lead early on but the Cardinals stepped up and kept the deficit under double-digits in the first half.

With Davis asserting his presence inside, Kentucky once again threatened to pull away early in the second half but the Cardinals responded with a 13-4 run to tie it at 46-46 with 9:13 minutes left to play.

Backed against the wall for the first time in the tournament, the Wildcats leaned on another freshman phenom to deliver as forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 8 of his 9 points in the last 9 minutes to seal the deal.

With the victory, John Calipari made it to national championship game for the second time in his career after coaching the Derrick Rose-led Memphis Tigers to a runner-up finish against Kansas in 2008.

 

Final Four: Kentucky Holds Off Louisville