University of Kentucky Wildcats beat Louisville Cardinals 69-61 to qualify for NCAA Final
On Saturday night, University of Kentucky Wildcats rookie star Anthony Davis helped them beat their bitter rivals, the Louisville Cardinals in the final four of the NCAA tournament.
The number 1 seeds in college Basketball, steam rolled their way into the NCAA Championship final for the 11th time in the school`s history. Kentucky had failed on their previous two attempts in the
final four only to make a stronger come back this year.
The Wildcats have been very impressive since the start of the season and when they put an end to the Cardinal`s season, it did not come as much of a surprise, giving the Wildcat’s fans bragging rights for another
year over their cross town rivals, Louisville.
In last night`s game, Kentucky did not look their usual self at the start but it did not matter in the end. Kentucky was still able to shoot over 57% on the night, an impressive number. At the start of the game
Kentucky`s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, their second best freshman behind Davis got into foul trouble which restricted him from playing much in the first half.
Cardinals were able to trade punches with their cross town rivals for most part of the game but it all came up short in the end. At the end of the first half, Kentucky led 35-28 as they were able to score the
last four points.
In the second half Kentucky got the boost they needed to take control of the game as they went on a 10-1 run in the early stages. But the Cardinals were not going out easy, after all a place in the final was
at the line.
Louisville showed great resilience to cut back on the lead by going on 10-1 run of their own. Their comeback into the game was due to the fact of the second chance opportunities they created.
Peyton Siva scored 7 consecutive points. He managed to hit a game tying three pointer with 9:13 remaining in the game. When most of the Wildcats looked cold on the field, Kidd-Gilchrist, who had not played much
in the first half because of foul trouble, came up big in the second half. He made two back to back layups to help the Wildcats get back ahead in the game. Kentucky then had a 7-2 run to further extend their advantage.
Kentucky went on to win the game with a score line of 69-61. The key factor in the win was the 6 ft 10 rookie Anthony Davis who was consistent throughout the game with 18 points. The splendid performance was
capped off when Davis grabbed his 14th rebounds and dribbled out the last remaining seconds of the game.
Kidd-Gilchrist also had 9 points; Doron Lamb scored 10 for Kentucky while Peyton Siva led the Cardinals with 11 points.
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