SB Nation St. Louis - Kentucky Tops Kansas For 2012 NCAA National Championship Win

Printable NCAA Bracket 2012 Captures Kentucky's Championship Win

2012-04-03T13:56:29Z

The 2012 NCAA Tournament came to a close on Monday night, and the Kentucky Wildcats claimed their eighth men's basketball championship in school history by knocking off the Kansas Jayhawks in the National Championship Game. Their road to the title started in the South Region as the No. 1 seed, and from there they knocked off No. 16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, No. 8 Iowa St. Cyclones, No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 Baylor Bears, No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (from the West Region) and then No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks (from the Midwest Region).

To enjoy Kentucky's 2012 National Championship run one more time, be sure to check out SB Nation's final printable 2012 NCAA Bracket (PDF).

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, poke around SB Nation's NCAA Tournament hub for tons of analysis on the Final Four in New Orleans. For more onKentucky head over to A Sea of Blue and for more on Kansas visit Rock Chalk Talk. For analysis, news and notes from around the country, check out SB Nation's college basketball news hub.

NCAA Tournament 2012 Championship, Kentucky Vs. Kansas Final Score: Jayhawks No Match For Favored Wildcats

2012-04-03T11:30:10Z

The Kansas Jayhawks got as far a they had in four years Monday, but they weren't able to finish off the NCAA Tournament quite so impressively now as then—the Kentucky Wildcats were the winners of the 2012 NCAA national championship, topping KU 67-59 behind 22 points from Doron Lamb and a bizarre game from Anthony Davis, who went 1-10 for six points... and 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists, and three steals. The Jayhawks' second-half run simply wasn't quite enough to make up for their 27 first-half points.

For the Wildcats it's embattled coach John Calipari's first national championship victory, and the program's first win since 1998, when Tubby Smith was the keeper of one of basketball's most storied reputations. All-American Thomas Robinson struggled early but finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds for Kansas, whose national championship drought stretches all the way to... well, to 2008.

For more national championship analysis and reporting, check out SB Nation's 2012 NCAA Tournament storystream, or take a spin through our YouTube channel below:

2012 NCAA Tournament Results: Kentucky Wildcats Win National Championship, Top Kansas 67-59

2012-04-03T03:50:12Z

The Kentucky Wildcats did exactly what was expected of them Monday, winning the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 67-59 national championship win over the Kansas Jayhawks. Anthony Davis was just 1-10 from the field, but he still grabbed 16 rebounds and altered shots all game. That was representative of the Jayhawks' night; whatever they did, it just wasn't enough to stop this monstrous Kentucky team. March Madness ended as expected: In April, with Kentucky the last team standing.

Doron Lamb led all scorers with 22 points; Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor led Kansas with 18 and 19 points, while Robinson added 17 rebounds. But after a slow start—they fell behind 41-27 at the half—the Jayhawks simply couldn't make up the deficit against Kentucky.

For more on the 2012 NCAA National Championship, you're going to want to take a look at SB Nation's YouTube channel, which is filled with more analysis than you'll likely be able to watch in one sitting:

2012 National Championship, Kentucky Vs. Kansas Score Update: Thomas Robinson Struggles As Jayhawks Trail

2012-04-03T02:54:09Z

Thomas Robinson, the Kansas Jayhawks' unanimous AP All-American, has struggled along with the rest of his team as they trail the Kentucky Wildcats in a suffocating second-half of the 2012 NCAA National Championship; he's 4-14 with 10 points and eight rebounds as the Jayhawks attempt to fight through a double-digit deficit in a low-scoring contest. Anthony Davis's offensive struggles haven't been enough to dent the Wildcats, but without Robinson Kansas has little shot against the country's No. 1 team. Thus far it looks like Kansas's March Madness run might suffer an ignominious April end as they trail 46-30.

Overall the Jayhawks are just 12-39 from the field; they've managed to slow the pace, as is customary, but the Wildcats are the ones who've taken advantage; they held the Jayhawks to just 27 points in the first half.

For more on the 2012 NCAA National Championship, and all the great March Madness we've seen already, check out SB Nation's YouTube channel, which is filled with more analysis than you could reasonably watch in one sitting:

NCAA Final Four 2012, Kentucky Vs. Kansas: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

2012-04-02T14:51:38Z

Thomas Robinson of the Kansas Jayhawks has widely been considered the second best player in the nation this year, and if he wants to win a national championship on Monday night, he'll have to defeat the kid widely considered to be the first. The match up between the Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats won't come down to only Robinson vs. Kentucky's Anthony Davis (in fact, Davis likely won't even draw Robinson in one-on-one defense) but those two players will have everyone's eyes when the teams take the floor in New Orleans.

Robinson and senior guard Tyshawn Taylor bare most of the responsibility for getting the Kansas offense into gear, and both players will likely need to have stellar nights against a Wildcats team that boasts a handful of eventual NBA first round picks and even more scoring options. Taylor has been, to put it mildly, inconsistent in this year's tournament, but Kentucky's young backcourt of Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb aren't nearly as stout on defense as they are potent on offense, and if Taylor can find his shooting stroke, it would give the Jayhawks a much better chance at morphing from underdogs to champions.

Game time/date: Monday, April 2, 2012, 8:23 p.m. CT

Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.

TV: CBS

Odds: Kentucky by 6.5

For more on the title game, stick with SB Nation Chicago. For more on Kentucky head over to A Sea of Blue and for more on Kansas visit Rock Chalk Talk. For analysis, news and notes from around the country, check out SB Nation's college basketball news hub.

Final Four 2012: Kansas's Thomas Robinson A Unanimous All-American

2012-03-26T20:30:52Z

March Madness has been concentrated, by means of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, into this year's Final Four, and Kansas Jayhawks fans are probably too busy to notice, but it's happened anyway: Junior star Thomas Robinson has been named an AP All-American—more impressively, he was named that unanimously. After two years with limited playing time, Robinson has emerged in 2011-12 fully formed, averaging 17.7 points and 11.8 rebounds and finishing second in the Big 12 with a PER of 27.8.

With Markieff and Marcus Morris gone, Robinson was always a candidate to have this kind of season, but it's been impressive to watch anyway. Now, with just two games separating him from the National Championship, he has a chance to top his season off with a little Kansas immortality.

More NCAA Final Four coverage handpicked from SB Nation St. Louis:

Kansas needed a big second half from Tyshawn Taylor to escape their Elite Eight contest with North Carolina.
Click through for a complete Final Four schedule.
This is, of course, the Jayhawks' first Final Four berth since they were national champions.

2012 Final Four Reactions: Kansas, North Carolina Bloggers Digest Outcome

2012-03-26T16:00:55Z

The Kansas Jayhawks are back in the Final Four for the first time since winning it all in 2008, and even though the road to New Orleans was a bit rocky, Sunday's victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels should silence whatever doubters of Bill Self remained after a few disappointing showings in previous tournaments. Over at Rock Chalk Talk, SB Nation's Jayhawks blog, Kansas fans are celebrating with video of Kansas fans welcoming the team back to Allen Fieldhouse as well as some footage of Jayhawks fans in St. Louis.

For North Carolina, coaches, players and fans are mostly left pondering that eternal question: "what if?" What if Kendall Marshall, the engine of the Tar Heels' offense, hadn't broken his wrist prior to the Elite Eight? North Carolina, a team whose roster features arguably seven eventual first round draft picks, may have been the most talented team in the tournament, but they will always remember the 2012 NCAA Tournament for what may have been.

At Carolina March, SB Nation's Tar Heels blog, blogger T.H. is somber (who wouldn't be?) but admits that things did not just fall into place for this year's UNC team:

The speculation of who's going and staying can wait. This was a great team subjected to a bad season, and I'm more than happy to enjoy what they accomplished for a little while.

The Tar Heels may once again be a title favorite in 2013 if NBA Draft declarations shake out in their favor, or they may be forced to reload with young, albeit surely talented, recruits.

For more on all things March Madness, be sure to check out SB Nation's 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament hub.

Final Four 2012 Schedule: Kansas, Ohio State Draw Late Game Saturday

2012-03-26T14:00:42Z

It's a bittersweet time for college basketball fans, but the 2012 Final Four schedule is set after the Kansas Jayhawks and Kentucky Wildcats punched their tickets on Sunday to New Orleans. The first game of the Final Four will tip off on Saturday night, as the top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats take on the Louisville Cardinals at 5:09 p.m. CT. There's plenty of intrigue in this game, as Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino will be facing off against his old school in Kentucky.

The second Final Four game on Saturday pits a pair of No. 2 seeds, as Kansas, who won the St. Louis regional on Sunday, takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes. Tip-off between Kansas and Ohio State is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. CT.

The winners of each game will face off on Monday night to determine the 2012 Men's basketball champion.

Televised coverage for both games can be found on CBS.

For all things March Madness, be sure to head over to SB Nation's 2012 NCAA Men's tournament hub.