Kansas' Run Ends In New Orleans

     On March 31, the Kansas Jayhawks played the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Semifinal game of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The Jayhawks met the Buckeyes on December 10 in Lawrence defeated them 78-67. The Buckeyes did not have Jared Sullinger playing in that game which contributed to the double-digit loss. At halftime of this game Kansas was down 34-25. The Jayhawks rallied back in the second half outscoring the Buckeyes 39-28 and defeating the Buckeyes 64-62. Massachusetts Street in Lawrence was flooded with an estimated total of 20,000 students and crazed fans of Kansas. The Jayhawks would face the winner if the other National Semifinal between Kentucky and Louisville. Kentucky defeated Louisville 69-61; the National Championship was going to be a coaching rematch between Bill Self and John Calipari. Kansas and Kentucky would meet up on Monday April 2 to decide the National Championship.

     Two college basketball blue-bloods would play for the National Championship, with 11 combined championships and the two teams with the most all-time wins. In the first half, Kentucky pulled out to a 14 point lead at half and the Jayhawk faithful felt very uneasy about their chances in the second half. The halftime score was 41-27. Bill Self has pulled off miracles in big games before and the players were not going to out without a fight. The second half began with a small Kansas run to be answered by a couple of three point shots and Kansas would hang around a ten-point deficit most of the half. Kansas had it down to single-digits deficit a couple of times but turnovers and Deron Lamb three pointers would send the Jayhawks down double-digits for the remainder of the game. Kansas had the better second half but the first half deficit is what the Jayhawks downfall was. The final score was 67-59, ending with Kentucky cutting down the nets. Kansas's Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 17 rebounds in his final collegiate game. Kansas had a very good tournament run by defying the odds and the commentators beliefs to make it to a game that nobody thought they could get to. Even with the loss, fans will still count this year as a tremendous success.