The combatants are set for the NCAA Basketball Championship game on Monday in Arlington, Texas. Connecticut (UConn) will play Kentucky for the title. Connecticut overcame a slow start to beat Florida, the final remaining top seed, 63-53. Kentucky earned their spot by winning a great game over Wisconsin 74-73.
Florida came out strong at the beginning of their semifinal game with UConn, taking a 16-4 lead halfway through the first half. But the Huskies finished the half on 21-6 run of their own. So at halftime, the big early deficit for UConn became a 25-22 lead. It didn’t get any better for the Gators in the second half. UConn shot 56% from the field in the game, and 5 for 12 of 3-pointers, while Florida shot just 39% overall, and hit only 1 of 10 3-pointers.
DeAndre Daniels led the Huskies with 20 points and 10 rebounds, as they advanced to the championship game as a #7 seed in their region. This loss for the Gators ended a 30-game winning streak. Florida only had 3 assists in the entire game. The last team to beat Florida…was UConn back on December 2nd 65-64. After a great season, Florida must be having nightmares about the Huskies.
Kentucky returned to the championship game, which they won 2 years ago over Kansas 67-59. This was a back and forth game the whole way. #2 seed Wisconsin took an 8-point lead early in the 2nd half, but Kentucky proceeded to go on a 15-0 run. The Wildcats’ 7-point lead didn’t last long as the Badgers fought back to take the lead.
With the game tied at 71, Wisconsin’s Traevon Jackson was fouled by Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison as he attempted a 3-point shot with 15 seconds remaining, giving him 3 free throws. An excellent free throw shooter, Jackson however missed one of them. Kentucky trailed by 2 as Aaron Harrison, the twin brother of Andrew, made a long 3-pointer, to give the Wildcats a 1 point lead with 5.7 seconds left.
Jackson put up a last second shot that missed, and Kentucky was on their way for a chance to win their 2nd title in 3 years. They were ranked #1 in the preseason, with all their incoming freshman stars, but eventually fell out of the Top 25, and became a #8 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Monday’s championship game features the lowest seeded combination of teams to ever play in the title game. In fact, neither of these teams were even in the NCAA tournament last year. UConn is no stranger to championships though. They won the title in 2011, as well as back in 1999 and 2004. Kentucky will be playing to win their 9th men’s NCAA basketball championship.
I haven’t been very good at picking winners in this tournament, like almost every else, but how many people really picked UConn over Florida? I’m going with Kentucky to win the championship on Monday, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if Connecticut prevailed.
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