Final Four

The looks on their faces seemed to be more of relief than elation. Pegged as one of two overwhelming favorites in October (North Carolina being the other), and the prohibitive favorite entering the NCAA tournament, a season without a national title would have been a disappointment for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Mission accomplished. 

The question of what can be learned from a prior regular season meeting can be a tricky one, especially when there's been so much time in between meetings. No. 1 seed Kentucky (37-2) and No. 2 seed Kansas (32-6) will meet on Monday night for the national title, a rematch of their November 15th meeting at the Champions Classic in New York.

(1) Kentucky vs. (4) Louisville

 

Records

(2) Ohio State vs. (2) Kansas

 

Records

New Orleans will host America's premier college sporting event - the NCAA Final Four - from March 31st to April 2nd, 2012.

 

Below is a basic schedule of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, including dates and venues. Also check out the 2012 NCAA Tournament TV Schedule, which includes preliminary starting times for CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV.

 

Given the defensive numbers that both Butler and Connecticut boasted going into Monday night's matchup for the national title few expected a high-scoring contest. But what ensued at Reliant Stadium was stunning, as a game that featured just 17 turnovers combined (11 for the Huskies) looked far uglier than anyone expected. Thanks to their dominance scoring inside and a good job of challenging shots, Jim Calhoun's team won the school's third national title by the final score of 53-41.

9:23 PM (CBS) (8) Butler (28-9) vs. (3) Connecticut (31-9)

The end of the college basketball season is here, for better or worse, and the national title game matches a pair of teams few expected to get to this point on Selection Sunday much less at any point during the regular season. The Butler Bulldogs are back where they saw their season end a year ago, and if Gordon Hayward's half-court shot were a few centimeters to the left we're talking about a possible repeat.

On March 19th two teams advanced out of the Washington, D.C. subregional, making their way to the Sweet 16. And on Monday night those two teams, Butler and Connecticut, will play for the national title.

In the first game of the night in Houston, Butler was able to withstand an early barrage of VCU three pointers to take a six-point lead into the intermission. After an even start the Bulldogs allowed themselves to be drawn into the Rams' hectic style of play, breaking the pressure for three pointers instead of attacking the rim.

(4) Kentucky vs. (3) Connecticut 8:49 PM (CBS)

How they got here
Kentucky (East Region champions)
W 59-57 over (13) Princeton
W 71-63 over (5) West Virginia
W 62-60 over (1) Ohio State
W 76-69 over (2) North Carolina

Connecticut (West Region champions)
W 81-52 over (14) Bucknell
W 69-58 over (6) Cincinnati
W 74-67 over (2) San Diego State
W 65-63 over (5) Arizona