New Orleans —
This time Kansas couldn't come all the way back.
The gritty team that had walked a tightrope all the way to the national championship game finally fell off against mighty Kentucky. An 18-point deficit against a team full of future NBA draft picks was simply too much for the Jayhawks, who fell 67-59 on Monday night.
Kansas had rallied from big early deficits against Purdue and North Carolina State earlier in the tournament, giving some folks the feeling that things were meant to be this season.
Such a premonition gained support when the Jayhawks dug themselves out of a 13-point hole against Ohio State in the national semifinals, setting up a showdown with the team that has been anointed the national champions by most pundits most of the season.
Kansas hung tough through the opening minutes Monday night, but a lengthy run by the Wildcats midway through the first half turned a 23-17 lead into a 39-21 advantage.
It was all uphill from there for the Jayhawks.
Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 17 rebounds for Kansas, the All-American doing his best to spark a rally. But his points came almost entirely on volume — he was 6 of 17 from the field, harassed and harangued all game by Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis.
Kansas eventually did find a spark, making the closing minutes a bit interesting.
Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor, whose streaky shooting has been a sore spot for Kansas fans throughout his career, finally knocked down a 3-pointer to get things going. He added a three-point play moments later, and Robinson made two free throws to make it 59-52.
Kansas kept coming, and when Elijah Johnson hit a 3-pointer and Robinson made two more foul shots, Kentucky coach John Calipari began to look nervous for the first time all night.
"You have to give Kansas credit," Calipari said. "They didn't stop."
Across the scorer's table, coach Bill Self was marching up and down the Kansas sideline, exhorting his team to play defense and convert on offense. At one point he reminded his team there are no "13-point plays," and so the veteran Jayhawks kept chipping away at the advantage.
Taylor finally missed a shot with about a minute left, and Robinson squandered their best chance to make it a one-possession game when he couldn't corral a loose ball along the baseline.
Kentucky managed to coax the final few minutes off the clock — making the free throws that Calipari's Memphis team missed against Kansas in the 2008 title game — and ultimately finishing off the championship that had been expected of the Wildcats all along.
Kansas slowly trudged off the elevated floor inside the Superdome, a team that once rallied from 19 points down to beat Missouri and that had survived so many nip-and-tuck battles in the NCAA tournament left to wonder how things had gone so sour so early.
And what might have been had they kept it close the entire way.
Top Story
Related Photos
-
AP/David Phillip Kentucky head coach John Calipari celebrates with his team after the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against Kansas on Monday in New Orleans. Kentucky won 67-59.
Discussion
Kansas digs hole too deep against Kentucky
- Top Story
-
-
10 Things to Know for Thursday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
AAA: 31.2M drivers to take Memorial Day road trip
It's going to be another busy Memorial Day weekend on the nation's highways. From Thursday through Monday, 31.2 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more to a beach, campground or other getaway, according to car lobbying group AAA.
-
UK PM: Brutal London attack appears to be terror
LONDON — A brutal attack in broad daylight near a military barracks in London left one man dead and two suspects hospitalized Wednesday after a shootout with police. British Prime Minister David Cameron said the attack appeared to be terror related.
-
VIDEO: Orlando shootout tied to Boston bomb suspect
The FBI says it was involved in a fatal shooting near Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports that the victim was a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the Boston Marathon bombing.
-
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
Casey, Illinois aims for another world record
The town of Casey, Ill., may soon weave its way into the record books as the small town with the most world records. After setting records for the world’s largest wind chimes and the world’s largest golf tee, Casey is now looking to become home to the world’s largest knitting needles and crochet hook.
-
Afternoon Update: Fire chief says search almost complete in Oklahoma
The storm killed at least 24 people, including at least nine children.
-
2 children reported dead from Indianapolis fire
INDIANAPOLIS — Authorities say some autistic children lived in the Indianapolis condominium unit where a fire has killed two children.
-
Update: Oklahoma, other tornado-hit states brace for more
SHAWNEE, Okla. — When Lindsay Carter heard on the radio that a violent storm was approaching her rural Oklahoma neighborhood, she gathered her belongings and fled. When she returned, there was little left.
-
Taylor Swift wins 8 trophies at Billboard Awards
LAS VEGAS — Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.
-
10 Things to Know for Monday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday, May 20:
-
$590M-plus Powerball: 1 winning ticket sold in Florida
DES MOINES, Iowa — It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery officials said Sunday.
-
Powerball jackpot closing in on another record
DES MOINES, Iowa — Less than 10 months after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday's Powerball drawing was nearing historic territory once again.
-
N.Y. Giants honor Weatherford as ‘Man of the Year’
Dan Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, remembers the first time he saw Steve Weatherford as a freshman at Terre Haute North Vigo High School.
-
UPDATE: Fire damages buildings in downtown Greencastle
GREENCASTLE, Ind. — Fire badly damaged several buildings today near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.
-
10 tornadoes whip through North Texas; 6 dead
Ten tornadoes touched down in several small communities in North Texas overnight, leaving at least six people dead, dozens injured and hundreds homeless. Emergency responders were still searching for missing people Thursday afternoon.
-
MARK BENNETT: Local summer music series idea remains a good one
One-of-a-kind ideas happen rarely.
As the biblical adage goes, there is nothing new under the sun. We humans succeed occasionally, inventing electricity, automobiles, telephones and the Internet. Invariably, though, someone else insists, “Hey, my grandpa thought of that years before Edison.” -
Jolie: 'I do not feel any less of a woman'
Angelina Jolie says that she has had a preventive double mastectomy after learning she carried a gene that made it extremely likely she would get breast cancer.
-
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
Abortion doctor guilty in 3 babies' deaths
An abortion doctor was convicted Monday of first-degree murder and could face execution in the deaths of three babies who were born alive and then killed with scissors at his grimy, "house of horrors" clinic.
-
IHS announces lineup for Concerts on the Canal, reprise of 'Museum Nights on the Canal'
INDIANAPOLIS —There are plenty of ways to enjoy downtown Indianapolis in the summer, and the Indiana Historical Society is offering two — both time-honored favorite Concerts on the Canal and its Museum Nights on the Canal program.
-
Small tornado causes minor damage in southern Vigo County
Riley firefighters had just heard on the emergency scanner Thursday night that a tornado was nearby when they looked west of their firehouse on Indiana 159 and saw one traveling northwest across a field.
-
Update: Cleveland man arraigned on rape, kidnap charges
A Cleveland man was arraigned Thursday on charges of rape and kidnapping after three women missing for about a decade and one of their young daughters were found alive at his home earlier in the week.
-
Arias says in interview that she wants death
The jury has rendered its verdict — Jodi Arias is guilty of first-degree murder — but the trial is far from finished.
-
UPDATE: Mistrial declared in second Boswell murder trial
A second mistrial was declared this morning for a Riley man accused of the 1979 slaying of 20-year-old Kathy Jo Baker. Richard L. Boswell Jr., 55, was released today from the Vigo County Jail, where he had been held since his October 2010 arrest on charges of murder and attempted murder.
-
Deming Elementary second-grader receives new heart
The long wait for Katelyn Newell has finally ended. Wednesday evening, she successfully underwent heart transplant surgery at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
-
Levee fails, Wabash River floodwaters inundate Prairieton farmland
A Vigo County official says a levee has failed near the flooded Wabash River, allowing floodwaters to inundate farmland near the town of Prairieton and isolating about two dozen homes.
-
Boston bombings probe turns to wider terrorist ties
Authorities said they will examine every scrap of evidence, including text messages and cell phone calls, to determine if an organized terrorist group encouraged two brothers from Russia to plant bombs at the Boston Marathon, then engage police in two bloody shootouts before one was killed and the other captured Friday.
-
UPDATE: Boston police: Bombing suspect is in custody
A 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings was taken into custody Friday evening after a manhunt that left the city virtually paralyzed and his older brother and accomplice dead.
- More Top Story Headlines
-
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Today in History May 22
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
