NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Kentucky Wildcats overcame a bad shooting night by Anthony Davis to beat Kansas 67-59 on Monday and take their eighth national college basketball title, and first for 14 years. The start-to-finish victory capped a season in which anything less than bringing a title back to the Bluegrass State would have been a disappointment. They led coach John Calipari to his first title in four trips to the Final Four with three different schools. Doron Lamb, touted as a possible first-round pick in the NBA draft, led the Wildcats with 22 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers that put them up by 16 with 10 minutes left. The Jayhawks, kings of the comeback all season, fought to the finish and trimmed that deficit to five with 1:37 left. But Kentucky made five late free throws to seal the win. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a contender for the No.1 pick along with Davis, was another headliner, creating space for himself to score all 11 of his points in the first half. Davis, meanwhile, might have had the most dominating six-point night in the history of college basketball, earning the nod as the most outstanding player. He finished with 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals — and made his only field goal with 5:13 left in the game. It was a surefire illustration of how he can exert his will on a game even on a rare night when the shots aren't falling. Another first-round draft prospect, freshman Marquis Teague, had 14 points. And yet another, Terrence Jones, had nine points, seven rebounds and two of Kentucky's 11 blocked shots. Kansas also has a likely early draft pick in Thomas Robinson. But he was harassed all night by Davis and Jones and finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds on a 6-for-17 shooting night. The Jayhawks, who recovered after trailing by double digits in three of five tournament games leading to the final, fell behind by 18 late in the first half of this one and this time, there was no big comeback to be made.
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