2012 NCAA Tournament

Final Four betting odds: Kentucky and Ohio State proving Las Vegas sports books prophetic: March 25, 2012; By Case Keefer; A day before the NCAA Tournament began two weeks ago, Las Vegas oddsmakers saw Kentucky vs. Ohio State as the most likely national championship matchup. Sports books aren’t changing their position with the Wildcats and Buckeyes one victory away from playing for the title. After Sunday’s Elite Eight games, sports books across the valley opened Kentucky and Ohio State as favorites in their national semifinal contests Saturday in New Orleans.

KU and UK join Louisville and Ohio St. in Final 4: March 25, 2012; Eddie Pellis, AP National Writer; The Final Four is set. In one game Saturday, Kentucky will play Louisville in an intrastate rivalry that puts Cardinals coach Rick Pitino against the school he once coached, then later alienated by returning to the Bluegrass to lead its archrival. In the other semifinal, it will be Ohio State and Kansas, meeting for only the ninth time in their history but for the second time this season. The Jayhawks won the first game 78-67 in Lawrence, Kan., back on Dec. 10. It was the first time the teams had met since 2000.

Taylor's 22 lead KU to 80-67 win over Carolina: March 25, 2012; Nancy Armour, AP National Writer; Tyshawn Taylor came out of his slump in a big way, scoring 22 points to lead Kansas to an 80-67 victory over North Carolina on Saturday that returned the Jayhawks to the Final Four for the first time since winning it all in 2008.

Kentucky beats Baylor 82-70 in South Regional: March 25, 2012; Paul Newberry, AP Sports Writer; Top-seeded Kentucky cruised into the Final Four for the second year in a row, blitzing Baylor with a dominating first half on the way to an 82-70 rout at the South Regional on Sunday.

Louisville in Final 4 with 72-68 win over Florida: March 24, 2012; Eddie Pellis, AP National Writer; Rick Pitino nudged out Billy Donovan for a spot in the Final Four on Saturday when his Louisville team finished the game on a 23-8 run for a 72-68 victory over Florida in the West Regional.

Kansas stops late rally from NC State, wins 60-57: March 23, 2012; Associated Press; Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to finish one shy of the NCAA tournament record, and No. 2 seed Kansas held on to beat North Carolina State 60-57 Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's 24 points lead Kentucky past Indiana: March 23, 2012; Associated Press; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 24 points and Kentucky shook off a quiet night by freshman star Anthony Davis, pulling away from Indiana in a showdown of storied programs for a 102-90 victory Friday in the South Regional semifinals.

Baylor fights off Xavier, North Carolina tops Ohio in OT: March 23, 2012; Associated Press; Quincy Acy, the only senior in Baylor's starting lineup, had a double-double to lift the Bears past Xavier 75-70 and into its second regional final in three years.

Ohio State ousts Cincinnati, Florida beats Marquette to win West Region final: March 22, 2012; Associated Press; Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points and Jared Sullinger had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead second-seeded Ohio State to an 81-66 victory over No. 6 seed Cincinnati on Thursday night, putting the Buckeyes in the East Regional finals. Bradley Beal pushed Florida a win away from the Final Four and set up Billy Donovan with a perfectly scripted matchup against his old coach and boss, Rick Pitino, after a 68-58 victory over Marquette.

Syracuse, Louisville advance in NCAA Tournament: March 22, 2012; Associated Press; C.J. Fair broke out of a scoring slump with 15 points and top-seeded Syracuse held on for a 64-63 victory over fourth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday night in the East Regional semifinals, while Gorgui Dieng swatted away the West Region's top seed to send Rick Pitino into another regional final.

Cinderella a no show as basketball powerhouses dominate tournament: March 19, 2012; By Eddie Pells, Associated Press; This is a different kind of one and done. Instead of three weeks filled with upsets, small schools and all those other feel-good stories that make March Madness so special, basketball fans only get one this year.

Cincinnati beats Florida State 62-56 to advance: March 19, 2012; By Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press; Dion Dixon and the Cincinnati Bearcats are making it an Ohio party in the NCAA tournament, giving the Buckeye State four teams in the final 16. Next up, the sixth-seeded Bearcats play Ohio State for only the second time since beating the Buckeyes in 1961 and 1962 for back-to-back national championships.

Xavier rallies to beat Lehigh 70-58, advances to South Region semifinals: March 19, 2012; By Viv Bernstein, New York Times News Service; Lehigh players received a standing ovation from the crowd at Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday when they sat down to watch a portion of North Carolina's game against Creighton before the Mountain Hawks faced Xavier in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Johnson rescues Jayhawks in 63-60 win over Purdue: March 19, 2012; By Blair Kerkhoff, McClatchy Newspapers; For 37 minutes on Sunday, Kansas' NCAA Tournament existence was on life support, and then the strangest thing happened. Elijah Johnson broke into a grin. Tyshawn Taylor saw it and knew something good was about to happen.

Analysis: Five reasons to be optimistic about UNLV basketball next season: March 19, 2012; By Ray Brewer; The dust has already begun to settle from the UNLV basketball team’s collapse to close the season.