National Basketball Association
Kentucky 82, Baylor 70
When: 2:20 PM ET, Sunday, March 25, 2012
Where: Georgia Dome , Atlanta, Georgia
Officials:
# Les Jones, # Bryan Kersey, # Mike Stuart
Attendance:
24035
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 1 Kentucky 82, No. 3 Baylor 70: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and the top-seed Wildcats dominated the Bears to win the South Regional at the Georgia Dome.
The victory sets up an all-Bluegrass State match-up in the Final Four on Saturday in New Orleans. Kentucky (36-2) will face Louisville in the national semifinal. The Wildcats beat the Cardinals 69-62 on Dec. 31.
The Wildcats took control Sunday after a slow start. Baylor (30-8) jumped out to a 10-5 lead before Kentucky scored 16 unanswered points, part of a 33-7 surge that buried the Bears. Kidd-Gilchrist scored six of the 16 points and his basket with 11:30 left in the first half gave the Wildcats a 21-10 advantage.
Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 of the next 17 Kentucky points, and two Anthony Davis' free throws with 3:52 left in the half put the Wildcats ahead 38-17.
Davis added 18 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. He injured his left knee early in the second half, but the national player-of-the-year candidate returned to action.
Terrence Jones scored 12 points and had nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks for the Wildcats, who are in the Final Four for the 15th time. Kentucky sits two victories from its first national championship since 1998.
Kentucky’s defense limited Baylor to one-for-four shooting from 3-point range in the first half. The Bears hit just two shots from the field in the final 10 minutes of the half.
Quincy Acy led the Bears with 22 points. Pierre Jackson added 21 points. Baylor trailed 42-22 at halftime and by 23 points in the second half, but got within 10 points in the final minute.
Top Game Performances
| Baylor |
|
Kentucky |
|
Quincy Acy 22 |
Scoring |
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 19 |
|
Pierre Jackson 5 |
Assists |
Terrence Jones 6 |
|
Quincy Acy 8 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Davis 11 |
|
Quincy Acy 8 |
Free Throws Made |
Doron Lamb 7 |
|
Deuce Bello 2 |
Steals |
Anthony Davis 2 |
|
Quincy Acy 2 |
Blocks |
Anthony Davis 6 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Baylor
|
70 |
39.1 |
4-14 |
16-19 |
15 |
29 |
5 |
5 |
14 |
| Kentucky
|
82 |
53.3 |
4-9 |
30-44 |
15 |
29 |
9 |
9 |
13 |
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