Kentucky: 2022 Citrus Bowl Champions

ORLANDO – The entire story of Kentucky’s dramatic 20-17 come-from-behind victory over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day could be summed up in one stark image.

Minutes into a post-game press conference with coach Mark Stoops and offensive stalwarts Will Levis and Wan'Dale Robinson, in hobbled linebacker DeAndre Square.

Sporting crutches, barefoot, and still in uniform and pads, the linebacker who sealed the victory with a last-second interception made his way to the front of the room. The reverence from the three Kentucky alpha males at the table was palpable as Stoops excused himself from the room and Levis slid over a seat so that Square could ease into a chair.

Square wasn’t just the hero of the day. He is the epitome of Kentucky’s football program – gritty, determined, never-say-die.

Square, you see, was one of just a few linebackers available to Kentucky for the Citrus Bowl. Leading tackler Jacquez Jones was out as was standout freshman Trevin Wallace. D'Eryk Jackson, who just returned from ACL surgery, was forced into the starting lineup along with Square.

But then Square became injured, the linebacker corps was officially decimated, and Iowa came roaring back to take a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter. All appeared lost.

“DeAndre got hurt, but he knew he couldn't come out,” Stoops said. “We were getting thin, and the way he played through that pain, I don't know how he did it. It just says a lot about this team.”

Square, in fact, was officially ruled out of action. Trainer Gabe Amponsah had taken his helmet. But then teammate Marquan McCall, UK’s massive nose guard, entered the picture.

“I was in a lot of pain still,” Square confessed, “but Marquan helped me out a lot. I was ruled out, and I was kind of debating on, I was like, okay. I am trying to wait for certain stuff to kick in. But Marquan grabbed me. He like yanked me and was like, ‘We need you.’ And then something clicked at that moment.

“I told Gabe to give me my helmet,” Square said. “He was like, ‘No, we got to see you run first.’ And when I ran I didn't feel any pain. I just could run, so I grabbed my helmet.”

Square needed just one play for a dose of reality.

“First play,” he said, “I was like, ‘No, this hurts.’”

He stayed in the game for a lot of reasons.

“It was a lot of emotion because I was ruled out. I wasn't even supposed to come back in,” Square said. “But coach Stoops had talked about doing something bigger than yourself, and all I could think about is my teammates. I saw the way the game was going, and I just felt like I needed to step in no matter how I was feeling. We got a lot of days of rest. I can rest up, so I didn't care.”

Throughout Square’s description, Levis was shaking his head in a combination of disbelief and pride.

“It takes a lot of heart to do something like that,” Levis said, voice cracking. “It is kind of like a storybook ending. He gets ruled out, goes back in there. To go back out there, not only just to play, but to get the game-stealing interception. You make an acrobatic play like that? Just a storybook ending. I am so happy for him and he deserves all the recognition.”

The question was posed: Who had the better catch, Square’s interception or Robinson’s diving grab on third-and-26? The offensive guys pointed at Square in unison.

“I was in coverage,” Square said. “Once I look back, I saw the running back, and I am like, ‘Oh, wow. If he catches it, I am going to have to make a tough tackle. I wasn't even looking at the ball, and I saw something flying and I am like, 'Whoa, there is the ball.’ I was like, ‘OK, do I just let it fall or am I close enough to catch it? I am like, I am close enough to catch it.’ So I just get under and it fit right in the pocket. I didn't have to do anything. It fit perfectly.”

A storybook ending indeed.

Kentucky: 2021 Gator Bowl Champions

Despite its best efforts to give the game away down the stretch, Kentucky held on for its third straight postseason victory of the Mark Stoops era. UK withstood a series of self-inflicted errors to overcome N.C. State 23-21 in the 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Senior A.J. Rose rushed for a career-high 148 yards on just 12 carries, but 10 penalties for a total of 103 yards — including a trio of them in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter with UK clinging to a 16-14 advantage — kept the Wolfpack within striking distance throughout the second half after the Cats built a 13-0 lead before the break.

An interception off a deflected pass by Jamin Davis — his third of the season — gave way to a 26-yard touchdown run by Chris Rodriguez with 2:55 left. His second score more or less put the game out of reach for N.C. State, which was able to answer that touchdown with 1:10 remaining but couldn’t recover an onside kick.

“We just wanted to refuse to lose the game, honestly,” Davis said of the moments leading up to his interception. “We just wanted to keep our backs against the wall and let nobody take it from us. That’s the same thing that we’ve been preached to do all year, if the ball is in the air then it’s our ball. That was my mindset, to keep playing and ice the game.”

Terry Wilson, likely starting his final game as UK’s quarterback, finished 12 of 20 for 99 yards. He rushed for 14 yards on six carries.

Kentucky finished its season 5-6, and won a third bowl game in as many seasons for just the second time in school history (2006-2008 was the other time). This was its first postseason victory amid a pandemic, of course.

“It’s unfortunate that the season is over, but it felt good to end on that win like we did,” said Rose, who was named Kentucky’s MVP for the game. “… It’s been a long year, a tough year, due to these COVID restrictions and everything that’s going around, but I feel like we managed and did a great job of keeping players safe and keeping those around us safe.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Kentucky’s first drive ended in three points after it converted a fourth-and-1 on a Rodriguez rush to N.C. State’s 14-yard line. Wilson started 4-for-4 passing before missing short on a throw to Josh Ali in the end zone for a would-be touchdown right after that conversion, and the Cats eventually settled for a Matt Ruffolo field goal.

Brandin Echols quickly gave Kentucky the ball back after recording his first interception of the season and returning it to midfield. The Cats were unable to convert on fourth-and-1 this time, though, and turned the ball over to the Wolfpack at their own 29.

N.C. State followed with a short, fruitless drive of its own before each team had slightly longer possessions that ended without points. Kentucky broke the streak with a six-play, 79-yard streak down the field capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from Rodriguez.

The Wolfpack marched 52 yards on 14 plays but were forced to settle for a field-goal try from Kentucky’s 23; safety Ty Ajian got a finger on the ball as it went up and it fell a couple yards short as a result. A couple of big gains — a 31-yard burst from Rose and a 23-yard connection from Wilson to Keaton Upshaw — set Kentucky up in the red zone but it was only able to tack on a second field goal right before halftime.

A 30-yard kickoff return by Zonovan Knight put N.C. State at its own 32, from where it traveled to 23 before an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty forced a third-and-23 try. The Wolfpack got 13 yards back but Christopher Dunn was wide right on a 43-yard kick, leaving them scoreless. Kentucky didn’t travel far on its ensuing series before punting.

UK lost Echols for the game midway through the third quarter after he and teammate Vito Tisdale collided with one another while trying to tackle an N.C. State receiver. His exit left UK without a single cornerback who started a game during the regular season; Carrington Valentine started in place of Cedrick Dort, who was “medically unavailable” on Saturday. N.C. State finally got on the board on the drive where UK lost Echols, as Bailey Hockman hit C.J. Riley for a touchdown on a fourth-and-6 pass from UK’s 9-yard line.

Kentucky stalled out at the Wolfpack’s 44 but pinned them inside the 5-yard line on Max Duffy’s next punt. They didn’t get much further before punting to Ali, who caught it at UK’s 38. UK moved into N.C. State turf on its next trip but elected to punt on fourth-and-2 from State’s 40, and it was downed at the 13.

The Cats’ offense got back to action immediately after Yusuf Corker intercepted Hockman at N.C. State’s 42. A 27-yard rush by Rose set Kentucky up at the Wolfpack’s 3-yard line but the Cats couldn’t punch it in. Ruffolo went 3-for-3 on field-goal tries with a 20-yard kick to extend the lead to 16-7 with 5:45 left.

Two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a late-hit penalty put N.C. State at UK’s 8, and Knight capitalized with a touchdown run to bring the Wolfpack within two at 16-14 less than a minute later. They halted Kentucky again but would never get closer than that margin.

Kentucky: 2019 Belk Bowl Champions

The University of Kentucky’s 2019 football season is in the books.

UK ended its latest campaign with a victory over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl, securing its 11th season with at least eight wins and building a four-game win streak as the calendar turns over.

The Wildcats open next season against Eastern Michigan at Kroger Field on Sept. 5. They’ll look to extend their run of postseason appearances to five straight years, a feat that the program has accomplished only one time before (from 2006-2010).

What else should Kentucky fans look forward to in 2020? Here are three big things.

TERRY WILSON’S RETURN
So much of the excitement around this year’s squad was sparked by the play of Lynn Bowden, whose move to quarterback midway through the season was precipitated by injuries to incumbent starter Terry Wilson and backup Sawyer Smith.

Smith was reportedly healthy enough to start UK’s last few games, and made some appearances down the stretch, but the staff opted to allow Bowden to carry them to the postseason. Their decision paid off, but he’ll be lost to the NFL Draft come April.

Mark Stoops said Monday that he expects Wilson, who suffered a tear of the patellar tendon in his left leg in Kentucky’s second game of the year, to be available at the start of next season. If Wilson is at full strength, he presumably would be the Wildcats’ starter once more.

That would be an ideal proposition: Wilson was the starter in every game of Kentucky’s historic 10-3 campaign and looked more comfortable as a passer before his junior season was cut short. He was 33-of-52 for 360 yards and two touchdown passes, and had run for 44 yards and a TD.

Wilson was one of the most efficient passers in the Southeastern Conference in his first go-around with the Wildcats. If his legs are underneath him once again and that level of efficiency persists, Kentucky’s offense could come out of the gate strong next fall.

EXPERIENCE EVERYWHERE
The team’s biggest area of concern entering 2019 was its secondary. That turned out to be overblown — in part because of the return of Cedrick Dort and the addition of junior-college transfer Brandin Echols, who blossomed into stars at cornerback.

Production at the running back position wasn’t as worrisome, as A.J. Rose had shown flashes of brilliance in relief of Benny Snell, and Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke had seen the field as true freshmen, but none are the bullies that Snell was. Bowden stole the spotlight, but they shouldered much of the rushing burden as well and combined for nearly 2,000 yards.

If you count Wilson, Kentucky could have as many as 19 starters back next year. A couple of guys — nose guard Quinton Bohanna and offensive tackle Landon Young — could leave early for the NFL Draft — but theirs are positions where UK has groomed possible replacements. The return of Davonte Robinson, a defensive back who suffered a torn quad before fall camp, will help mitigate the graduation of safety Jordan Griffin.

Belk Bowl hero Josh Ali is one of three returning receivers who caught a touchdown in a season short on receptions (so did Bryce Oliver and Clevan Thomas, in addition to tight end Keaton Upshaw).

UK will miss departing seniors Calvin Taylor and T.J. Carter, even more so if Bohanna is out of the equation, but the same was said of Josh Allen last year and Kentucky’s staff managed to figure things out. The defensive line appears to be the early pick for “biggest area of worry,” but otherwise there should be several familiar faces around.

OPPORTUNITY
With the talent coming back and an offseason’s worth of work, there’s a path to 2020 being a season equivalent to 2018 — or better.

Florida and Georgia will be picked ahead of Kentucky in the preseason. Accept that for what it is, but don’t forget that — despite only having one win to show for it — Kentucky has closed the gap considerably with Florida, to whom they’ll travel for the second game of the season. The Bulldogs are another animal, but one that UK’s staff is well aware needs to be toppled for it to keep rising. They’ll come to Lexington next year, so that helps.

A rare trip to Auburn is on the docket, and that happens to be the site of UK’s last win in the series (21-14 in 2009). A scheduling quirk put the last two games — each a three-point win in the Tigers’ favor — in Lexington. It’s a chance for UK to earn a prestige win — and might be even spicier if former Auburn quarterback Joey Gatewood somehow gets ruled eligible next fall.

It’s a much tougher schedule, on paper, than this year, but one that Kentucky should be able to navigate with a much healthier situation at quarterback. And one that, if the dominoes fall in their favor, could yield impressive returns.

2020 UK FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Home games in all capital letters. Kickoff times to be announced later.

Sept. 5: EASTERN MICHIGAN

Sept. 12: at Florida

Sept. 19: KENT STATE

Sept. 26: SOUTH CAROLINA

Oct. 3: at Auburn

Oct. 10: EASTERN ILLINOIS

Oct. 17: VANDERBILT

Oct. 24: at Missouri

Oct. 31: Open

Nov. 7: at Tennessee

Nov. 14: MISSISSIPPI STATE

Nov. 21: GEORGIA

Nov. 28: at Louisville

Kentucky: 2019 Citrus Bowl Champions

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Winning 10 games, beating Penn State on New Year's Day, and finishing in the Top 20 is no small deal for the Kentucky Wildcats.

So when Mark Stoops took a seat on the podium flanked by linebacker Josh Allen and running back Benny Snell Jr. after Tuesday's 27-24 victory in the Citrus Bowl, the coach understandably was beyond excited.

"It was extremely important to this team, to all of us, to come home with some hardware, to come home with a trophy," Stoops said.

Snell ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns to become Kentucky's career rushing leader and helped the 16th-ranked Wildcats end their best season in more than four decades on a winning note.

"There's no question that these guys changed the culture," Stoops said. "They've done so much and meant so much to this team and this program that it was very important to finish, to collect the trophy, win 10 games and win a game on New Year's Day. Believe me, we had a great belief that we didn't have to do anything special (to win), just be us."

Snell scored on runs of 2 and 12 yards in the second half, then carried for a couple of crucial first downs to help Kentucky (10-3) run out the clock after Penn State's Trace McSorley trimmed a 27-7 deficit to three points despite playing with a foot injury.

McSorley threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and the Nittany Lions' career passing and wins leader also rushed for a team-high 75 yards and one TD.

"The same thing that troubled us throughout the season troubled us here again today. Dropped balls, missed opportunities. That's really kind of the story of the game," said Penn State coach James Franklin, whose team started slowly on offense, missed one field goal and had another blocked.

Lynn Bowden Jr. scored on a 58-yard punt return for Kentucky. Allen, the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, had three of the Wildcats' six sacks.

"The three guys we knew we needed to stop were Bowden, Snell and Allen. All three of them showed up today," Franklin said.

"They've built their program around those guys, they built their season around those guys," Franklin added. "They made plays. That's what great players do."

Penn State (9-4) trailed 27-7 entering the fourth quarter, but McSorley's wasn't finished. His 1-yard TD run capped a 75-yard drive, and he followed with an 18-yard TD pass to Pat Friermuth to cut Kentucky's lead to six.

The Nittany Lions marched to the Kentucky 14 on their next possession and pulled within 27-24 with 4:12 left.

Thanks to Snell, a junior who already has declared for the NFL draft, McSorley didn't get the ball back until just one second was left on the clock.

Franklin declined to discuss specifics of McSorley's injury.

"We don't typically get into specifics. ... Obviously Trace was experiencing some discomfort. The doctors felt like he could go, but it really just came down to Trace on how Trace felt," Franklin said.

McSorley, who was to undergo further evaluation, said he hadn't received "definitive information" on whether his foot was broken.

"I've been through too much, the team has been through too much. ... They told me it was a matter of if I could deal with the discomfort," the quarterback said. "If I could do that, I was going to play."

HISTORIC SEASON

Kentucky finished with its first 10-win season since 1977 -- when the Wildcats went 10-1 -- and just the third time in program history. The school also did it in 1950. Snell, meanwhile, broke Sonny Collins' career rushing record on his 12-yard TD run that made it 27-7 late in the third quarter. Collins rushed for 3,835 yards from 1972-75.

THE TAKEAWAY

Kentucky: Facing a tradition-rich opponent in a New Year's bowl was significant for the Wildcats, who made the most of the opportunity. Along with the three sacks, Allen blocked a field goal to key a strong defensive effort, while the offense shrugged off a slow start to help the Wildcats pull away in the second half.

Penn State: The Nittany Lions fell short of their goal to finish with 10 wins in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 1980-82. Three of their four losses were by a total of eight points.

UP NEXT

Kentucky: Wildcats look to build on success they've had under coach Mark Stoops, who has transformed them into a Top 25 team. Their 5-3 record in SEC play represented their first winning mark in the league in 41 years, spawning heightened expectations for 2019.

Penn State: Nittany Lions face challenge of replacing McSorley, the school's career leader for wins, completions, passing yards, passing TDs, total offense and rushing TDs by a quarterback.

Kentucky: 2017-18 Southeastern Men's Basketball Champions

ST. LOUIS -- John Calipari kept telling anyone who would listen that this group of Kentucky freshmen just needed a little more time than most to figure things out.

That faith was shaken when the Wildcats lost four straight games last month. But they delivered on their coach's optimism on Sunday.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points, and Kentucky beat No. 13 Tennessee 77-72 for its fourth straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship.

It's the 31st title in tournament history for the Wildcats, whose No. 4 seed in the event was the lowest in Calipari's nine seasons at the school. The Wildcats (24-10) were one defeat away last month from what would have been the longest losing streak in the Calipari era, but they have won seven of eight since -- including their first in three tries this season against the No. 2 seed Volunteers.

All in all, it's a Kentucky group that appears primed for next week's NCAA Tournament.

"A month ago, I wasn't sure we'd be in the tournament," Calipari said. "And then I had to ask ... `Does everybody get to go to the SEC tournament?' I wasn't even sure we'd get here. But I come back to this: We needed to lose those games. We needed to lose four in a row."

Despite racing to a 17-point lead in the first half Sunday, the Wildcats' seemingly annual SEC Tournament coronation was delayed by a Tennessee team trying to win its first title in almost 40 years.

But Gilgeous-Alexander capped his tournament Most Valuable Player performance by hitting the clinching free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining, sending the overwhelmingly Kentucky crowd of 18,974 into a wild celebration. The freshman guard finished 10 of 16 from the field with seven rebounds and a pair of steals.

Kevin Knox had 18 points for the Wildcats, and Quade Green finished with 10.

"Shai has the ball in his hands a lot during the game, and he's really grown over the year and be able to get his points and get other people involved," Knox said. "I think right now he's playing his best basketball because he's one of our leaders."

Admiral Schofield had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee (25-8), which was attempting to win its first tournament championship since 1979. Grant Williams added 15 points, while Jordan Bone scored 12 and Lamonte Turner had 10.

COLD-SHOOTING VOLS

A night after hitting 11 of their first 12 shots and 76 percent (19 of 25) in the first half of a semifinal win over Arkansas , the Volunteers didn't fare nearly as well early on Sunday. They made only five of their first 25 shots and fell behind 33-16 midway through the first half. Schofield, however, responded by scoring Tennessee's final 13 points of the half, capping a 15-3 run that pulled the Volunteers within 36-31 at halftime.

"We started the game and dug ourselves a hole and, obviously, they were making some shots," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "We weren't playing the way we were capable of; we just weren't locked in."

BIG PICTURE



Kentucky: The championship game appearance was the fifth straight for the Wildcats and their eighth in nine seasons under Calipari. Kentucky is 22-3 in the SEC Tournament under Calipari.

Tennessee: The Volunteers were picked to finish 13th in the SEC during the preseason, but they finished as the co-regular-season champions with No. 16 Auburn. Regardless of Sunday's result, Tennessee already had a spot in next week's NCAA Tournament. The trip will make Tennessee the fourth school Barnes has taken to the tournament, joining Providence, Clemson and Texas.

UP NEXT

Both teams wait on their NCAA Tournament opponents.

Kentucky: 2016-17 Southeastern Men’s Basketball Champions

De'Aaron Fox scored 18 points, and No. 8 Kentucky won its third straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship by beating Arkansas 82-65 on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

The Wildcats (29-5) added their 30th tournament title all-time to their 48 regular season championships in convincing fashion.

The Razorbacks couldn't string together points the way they usually do, not with Kentucky answering every big bucket with its own run. The big spurt came as Kentucky scored 13 straight points to end the first half and into the opening minute of the second that turned a three-point lead to a 46-30 edge.

Arkansas (25-9) fell to 1-6 in this championship, having lost to Kentucky for the second time in three years.

The game got very chippy inside the final couple minutes after Arkansas hit six straight shots, the last a 3-pointer by Jaylen Barford, to pull within nine for the only time in the second half.

Dusty Hannahs was given a flagrant foul for knocking Kentucky guard Dominique Hawkins to the court with his forearms, then Moses Kingsley went to the locker room with 1:02 left for his physical foul of Fox in the paint.

Kentucky finished by outscoring Arkansas 9-1, the final points a 3 by Fox.

Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo each finished with 17 points, and Hawkins added 14 for Kentucky.

Daryl Macon led the Razorbacks with 18 points, Hannahs had 14 and Barford 13.

Kentucky started much quicker than the Wildcats have in recent games, never trailing by more than two in a fast-paced first half that featured four ties and six lead changes. Arkansas last led at 18-17 midway through the half before Monk scored to put Kentucky ahead for good.

When Macon hit a 3-pointer with 3:33 left to pull Arkansas within 33-30, the Wildcats took over.

Derek Willis hit Kentucky's first 3-pointer after the Wildcats missed their first four, Hawkins followed with another and Mychal Mulder beat the buzzer with a 3 for a 42-30 halftime lead.

Adebayo started the second half with two free throws and a layup to push Kentucky's lead to 16 points. The Wildcats pushed that to as much as 19 to finish off another title.

Kentucky Wildcats: 2015-16 SEC Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Derek Willis's 3-pointer with 1:01 left in overtime put Kentucky ahead to stay, and the 16th-ranked Wildcats beat No. 17 Texas A&M 82-77 in overtime on Sunday for their second straight Southeastern Conference Tournament championship and 29th overall.

These teams split the regular season title after the Aggies edged Kentucky in College Station in overtime on Feb. 20. But SEC Tournament titles are treasured by Kentucky faithful, and the Wildcats (26-8) gave fans yet another to celebrate in a game they have lost only 10 times in the program's storied history.

Tyler Ulis scored a career-high 30 points, including Kentucky's final point on a free throw with 8.7 seconds left. Jamal Murray added 17 points, and Willis, Alex Poythress and Isaiah Briscoe all finished with 10.

Danuel House scored a career-high 32 points for Texas A&M (26-8). Jalen Jones had 15 points, and Alex Caruso added 11.

Kentucky: 2014-15 SEC Men's Basketball Champions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Willie Cauley-Stein scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and top-ranked Kentucky never trailed in beating No. 21 Arkansas 78-63 on Sunday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.

The Wildcats (34-0) are only the fourth team to go into the NCAA Tournament undefeated since Indiana finished off the last perfect season with a title in 1976. They paired their 28th SEC tournament title with their 46th regular season championship.

Andrew Harrison also scored 15 points for Kentucky, and his brother Aaron had 11.

The Razorbacks (26-8) were trying to win their second tournament title and first since 2000.Michael Qualls, coming off the bench for only the second time this season, scored 18 points, while Bobby Portis, the coaches' pick for SEC player of the year, added 13.

Unlike last season when Arkansas swept Kentucky, these Wildcats proved to be just too good.

West Virginia 73, Kentucky 66

WVU headed to Final Four
Mountaineers methodically conquer Kentucky, 73-66
by Mike Casazza
Daily Mail sports writer
The Associated Press

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - West Virginia's basketball players were ready for biggest game of their still young lives Saturday night when they began the short jog from the tunnel inside the Carrier Dome to the floor. The pep band played their song. The fans sprang suddenly to their feet and cheered. Jonnie West was first to squeak his sneakers across the floor. Then came Cam Payne.

And that was it.

"Once we saw Jonnie and Cam go out there, we stopped to see how far they'd go before they noticed," said point guard Joe Mazzulla, who with teammate Cam Thoroughman orchestrated this Elite Eight prank.

West and Payne eventually realized it and Mazzulla and Thoroughman led the rest of the laughing Mountaineers toward tipoff against Kentucky.

"That wasn't very nice," West would say later, "but that shows who we are. We're loose. Everyone stays loose before the game and even during it, but when we get in the games, we have a killer mentality and it's going to wear you down."

After wondering for most of the season if they'd ever figure out who they are, the Mountaineers have for the entire month mastered their identity, cemented an approach and insisted their way would cut it.

And now they're cutting down nets.

In the only matchup of a region's top two seeds in this NCAA Tournament, No. 2 seed WVU defeated No. 1 seed Kentucky, 73-66, before a crowd of 22,497. The Mountaineers advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1959 when West's father, Jerry, was a junior.

WVU (31-6) plays the winner of the South Region championship game between No. 1 seed Duke and No. 3 Seed Baylor Saturday in Indianapolis.

"We win games because of our tempo," senior Da'Sean Butler said. "We don't do well going up and down the court with other people. We're not a fast break team. If we control the tempo, nine times out of 10 we win that game."

Ten times in the past 10 games, WVU been funny before and then ferocious within and won each with discipline on offense and determination on defense. Noted for man-to-man throughout the season, the Mountaineers played a 1-3-1 zone for the majority of the game. The Wildcats (35-3) shot 34.3 percent for the game, missed their first 20 3-point attempts on the way to 4-for-32 shooting and had 16 turnovers that led to 19 WVU points.

"It was pretty tough," said Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall. "They're a long, athletic team. They did a great job denying us getting to the wings and we weren't making shots. I think if we would have made shots, it would have spread them out. Hats off for them. Their defense did a great job on us."

Wall was 7-for-18 and banked in a 3-pointer after missing four others. He added five assists, but also five turnovers and five fouls in what is likely his last college game. Shooting guard Eric Bledsoe, who was 8-for-9 from 3-point range in the first round, was 0-for-5 and had seven points. Guard Darnell Dodson was 2-for-9 from 3-point range.

WVU caused problems inside, too, and center DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and eight rebounds, but also five turnovers. He was often made to deal with Mazzulla at the bottom of the zone.

"At one point he looked and me and said, 'Are you serious?'" Mazzulla said. "I said, 'Yeah, I'm serious. You're going to have to punch me in the face to get me off you.'"

The Mountaineers turned a two-point halftime lead into a nine-point advantage early in the second half and built it to 11 points when Mazzulla drove for an open layup when Cousins walked back up the court on defense. The margin grew to be as large as 16 points and WVU felt they had the Wildcats, who start three freshmen and a sophomore and have two sophomores and a freshman in their rotation.

"They outplayed us," Kentucky Coach John Calipari said. "I think there were times that the inexperience hurt us. Understanding you're not going to catch it all at once. Knowing that this is the guy we have to stop and then you lose him. There were things that happened. And I think their veterans - especially Mazzulla - were good. He got some layups that were back-breaking. He just played so well and ran their team."

Mazzulla played a season-high 30 minutes and scored a career-high 17 points. He also made his first 3-pointer since Nov. 28, 2008. Butler had 18 points and made four 3-pointers. Kevin Jones added 13 points and eight rebounds and Devin Ebanks had 12 points and seven rebounds.

The Mountaineers were 10-for-23 from 3-point range and 8-for-15 in the first half. They were also 0-for-16 from 2-point range and outrebounded 29-16. WVU shot 57.1 percent in the second half and outrebounded the Wildcats by one.

"We're not as good in the first half as we are in the second because people get tired of chasing it," said Coach Bob Huggins, who returns to the Final Four after appearing there in 1992. "They get tired of chasing it. They get tired of being screened. They get tired of chasing those curls. We got nothing at the rim in the first half. We got a lot of things at the rim in the second half."

The game unfolded not only in the fashion predicted by the Mountaineers, who believed their grinding style could trump Kentucky's talent, but also by Cornell Coach Steve Donahue.

"I think there are a lot of positives about Kentucky," Donahue said after Thursday's Sweet Sixteen loss to the Wildcats. "My concern is that I don't necessarily think for 40 minutes that they may be able to handle this against a team like us that's a little more longer and athletic with experience the next game. West Virginia is terrific."

The Mountaineers were in their third regional final and first since 2005, when they lost in overtime to Louisville. The team has broken every huddle in practice and before games this season by reminding one another they want to be national champs. Not since WVU lost to Cal 71-70 in the final in 1959 has the school been as close. The team that's 8-0 in this state this year will play Saturday in Hoosier State, where WVU is 0-2 with losses to Purdue and Notre Dame.

"The first day I was there I told them I came back to win a national championship," Huggins said. "I came back to win it for the university, having played there and for the great people in our state. And it's going to take a lot of work. And I said this many times, the wonderful thing about these guys is they never doubt. They never ask why. They never kind of bucked it. They just said, 'OK, that's what we have to do. We're going to go do it.' And they've done it and done with it great enthusiasm and great vigor. And they deserve all the credit for it. They're really good guys."