Kansas Eliminates Ohio State in the Final Four
By Editorial Staff
In a game that was in the hands of Ohio State, Kansas comes surging back to advance to the National Title game against Kentucky. The final score was 64-62.
Mar 31, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Elijah Johnson (15) shoots as Ohio State Buckeyes guard Aaron Craft (bottom right) defends during the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA men
Kansas led for a grand total of 3 minutes, 48 seconds and that was all it took to beat the Buckeyes. No one was really expecting the comenack, but that’s March Madness for you. Always expect the unexpected.
"“It’s a dream to play the best team in the country, up ’til now, hands down, the most consistent,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “It’s a thrill. And I think it’s even more of a thrill for us, because I don’t think anybody thought we could get here.” –ESPN.com"
Kansas’ Thomas Robinson finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds to help the Jayhawks come from behind. Clutch free throws from Tyshawn Taylor and Travis Releford gave this Kansas team the edge in the end of the game.
Ohio State’s William Buford had 19 points on 6 for 10 from the floor last night. He was 13-44 from the field in the tournament entering the game last night. But he stepped it up and almost led OSU to a National Championship berth.
Here’s the box score of the game.
Ohio State Buckeyes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Jared Sullinger, F | 39 | 5-19 | 0-2 | 3-4 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Deshaun Thomas, F | 23 | 3-14 | 1-7 | 2-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Aaron Craft, G | 40 | 4-11 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| Lenzelle Smith, Jr., G | 34 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 4-4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| William Buford, G | 35 | 6-10 | 3-5 | 4-4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Sam Thompson, F | 12 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Amir Williams, C | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Evan Ravenel, F | 14 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 20-59 | 8-22 | 14-15 | 10 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 62 | ||
| 33.9% | 36.4% | 93.3% | ||||||||||
Kansas Jayhawks | ||||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Thomas Robinson, F | 35 | 8-18 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Jeff Withey, C | 34 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| Travis Releford, G | 38 | 5-7 | 1-1 | 4-4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Tyshawn Taylor, G | 37 | 3-11 | 0-3 | 4-4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| Elijah Johnson, G | 28 | 6-9 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Conner Teahan, G | 17 | 1-5 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Kevin Young, F | 11 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 25-56 | 3-11 | 11-14 | 12 | 41 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 15 | 64 | ||
| 44.6% | 27.3% | 78.6% |
Both Final Four games were close, and all teams should be proud the way they played. I haven’t seen heart/ effort like that in a long time. That’s a great thing to see.