The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game was the finals of the

2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2011-12 ...

and it determined the national champion for the

2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2011, with the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and ended with the 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 2, 2012, at the Mer ...

. The game was played on April 2, 2012, at the

Mercedes-Benz Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home st ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and featured the South Regional Champion, #1-seeded

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and the Midwest Regional Champion, #2-seeded

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The two head coaches for this game,

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

and

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...

also coached at the 2008 National Championship Game where

was coaching for

and

was coaching for Memphis. This was a rematch of a regular season encounter at the 2011 Champions Classic, which Kentucky had won 75–65. This was the last time that an SEC team won a men's basketball national championship until

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, when

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

defeated

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 65–63.

Participants

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas entered the tournament as the #2 seed in the Midwest Regional. In the 2nd Round, Thomas Robinson had a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

with 16 points and 13 rebounds as Kansas beat

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

65–50. In the 3rd round against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

trailing 60–59, Elijah Johnson got the steal and layup to take a 61–60 lead and with 3 seconds left,

Tyshawn Taylor Tyshawn Jamar Taylor (born April 12, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas

made a dunk for a 63–60 win. In the Sweet 16 against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, Jeff Withey blocked 10 shots to survive with a 60–57 victory. In the Elite Eight,

Tyshawn Taylor Tyshawn Jamar Taylor (born April 12, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas

finally got hot with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals as Kansas beat

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

80–67 to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four,

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

got off to a strong start and had a 26–13 lead at one point and then, Kansas managed to control

Jared Sullinger Jared Malcolm Xavier Sullinger (born March 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketbal ...

to beat the Buckeyes 64–62 and advance to the 2012 National Championship Game.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky entered the tournament as the #1 overall seed and was placed in the South Regional. The Wildcats dominated

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

in an 81–66 victory. In the 3rd round, after being up 38–27 at halftime, Kentucky pulled away from

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

to advance to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 24 points to take revenge on

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

with a 102–90 win. Indiana beat Kentucky on December 10, 2011, at

Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the s ...

on a Christian Watford buzzer-beater. The Wildcats managed to beat Baylor in the Elite Eight with an 82–70 win to earn a spot in the Final Four. In the National Semifinal,

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...

had a

with 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead Kentucky to the 2012 National Championship Game with a 69–61 win over

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Starting lineups

Game summary

1st Half

Despite no points from Naismith Trophy winner

in the 1st 9 and a quarter minutes, Kentucky got off to a hot start with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scoring 7 of his 11 points, Doron Lamb 6 points, and Marquis Teague and

Terrence Jones Terrence Alexander Jones (born January 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High sc ...

each 4 points in that same time frame as Kentucky would have a 23–14 lead and Kansas would be forced to call timeout. The Wildcats kept their dominance to lead 41–27 at halftime despite no points from Davis, as Kidd-Gilchrist scored all 11 of his points in the 1st half, Lamb had 12 points, and Teague had nine. For the Jayhawks, Thomas Robinson and

Tyshawn Taylor Tyshawn Jamar Taylor (born April 12, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas

each scored eight points, and Jeff Withey scored 5.

2nd Half

's 1st point of the night came with a made free throw with 15:30 left to give Kentucky a 44–30 lead. Elijah Johnson scored four points in 15 seconds to cut the Kentucky lead to 46–34 and force a timeout. But, with Kentucky up 48–38, Doron Lamb made two three-pointers on 40 seconds for a 54–38 lead. Davis's 1st field goal of the night came with a made jump shot with 5:14 left to give Kentucky a 59–44 lead. Then,

Tyshawn Taylor Tyshawn Jamar Taylor (born April 12, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas

scored six points in one minute, and Thomas Robinson made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 59–52. Kansas kept its comeback effort going with an Elijah Johnson three-pointer and Robinson making a pair of free throws, cutting their deficit to 62–57. Kentucky was able to hold on when Davis made a free throw, and Marquis Teague and Lamb each made a pair of free throws for a 67–59 victory.

References

{{2012 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball College basketball tournaments in Louisiana

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game 2010s in New Orleans