Junior guard Kemba Walker has scored a game-best nine points to help the No. 3-seeded Connecticut Huskies take a comfortable 31-21halftime advantage over No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats in a NCAA Tournament Final Four contest at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX. The winner advances to play No. 8 Butler Bulldogs in the National Championship game. The Bulldogs defeated the VCU Rams, 70-62, to advance to their second consecutive finals appearance.
The Wildcats took an early 12-9 advantage with 12:41 to play in the first half, but Walker scored UConn's next six points to claim a 17-12 lead with 9:33 to play. From there, the Huskies (30-9) increased their margin to 10 points heading into the locker room
Freshman guard Jeremy Lamb has chipped in with eight points and four rebounds for Uconn, which has shot 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) from the floor. The Huskies has 12 assists to the Wildcats four.
For Kentucky (29-8), freshman forward Terrence Jones has a game-best nine points, six rebounds and two steals, while freshman guard Brandon Knight has seven points and five rebounds. Kentucky shot just 9-of-32 (28.1) on field goals and 2-of-12 from behind the 3-point line.
The UConn basketball program is trying to earn its first trip to the National Title game since 2004 when they beat George Tech, 82-73, for its second National Championship. The Kentucky basketball program last appeared in a NCAA Tournament finals game in 1998 when they defeated Utah 78-69.