First Round

By Paul Suellentrop

The Wichita Eagle

SALT LAKE CITY- Wichita State matched Pittsburgh�s power and overmatched it with quickness, an asset nobody outside the coaching staff saw coming.

The ninth-seeded Shockers handled Pittsburgh 73-55, routing the Big East�s fourth-place team with surprising ease in the second round of the NCAA Tournament�s West Regional at EnergySolutions Arena (video). That win, a mild upset by seeding, will get the Shockers some attention for a lockdown defensive performance.

One more will bring all the basketball-following nation around to WSU. It plays top-seeded Gonzaga on Saturday with the winner advancing to the regional semifinals, better known as the Sweet 16.

WSU coach Gregg Marshall told the Shockers they made him proud. He told them their toughness won the day. Then he challenged them to extend their stay in the tournament with a trip to Los Angeles.

�Are you satisfied?� he said. �Are we done? Are we going to celebrate now like this is the end? Or are you going to continue to push through, and let�s try to head to where ever the next round is.�

The Shockers (27-8) played like a team that won�t be satisfied easily. They bullied the eighth-seeded Panthers and led by 11 or more points the final 6:49. WSU�s effort � and his team�s lack of effort � mystified Pitt coach Jamie Dixon.

�They were far more aggressive than us,� he said. �I can�t explain it.�

An attempt: The Shockers smacked the disinterested Panthers early in the game and refused to let them regroup. By the time the Panthers discovered their urgency, WSU grabbed control and closed out with a parade of dunks and free throws. Pitt missed 16 of 17 three-pointers and shot 35.2 percent for the game.

Guard Malcolm Armstead led WSU with 22 points, 11 in the final seven minutes. Forward Cleanthony Early shook off a disappointing conference tournament to add 21. The Shockers made 11 of 21 shots in the second half, enough to survive shooting 2 of 20 from three-point range.

�Going into the game, Coach made the statement �Knock �em in the face first,� � Early said. �That�s what we tried to do.�

WSU out-rebounded the Big East�s top rebounding team 37-32. It grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to produce 14 second-chance points and help outscore Pitt 33-16 at the foul line.

If the power game kept it even, speed allowed WSU to run away. It scored 21 points off 15 turnovers against a normally careful team.

�One of our strengths is low turnovers, and for people who haven�t seen us play, this wasn�t our team,� Dixon said. �We had five or six turnovers early that were not typical of how we play and put us in a hole.�

WSU coaches watched video of Pitt and came away impressed with its size. They also believed the Shockers could bother the Panthers with their quickness. Guard Tekele Cotton jumped passing lanes and harassed dribblers to record five steals. He rounded out that performance by blanketing guard Tray Woodall, who scored two points on 1-of-12 shooting before fouling out 10 points under his team-leading average.

Cotton provided the first of two killer bursts with steals on consecutive possessions midway through the second half. He stole a pass from Trey Zeigler, caught unaware while trying to start a play near the three-point line, and dunked for a 45-35 lead, provoking a leg kick in celebration from Marshall. Another steal led to free throws for Early and a 12-point edge with 10:13 remaining.

�Those are huge baskets,� Marshall said. �In a game like that, low points, if you can steal baskets.� You don�t want to give those freebies.�

Assistant coach Chris Jans had told Marshall that WSU�s quickness could disrupt the Panthers. Again and again, it did that by taking advantage of sloppy passes and weak handles. Pitt surrendered double-digit steals for the third time this season.

�Pressure,� Armstead said. �Tekele did real good setting the tempo. We just built off that and got some easy baskets.�

Armstead finished off the Panthers late. He banked in a shot for a 50-39 lead. After two missed foul shots by Pitt, he slithered into the lane for a lefty layup off the glass, drawing a foul. His three-point play put WSU up 53-49 with 5:43 remaining.

When the Panthers pressed, he sliced through it and found Early for a dunk and a 55-40 lead. The Panthers never got closer than 13 points.

Second Round

By Paul Suellentrop

The Wichita Eagle

SALT LAKE CITY- Wichita State knocked off No. 1 and is headed to Los Angeles as one of the biggest stories of the NCAA Tournament.

Two outrageously nervy three-pointers by two big-stage ready freshmen stunned top-ranked and top-seeded Gonzaga, lifting Wichita State to a 76-70 win at EngergySolutions Arena in the third round of the NCAA Tournament�s West Regional.

Ninth-seeded WSU (28-8) knocked off a No. 1 team for the first time since 1963 with a blend of three-point shooting and gritty defense. After the win, they celebrated in a mosh pit at halfcourt, surrounded by cameras. Gonzaga (32-3) walked silently off the court, paralyzed by a meltdown in the final minutes. (video)

�This feeling is unimaginable,� WSU freshman Ron Baker said.

Senior Carl Hall could only smile.

�I can�t even hardly talk right now,� he said. �I can�t describe this feeling. It�s crazy.�

Words were not needed when the buzzer sounded. The black-and-yellow celebration on the court said it all. Cleanthony Early chest-bumped Chadrack Lufile. Baker stood alone near halfcourt, arms raised in celebration.

The Shockers posed for pictures, hugged fans and danced to the �Shocker War Chant� in front of the pep band. Coaches danced. Athletic director Eric Sexton danced. Family members danced. The band chanted �We going to L.A.�

Everybody danced. It was a night for dancing, Shocker style, in the Big Dance.

Next up for WSU is a trip to the Staples Center to face either 12th-seeded Mississippi or 13th-seeded La Salle on Thursday.

�Just a euphoric feeling,� WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. �It was just awesome. It was a natural reaction for me, really, hugging the people that I care about and letting them know.�

WSU wrote one of the biggest wins in its basketball history by rallying from a 49-41 deficit with under 12 minutes remaining. It appeared Gonzaga had the momentum and the pedigree to shrug off the spunky challengers. It did not, largely because of a hail of three-pointers.

Baker started the rally with a three after a timeout to cut the lead to 49-44. Early added one to bring WSU within 51-48. The Shockers kept coming from long range, using threes by Tekele Cotton, Early (16 points) and Baker (16 points) to get within 61-60 and force a timeout with 4:14 to play.

After a Kelly Olynyk miss, contested heavily by Hall, Hall made a 15-foot jumper to give the Shockers a 62-61 lead. A foul on Baker gave him two free throws for a 64-63 lead with 3:10 to play.

Then Gonzaga unraveled, starting with a mental error of the highest order.

After the free throws, guard Kevin Pangos tossed the ball inbound to David Stockton, who walked out of bound to pass the ball in. The referees caught it � with Marshall yelling for the violation � and gave the ball to WSU. Baker�s corner three made it 67-63. After two Gonzaga free throws, freshman Fred VanVleet (13 points) made a long three over Stockton with the shot clock winding down for a 70-65 lead.

�A definite miscommunication,� Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. �A really bad time for that to happen.�

Gonzaga responded with another turnover, a wild pass up court that Olynyk tried to save. VanVleet made two free throws with 38.6 seconds to play for a 72-65 lead. Stockton�s layup cut WSU�s lead to 72-67.

Malcolm Armstead made two free throws with 15.2 seconds remaining for a 74-67 lead and the Shockers started celebrating. VanVleet added two more with 11.2 seconds remaining.

WSU, after going 2 of 20 from three-point range in Thursday�s win over Pittsburgh, made 14 of 28. Baker made 4 of 6. Early made 4 of 7. Cotton and VanVleet each added two.

The Shockers held Gonzaga to 35.6-percent shooting. Olynyk scored 26 points, needing 22 shots to get there. Pangos made 6 of 17 shots and scored 19 points.

The second half started ominously for WSU. Early picked up his third foul going for a rebound less than a minute into the half. Carl Hall got his third with 17:50 remaining. Gonzaga started the half on a 6-2 run to cut WSU�s lead to 38-37 with 15:09 to play. Fouls continued to mount, much to the displeasure of WSU fans and coaches. Jake White screamed after being called for a charge that handed the ball to Gonzaga.

WSU momentarily regained its footing with a press. Four Shockers surrounded Pangos and clawed the ball away. VanVleet�s three-point play stopped Gonzaga�s run and gave WSU a 41-37 lead.

It didn�t last long.

Pangos made WSU pay for a switch to a zone defense, burying a three from the wing. After an airball by Early, Mike Hart sank a corner three for a 43-41 lead and forced a timeout. A WSU turnover led to a jumper by Olynyk and the burst continued. Pangos stole the ball from Hall, trying to spin in the lane, and scored for a 49-41 lead.

Regional Semifinal

By Paul Suellentrop

The Wichita Eagle

Los Angeles- Wichita State got giddy after advancing to the Sweet 16. Moving on to the Elite Eight produced a more measured response, one from a team that is suddenly experienced winning big games and knows it needs at least one more.

WSU advanced to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament � the Elite Eight � for the first time since 1981 with Thursday�s 72-58 win over La Salle at Staples Center in a West Regional semifinal.

No dancing. No curtain calls with the band. The Shockers hugged, clapped and smiled. They looked like a team that wants to cut down nets on Saturday and really let loose.

�We need one more win to seal this deal,� WSU guard Ron Baker said.

The ninth-seeded Shockers (29-8) will play second-seeded Ohio State on Saturday in the West Regional final, with the winner headed to Atlanta for the Final Four. WSU is 40 minutes away from the national semifinals, a height reached in 1965. The 1964 and 1981 Shockers lost in regional finals, falling one game short of the Final Four.

WSU is the first Missouri Valley Conference team to make the Elite Eight since the 1981 team, which defeated Kansas in the Sweet 16 before losing to LSU in New Orleans. Indiana State, in 1979, is the last MVC team play in the Final Four.

All that, and perhaps more, is two halves away for WSU.

�Forty minutes away,� WSU guard Malcolm Armstead said. �It�s a dream come true.�

Armstead led WSU with 18 points, 13 in the second half. Carl Hall added 16, 14 in the first half. WSU out-rebounded La Salle 47-29, helping it to a 40-26 edge scoring in the lane.

The Shockers decided this one early, establishing their dominance in the lane with height and aggressiveness. The team that made �Play Angry� its motto and answered the �Are you satisfied� question from its coach in the negative came out hungry. They led 14-2 and the Explorers (../Kansas_NCAA/24-10.jpg) never recovered. Hall scored 10 of those points.

�That was the game plan,� Armstead said. �We tried to wear them down, pound it inside.�

La Salle looked worn down throughout the game, both because of WSU�s hustle and, perhaps, because of its travel schedule. The Explorers had to win three games last week.

�I think we were a little fresher and I think we were beating them down the floor,� WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. �Carl Hall set the tone with just out-running their bigs.�

La Salle�s four-guard offense failed to generate consistent scoring with WSU�s guards bottling them up. When they slipped through, Hall and others blocked and altered shots. The Shockers held the Explorers (../Kansas_NCAA/24-10.jpg) to 35.7-percent shooting.

�WSU won the game in the first half,� La Salle coach John Giannini said. �They really overwhelmed us. It took us a half to adjust to the level they were playing at.�

Ramon Galloway, La Salle�s leading scorer, failed to shed WSU�s Tekele Cotton and had 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. Forward Jerrell Wright and guard Tyrone Garland both scored 16.

The Shockers won with Hall in the first half, overpowering the smaller Explorers on their way to 38-22 lead. They hit them with three-pointers early in the second half (video). When the Explorers briefly rallied midway through the second half, Armstead took over with nine straight points to take the life out of La Salle (video). His three-pointer gave WSU a 62-47 lead with 6:40 to play.

�Armstead was huge at that time,� Giannini said. �We were playing well enough at that time to have a chance, but Armstead wouldn�t allow it.�

A follow shot by Ron Baker and a layup by Cotton made it 66-48. Seconds later, Giannini called timeout and fans started leaving. Another Explorers turnover led to a layup by Early and the WSU fans started celebrating with a 20-point lead.

WSU was on its way to the Elite Eight with a blowout. The celebration unfolded in subdued fashion compared to Saturday�s scene in Salt Lake City after beating Gonzaga. Marshall cuffed assistant coach Chris Jans around the head with a big smile. The players clapped and hugged. They looked more focused on the next game than popping jerseys and dancing with the band.

The Shockers played just as sharply to begin the second half.

WSU forced a La Salle timeout just over a minute into the second half with three-pointers by Armstead and Baker. Those baskets stretched WSU�s lead to 44-22, its largest of the game, and inspired the band into playing the �Shocker War Chant.�

La Salle refused to roll over, sparked by unexpected baskets in the lane by Jerrell Wright. He spent most of the first half on the bench with two fouls. In the second half, La Salle got him the ball and he converted two free throws, a three-point play and a layup to cut WSU�s lead to 44-29. Then Galloway sank a long three-pointer to complete a 10-0 run.

Baker�s three, on a break, stopped the run gave WSU a 47-22 lead. The Explorers kept coming, however, helped when Hall picked up his third foul after setting a screen and running over a defender with 13 minutes remaining. La Salle cut the lead to 49-38 on a three-point play by Tyreek Duren.

WSU made its size advantage work from the tip, going small without really going small. Early replaced center Ehimen Orukpe in the lineup. The Shockers rode Hall, who scored 10 of their first 14 points on the way to a 14-2 lead. Hall scored twice on lobs over the defender, once on a follow shot and once off a bounce pass from Armstead on a break.

Fred VanVleet�s three-pointer, with the shot clock running down, gave WSU a 17-3 lead. The Shockers made 8 of their first 12 shots, holding the Explorers to 2-of-11 shooting at the 11:49 mark to lead 17-6.

The Explorers made one run in the first half, cutting WSU�s lead from 25-12 to 25-17. The Shockers quickly regained control and then pulled away again. Early�s drive and basket started an 11-2 run to end the half and give WSU a 38-22 lead.

WSU�s final eight minutes of near-perfect execution against Gonzaga flowed almost seamlessly into the first half. It made 16 of 30 shots and out-rebounded the Explorers 26-12. WSU dominated with its size, outscoring La Salle ../Kansas_NCAA/24-10.jpg in the lane.

Hall scored 14 points in the first half, making 7 of 8 shots, and grabbing six rebounds.

WSU held Galloway to five points on a 2-of-9 shooting in the first half. Tekele Cotton spent most of the half shadowing Galloway, forcing him into two airballs. Armstead, Baker and Demetric Williams also took turns guarding him. Tyrone Garland led La Salle with eight points, making 2 of 10 shots.

Regional Final

By Paul Suellentrop

The Wichita Eagle

Los Angeles- Wichita State can play angry all the way to Atlanta for the Final Four (video).

The Shockers finished their destruction of the NCAA Tournament�s West Regional with a tour de force of aggression, determination and spirit properly channeled with a 70-66 defeat of second-seeded Ohio State at Staples Center.

WSU knocked off the top two seeds in the region on its way to its first Final Four since 1965. It will play the winner of Sunday�s Louisville-Duke game on Saturday.

The Shockers (30-8) advanced with 35 minutes of superb play and five holding on for dear life and the biggest road trip of their careers.

Ohio State made a late push, pressing and tiring out the Shockers. It got within three points before WSU pushed back. Tekele Cotton�s three gave WSU a 65-59 lead (video). Then his offensive rebound � beating bigger players to the ball � gave the Shockers possession. That ended with Fred VanVleet�s shot in the lane bouncing on the rim once, twice, three times before settling in for a 67-61 lead. After an Aaron Craft miss, Ron Baker made two free throws for a 69-61 lead with 51.3 seconds to play.

Malcolm Armstead led WSU with 14 points (video). Early and VanVleet each added 12 to help the Shockers win a record game No. 30. Baker scored nine points, all from the foul line.

La Quinton Ross led Ohio State with 19 points.

WSU weathered- or didn�t need to weather- the Buckeyes surge early in the second half. While the Shockers prepared for it, it never happened. They scored the first six points of the second half to build a 41-25 lead. Armstead�s three made it 44-27 within inside of 15 minutes remaining.

Ohio State made it push midway the half. Ross scored 10 of Ohio State�s 12 points in a burst that got it within 56-43.

WSU�s offense stalled and Early went to the locker room for X-rays after landing awkwardly on his left ankle. He returned minutes later, with WSU holding a 56-45 lead.

His return paid off quickly with his steal of pass by Ross. That led to a three-point play for Fred VanVleet and a 60-45 lead with 7:03 remaining.

Ohio State responded with a 7-0 run that cut tiring WSU�s lead to 60-52. It kept coming, getting within 62-57 before Tekele Cotton�s three revived WSU momentarily.

Wichita State�s offensive resurgence continued in the first half. The Shockers made 5 of 12 three-pointers and led 35-22 at halftime.

Its defense maintained its season-long status. Ohio State, denied driving lanes and post shots, shot contested jumpers and missed. It finished the half 8 of 33 from the field and 2 of 10 from behind the arc. Thomas made 4 of 13 shots and missed all five of his threes.

The Buckeyes led 9-7, but couldn�t hold that edge for long. Early�s three-pointer gave WSU a 10-9 lead and started the Shockers on their way to an impressive first half. Hall�s jumper gave WSU a 15-13 lead and ignited a 10-2 run that forced Ohio State coach Thad Matta to call timeout with 6:25 remaining.

Offensive rebounding and free throws carried WSU in the final minutes of the first half. Ehimen Orukpe dunked after a miss � the rebound kept alive by Early�s hustle � for a 27-16 lead. Armstead, with the shot clock running down, banged a shot off the rim. It bounced back to him and he scored for a 29-18 lead. WSU made six of seven free throws in the final 1:14. Ohio State fumbled the momentum in the final three seconds. LaQuinton Ross, fouled by Tekele Cotton, missed the third of three free throws. Ohio State�s Evan Ravenel fouled Cotton while chasing the rebound. Cotton made two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play to give WSU a 13-point lead.

WSU out-rebounded the bigger Buckeyes 27-17 in the first half, scoring six second-chance points.

Early led WSU with eight points. Armstead added seven.

Thomas led Ohio State with nine points.

National Semifinal

ATLANTA (AP)� Wichita State�s miraculous run through the NCAA Tournament ended Saturday night one step shy of college basketball�s grandest prize as the Shockers fell to top-seeded Louisville, 72-68, in the Final Four at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

Gregg Marshall called Saturday night's game against Louisville the most important he'd ever coached, and quite possibly the most important game Wichita State had ever played.

If not for the final 10 minutes, there would have been a more important one Monday night.

The plucky underdogs from the Missouri Valley Conference watched a 12-point lead slip away, and the mighty Cardinals showed their championship mettle down the stretch, beating Wichita State 72-68 and preventing the ninth-seeded Shockers from playing for their first national title.

When the game clock struck zero, Marshall stoically shook hands with Louisville coach Rick Pitino, and then retreated to the postgame news conference, where his voice was clearly strained.

"There's such a group in that locker room you grow to love," Marshall said quietly. "They're fun to coach, they're great character kids, they're tough as nails. But we didn't say, 'Bye,' and we didn't say, 'This is it.' This is just the beginning, just the beginning for us."

Nobody gave the Shockers much of a chance to make it to Atlanta, but they kept proving folks wrong, beating No. 1 Gonzaga and second-seeded Ohio State along the way.

And in their first Final Four since 1965, they had the Cardinals on the ropes.

They led 26-25 at halftime and slowly drew away in the second half, scoring on nine of their first 11 possessions. Tekele Cotton's basket with 14:16 left gave Wichita State a 43-32 lead and forced Pitino signal to call for a timeout (video).

But after going more than 25 minutes without a turnover, they started to mount against the Cardinals' frustrating full-court press. The missed shots, each one sounding like a canon blast as it clanked off the rim, became more numerous as Wichita State's legs started to tire.

"Down the stretch, we were just loose with the ball," said primary ball-handler Malcolm Armstead, who was mired in foul trouble. "We just didn't take care of it, pretty much."

The Cardinals will face Michigan for the national title Monday night after the Wolverines beat Syracuse 61-56 in the other semifinal.

Cleanthony Early had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Shockers, including six straight in the final 2 minutes, as they tried to hung tough with the Big East champions.

It just wasn't quite enough.

Carl Hall, whose nose was bloodied early in the game, added 13 points for Wichita State, and Ron Baker finished with 11 � though it will almost certainly be his inability to wrestle loose a jump ball, trailing by three with eight seconds left, will stick out in the freshman's mind (video).

Louisville got possession, and Russ Smith's free throw put the game out of reach.

Still, with its eclectic hodge-podge of players, Wichita State (30-9) managed to eclipse its season record for wins on the way to becoming the first team from the Missouri Valley Conference to reach the Final Four since Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1979.

The Shockers also energized the state of Kansas with an improbable run � its last team left standing after Kansas and Kansas State were ousted earlier in the tournament.

"Last year, we played the No. 1 RPI schedule in the nation, and this year we played a top-five schedule, and I don't think we could face a basketball team any better than Wichita State," Pitino said. "It's tough for Wichita State to lose this game, because they played great."

Better than anybody could have expected at the start of the season.

The Shockers lost all five starters from a team that was a No. 5 seed in the tournament last year, along with them most of their scoring and a whole lot of their toughness. But a most bizarre mixture of players filled the void, someone always coming through when times were tough.

There was Early, the overlooked junior college star who finally got his shot on basketball's biggest stage. And Armstead, who transferred from Oregon and had to pay his own way last season while redshirting, making ends meet by working at an auto dealership.

There was Hall, who once worked at a lighting factory not far from the site of the Final Four and then overcame a heart condition that causes irregular beats to become the soul of the team.

All of them took the small school on the prairie on an incredible ride.

"It's just a mix of emotions, of feelings," Early said. "It hurts to have to lose and be at the end of the season, but these guys fought to the end, we had a great season, and we need to keep our heads high, because we know the grind doesn't stop."

National Championship Game

ATLANTA (AP) - What a week for Rick Pitino! He's elected to the Hall of Fame. His horse is headed to the Kentucky Derby. His son gets a prominent head coaching job.

Then he caps it off with what he wanted most.

Another national championship.

For that, he can thank 13 of the grittiest guys he's ever coached.

Luke Hancock produced another huge game off the bench, scoring 22 points, and Pitino became the first coach to win national titles at two schools when Louisville rallied from another 12-point deficit to beat Michigan 82-76 in the NCAA championship game Monday night.

"This team is one of the most together, toughest and hard-nosed teams," the coach said. "Being down never bothers us. They just come back."

More like relentless to the very end.

They're not stopping now, either. The players intend to hold Pitino to a promise he made: If they won a national title, he'd get a tattoo.

Better leave a lot of space, coach, if you want to make this a tribute to the team.

"I have a couple of ideas," said Hancock, who became the first sub in tournament history to be designated as most outstanding player. "He doesn't know what he's getting into."

"Our biggest motivation," Peyton Siva added, "was to get coach a tattoo."

That's about the only thing that didn't exactly turn out in Petino's favor. Earlier Monday, he was introduced as a member of the latest Hall of Fame class. On Saturday, his horse won the Santa Anita Derby to set up a run for the roses. And last week his son got the coaching job at Minnesota.

The Cardinals (35-5) lived up to their billing as the top overall seed in the tournament, though they sure had to work for it.

Louisville trailed Wichita State by a dozen in the second half before rallying for a 72-68 victory. This time, they fell behind by 12 in the first half, then unleashed a stunning spurt led by Hancock that wiped out the entire deficit before the break.

"I had the 13 toughest guys I've ever coached," Pitino said. "I'm just amazed they could accomplish everything we put out there."

No one was tougher than Hancock, who matched his season high after a 20-point effort in the semifinal victory over Wichita State. This time, he came off the bench to hit four straight 3-pointers in the first half after Michigan got a boost from an even more unlikely player.

Freshman Spike Albrecht made four straight from beyond the arc, too, blowing by his career high before the break with 17 points. Coming in, Albrecht was averaging 1.8 points a game and had not scored more than seven all season.

Albrecht didn't do much in the second half, but Hancock finished what he started for Louisville. He made it 5-for-5 when he hit his final 3 from the corner with 3:20 remaining to give the Cardinals their biggest lead, 76-66. Michigan wouldn't go away, but Hancock wrapped it up by making two free throws with 29 seconds left.

While Pitino shrugged off any attempt to make this about him, there was no doubt the Cardinals wanted to win a national title for someone else - injured guard Kevin Ware.

Watching again from his seat at the end of the Louisville bench, his injured right leg propped up on a chair, Ware smiled and slapped hands with his teammates as they celebrated in the closing seconds, the victory coming just 30 miles from where he played his high school ball.

Ware's gruesome injury during the regional final will forever be linked to this tournament. He landed awkwardly, snapped his leg and was left writhing on the floor with the bone sticking through the skin. On this night, he hobbled gingerly onto the court with the aid of crutches, basking in a sea of confetti and streamers.

Louisville again came out wearing Ware's No. 5 on the back of their warmup jerseys; the front said, "Ri5e to the Occasion." When the title belonged to the Cardinals, Ware put on a championship cap and got a big hug from Pitino. Then, they lowered the basket so the injured player could cut a strand out of the net.

This one belonged to him as much as anyone on the court.

"These are my brothers," Ware said. "They got the job done. I'm so proud of them, so proud of them."

Siva added 18 points for the Cardinals, who closed the season on a 16-game winning streak, and Chane Behanan chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds as Louisville slowly but surely closed out the Wolverines (31-8).

Michigan was in the title game for the first time since the Fab Five lost the second of two straight championship games in 1993. Players from that team, including Chris Webber, cheered on the latest group of young stars.

But, like the Fab Five, national player of the year Trey Burke and a squad with three freshman starters came up short in the last game of the season.

"A lot of people didn't expect us to get this far," said Burke, who led the Wolverines with 24 points. "A lot of people didn't expect us to get past the second round. We fought. We fought up to this point, but Louisville was the better team today, and they're deserving of the win."

Louisville has a chance to make it two national titles in 24 hours.

The surprising women's team faces Connecticut on Tuesday night in the championship game at New Orleans.

Good luck matching this breakneck finale. The first half, in particular, might have been the most entertaining 20 minutes of the entire men's tournament.

Burke started out on fire for Michigan, hitting his first three shots and scoring seven points to match his output from the semifinal victory over Syracuse, when he made only 1-of-8 shots.

Albrecht took control when Burke picked up his second foul and had to go to the bench for the rest of the half. The kid whose nickname comes from his first pair of baseball spikes showed he's a pretty good hoops player, knocking down one 3-pointer after another to send the Wolverines to a double-digit lead.

When Albrecht blew by Tim Henderson with a brilliant hesitation move, Michigan led 33-21 and Louisville was forced to call timeout. The freshman was mobbed on the Michigan bench, as if the Wolverines had already won the national title, with one teammate waving a towel in tribute.

"That was honestly, probably back to high school days," Albrecht said, remembering when he's had a similar stretch. "Coach (John) Beilein doesn't play guys with two fouls in the first half, so I knew I was in the rest of the half, and I was fortunately hitting shots. Teammates were finding me. That's about it."

It didn't last. Not against Louisville.

The Cardinals came back one more time.

"We just went into war right there with a great Michigan team," Hancock said. "We needed a rally and we've been doing it for a couple of games straight, being down. We just had to wait and make our run."

Burke, who played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, finished with 24 points and did his best to give Michigan its first championship since 1989. But he couldn't do it alone. Albrecht was held scoreless after the break, and no one else posted more than 12 points for the Wolverines.

Still, it was quite a run for a fourth-seeded team that knocked off No. 1-seeded Kansas with the greatest comeback of the tournament, rallying from 14 points down in the second half to beat the Jayhawks in the round of the 16.

But they came up against the ultimate comeback team in the final.

"I've had a lot of really good teams over the years, and some emotional locker rooms, and that was the most emotional we've ever had," Beilein said. "The team unity we had, the sacrifice we had from five seniors who did not get to play very much, to these young guys buying into the team concept.

"We feel bad about it. There are some things we could have done better and get a win, but at the same time, Louisville is a terrific basketball team. We have not seen that quickness anywhere."

Louisville had already pulled off a stunning rally in the Big East championship game - down by 16 in the second half, they won by 17 - and another against Wichita State. They surged back again behind their own ace off the bench.

Hancock matched Albrecht from the 3-point stripe. Then, trapping the youngster and knocking the ball away, he set up a fast break that ended with Siva flipping up a lob that Montrezl Harrell slammed through for a dunk, capping a stunning 16-3 run in less than 4 minutes that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the night, 37-36.

Glenn Robinson III made two free throws with two seconds left to give Michigan a 38-37 lead at halftime.

But everyone knew this game was just getting started.

And when it was done, Pitino, Ware and the Cardinals were celebrating in the middle of the mammoth Georgia Dome, assuring the national title will stay in the bluegrass another year.

Last season, it was Kentucky winning it all, the same team that gave Pitino his first title in 1996.

Now, he's got another one - right down the road in Louisville.