Ohio State Vs. Kansas, Final Four 2012: Jayhawks Advance To Championship With 64-62 Win

When Kansas completed a stunning comeback down nine with two minutes left against Memphis in the 2008 national title game, it dealt John Calipari his greatest defeat yet, as another of his extremely talented teams fell short in March.

However, four years later, it’s hard to call Bill Self’s 2008 team the underdog.

“I honestly don’t know,” Sullinger said after the loss. “That’s something I’m going to take up with coach and just talk it over with him and talk it over with my family. I really don’t know my decision yet.”

Sullinger will likely be a lottery pick if he does declare for the draft. SB Nation’s Tom Ziller has him going to the Milwaukee Bucks at 10th overall in his latest mock draft.

1. Anthony Davis Is The Best Player In College Basketball

And it isn’t close. On the same day that Davis completed a sweep of college basketball’s national player of the year awards, the freshman showed why in Kentucky’s emotional 69-61 win over Louisville.

Craft made the first shot, then attempted to pass to himself with the second. He missed intentionally and tried to catch everyone off guard by getting his own rebound, but he was called for a lane violation. This time, the referees got it right -- Craft crossed the free throw line before his “shot” hit the rim.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

The lane violation -- the dreaded lane violation -- struck again on Saturday night. It’s been a theme throughout the 2012 NCAA Tournament, with players getting whistled for what may be the most uncommon rule violation out there. And it was Aaron Craft trying to make a play at the end of the game -- intentionally missing a free throw -- that sparked a whole lot of confusion at the end of Saturday night’s Final Four matchup between Ohio State and Kansas.

Here’s Craft getting called for a lane violation. He tried to quickly throw the ball off the rim, gather the rebound and put it back. But he, apparently, left a bit too early (and missed the follow anyway).

Aaron Craft is the kind of player that’s just going to annoy his opponent all game long. He’s going to frustrate them while pulling some ridiculous things out of nowhere. Whether he’s diving into the seats or making one of those little plays that gives his team an edge, Craft simply finds a way to make others mad -- not that it’s a bad thing.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he tried a cut block.

Back and forth, and back and forth: this is how Ohio State-Kansas has gone in the second half, with the Buckeyes building small leads and Kansas erasing them. And it has produced a very close game at the under-four media timeout, with Ohio State leading 55-53.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket. For more on this game, check out our 2012 Final Four StoryStream

Ohio State and Kansas seem to be settling in for a close stretch run in New Orleans. The Buckeyes lead, 43-40, at the under-12 media timeout.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

LET ME HEAR YOUR WAR CRY.

Kansas ended the first half of its 2012 Final Four matchup with Ohio State by forcing a turnover and getting a layup to cut Ohio State’s lead to single digits. The Jayhawks have built on that in the second half, going on an 8-2 run to begin the period and cutting Ohio State’s lead to 36-33.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

Kansas shot just 38 percent from the floor in the first half and didn’t find their way to the free throw line until there were 24 seconds remaining in the half. That’s indicative of a team that isn’t just struggling to shoot the ball, but struggling to create offense. If Robinson isn’t dominating, Kansas needs to get out on the break to score, and they haven’t done any of that. Ohio State is rebounding and controlling the tempo well, and the slow pace has been bad for Kansas.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

Ohio State’s been better than Kansas throughout the NCAA Tournament. In their 2012 Final Four matchup with the Jayhawks, the Buckeyes are proving it, building a 28-17 lead at the final media timeout of the first half.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

Kansas hasn’t been able to keep up so far, either. The Jayhawks are a miserable 6-for-21 from the field.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

The team wearing red has come out of the gate hotter than the team in blue in the second Final Four game of Saturday night. But Ohio State’s only got a 12-7 lead at the under-12 timeout.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

Kansas and Ohio State seem to be playing the undercard matchup in the 2012 Final Four. The Jayhawks have had the slow start that confirms that those who called it an undercard know what they are talking about; Ohio State, though, has taken a 7-2 lead at the first media timeout.

For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.

A challenger to Anthony Davis’s dance moves has emerged, and it’s Deshaun Thomas. Unlike Davis, though, Thomas actually performed a basketball move in his prepackaged video ahead of the player introductions in New Orleans. And it was the goofiest basketball move ever.

Here’s Thomas’s crossover, which says “gotcha” and “I love this game,” all at the same time.

The Final Four is in New Orleans, the center of the partying universe. And while we’re sure that Jim Nantz didn’t partake in that partying, one has to wonder where he got the beads hanging around his neck...

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