Going Beyond The Everyday: Kentucky, Ohio State Quest For Glory

Matta has built a proud tradition at Ohio State. With a title, he would create a legend.

University of Kentucky coach John Calipari is on a quest for his first ever National Championship. Calipari has been close several times in his 24-year career as a head coach, but has never been able to win the NCAA Championship. Calipari has his team in position once again to win the big game, but the Wildcats still have to get through in-state rival Louisville to make it to the final game of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The only non-conference tournament championship Calipari has been able to win was the 2002 NIT Tournament with the Memphis Tigers, but in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Calipari is hoping to be able to go above and beyond with the Wildcats to continue their dominating run. This is the fourth time Calipari has taken a team he built to the Final Four and on his way there he has eclipsed 500 career wins.

Even with the upsets Ohio has pulled and the likely loss of North Carolina’s point-man, the Bobcats enter the game as 10.5 point underdogs. Through the course of the tournament thus far, the team from the MAC has gone beyond the everyday. To continue on their journey through the tournament, they’ll need to go beyond once again and pull another upset.

Led by that fivesome, the Wildcats were tabbed as the No. 3 team in the nation during preseason polls. It didn’t take long for them to move up the charts. By the second week of the season, they had moved up to No. 2 and by Nov. 28, they got their first taste of the No. 1-ranking after starting the season 6-0.

As it turned out, that time at the top was relatively short-lived as the Wildcats followed up a 73-72 win over then-No. 5 North Carolina with a one-point loss to Indiana on Dec. 10. That turned out to be a mere speed bump during their incredible season as the Wildcats reeled off 24 straight wins. Included in that string of victories were wins over four ranked teams. The Wildcats were so dominant, in fact, that they only won by fewer than five points once.

Beyond setting personal bests and capturing the attention of the nation, his performance since coming to the Knicks is of a caliber that is not often seen. Lin is one of just 15 NBA players since 1986 to record at least 20 points, seven assists and a steal in six consecutive games. As for where Lin can take the Knicks from here, for the time being it would appear that the sky is the limit.

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The Tide throttled LSU’s offense, holding it to a mere 92 yards on the night, limiting the Bayou Bengals to just five first downs, and allowing just one possession to enter Alabama territory in the most important game of the year for either team. And that possession, which didn’t come until midway through the fourth quarter, was ended by a fumble that Alabama recovered — the Tide’s second takeaway of the night — in LSU territory.

Alabama had by far the best run defense in college football in 2011, holding opposing teams to less than 2.5 yards per carry and limiting five opponents to less than a yard per carry. LSU’s running game was the bread and butter of an offense that helped the Tigers put up a 13-0 record, averaging 4.96 yards per carry and producing 35 touchdowns before meeting the Tide defense in New Orleans. But the Tide won that battle in convincing fashion, holding LSU to 1.44 yards per carry; strip Jordan Jefferson’s 18-yard scramble in the fourth quarter, the only run of more than 10 yards against Alabama, and LSU would have averaged less than a yard per carry on the night.

Freese grew up 45 minutes west of Busch Stadium, in Wildwood, Mo. He grew up a Cardinals fan.

The 28-year-old has arrived this postseason, winning NLCS MVP. Late on Thursday night, he grew his legend. First, Freese laced a two-out, two-run, game-tying triple in the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings. Then he led off in the bottom of the 11th inning and ended the game with one swing.