Kentucky basketball fans were far more sedate when they took to the streets to celebrate the school's eighth NCAA championship Monday, a stark contrast to the violence that followed the semifinal win over Louisville two days earlier. The University of Kentucky Wildcats, college basketball's most successful program, defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59, setting off a raucous night of partying on the campus in Lexington. Thousands flooded the campus and the streets of downtown Lexington following the school's first NCAA basketball title since 1998. Lexington police said had put out one small fire and reported only a handful of arrests. “It's controlled chaos right now and we're all hoping it stays that way,” one campus police officer told reporters. Thousands of students poured onto the streets surrounding the campus, some singing the school fight song, some waving University of Kentucky and American flags, and others snapping pictures and taking video to preserve the historic evening. Following Kentucky's victory over bitter rivals Louisville Saturday, at least one car was overturned and burned and several couches were set ablaze near campus. About 30 people were arrested by police, the sheriff's office, fire emergency services and campus police on charges ranging from alcohol intoxication to criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. Pictures and video footage of the scene made national headlines, embarrassing school and local officials, who vowed to prevent a repeat performance on Monday. Kentucky overcame an uncharacteristically tepid performance by red-hot freshman Anthony Davis to defeat Kansas. The Wildcats (38-2) raced to a 41-27 lead at halftime and never looked back, weathering a late Kansas rally but never allowing the Jayhawks to climb closer than five points. Doron Lamb paced the Wildcats with 22 points, while Marquis Teague added 14 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11. Tyshawn Taylor led Kansas with 19 points, while Thomas Robinson added 18 but the All-America forward hit only six of 17 shots. The 6-foot-10, 220-pound Davis, the consensus player of the year, finished with just six points on one of 10 shooting from the floor but had a team-leading 16 rebounds, six blocks and five assists. “They did it with defense, unbelievable defense in that first half,” Kentucky coach John Calipari told reporters. “And the second half again I pulled the reins a little bit and they were all over me, ‘Let us go, let us go,' “We were trying to get out of this gym alive. But you have to give Kansas credit they didn't stop like they have this whole tournament. They played well.” Although Davis was scoreless in the opening half, the Wildcats hit 16 of 30 shots and held a commanding 25-14 lead on the glass. They finished with a 43-35 advantage in rebounds. Kansas was unable to seriously threaten the Wildcats' lead after halftime, delighting the largely blue and white-clad, pro-Kentucky crowd at the Louisiana Superdome. The victory handed Calipari his first national crown in his fourth Final Four appearance, although two of those were vacated for using an ineligible player. Calipari, regarded as one of the nation's top recruiters, has an eye-popping 102-14 record since arriving in Lexington three years ago after a successful decade coaching Memphis. The victory was a measure of redemption for Calipari, whose Memphis team lost to Kansas 75-68 in overtime in the 2008 title game after his team blew four of five free throws down the stretch in regulation. Kentucky was the nation's best team virtually the entire season, losing only to Indiana 73-72 and to Vanderbilt 71-64 in the finals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
