The NCAA championship game on Monday is set: UConn will take on Butler. Earlier in the night, Butler defeated VCU to clinch one of the spots in the final game of the 2010-11 college basketball season. Later in the night at the 2011 Final Four, UConn beat Kentucky by a final score of 56-55 to clinch the other spot in Monday's national championship game.
The first half of tonight's Kentucky-UConn game started out close. It didn't last, though, as Kemba Walker finally got going halfway through the first and UConn proceeded to go on a run. By halftime the Huskies led by a score of 31-21, and it looked like this game could turn into a blowout.
Kentucky made sure that didn't happen by opening the second half with a string of three-pointers. Within five minutes the Wildcats went from trailing by 10 to leading by two. It was quite the turnaround, and after Kentucky took the lead the two teams settled in and went back and forth. The play was so back and forth that a pair of media timeouts were missed, leading to a long stretch with no stoppages. This really hurt Kentucky, which doesn't have a ton of depth. The 'Cats were very fatigued, allowing UConn to go up by six points with less than two minutes to go.
Kentucky cut the lead in half on a DeAndre Liggins three. He made one of two free throws with 49 seconds left, making this a two-point game. Following a UConn turnover, Kentucky had a chance to tie or win the game, and the Wildcats went for the win. Liggins had a good look from three-point land, but the ball clanked off the rim. UConn grabbed the rebound, made a pair of free throws and sealed the 56-55 victory (Kentucky hit a three at the buzzer).
UConn and Butler will meet in an all-dog national championship at 9:23 p.m. (ET) on Monday night.
To keep track of the games that have already been played, check out SBNation.com's printable NCAA tournament 2011 bracket. Also make sure to check out SB Nation Detroit's NCAA tournament StoryStream.