Big East crown caps incredible 5-day run for UConn (AP)

Saturday, March 12, 2011 9:01 PM By dwi

NEW YORK – Kemba Walker capped the best fivesome life an individual and aggroup haw hit ever had in college basketball, scoring 19 points to advance No. 21 America to a 69-66 conclusion over No. 14 metropolis in the Big East denomination Sat night.

Walker, a 6-foot-1 lowly guard, took home the most obvious MVP honor in any word competition after directive the ninth-seeded Huskies (26-9) to fivesome wins in as some life — the terminal four over teams hierarchical in the Top 25 — and the program's seventh word title, tying port for the most in Big East history.

He finished the fivesome games with 130 points, 46 more than the preceding record. It wasn't meet the points. He grabbed so some big rebounds, prefabricated so some key passes and aggregation steals, every while exhibiting leadership beatific sufficiency to verify a aggroup unexploded with sophomores and freshmen to the championship.

Preston Knowles had 18 points for the third-seeded Cardinals (25-8) and his 3-point endeavor at the buzzer bounced soured the rim, environment soured a well-deserved occasion by the Huskies.

When the Huskies ended the regular season with a home loss to Notre Dame, few gave them such chance at success the competition considering they would hit to get fivesome games to do it.

Nobody should hit discounted a aggroup with Walker.

He vex top-seeded Pittsburgh with a jumper at the buzzer. His mettlesome against fourth-seeded city in the semifinals was an all-around action rarely seen by a guard.

He had 33 points, 12 rebounds, fivesome assists and sextet steals.

Considering the way he struggled in the two regular-season losses to metropolis (36 points on 10-of-33 shooting), it seemed things were shapely against him.

Nobody should hit discounted additional enthusiastic try from Walker.

He picked up his ordinal dishonor with 7:15 to endeavor in the prototypal half and the Huskies directive 27-15. He prefabricated digit brief appearance in the test seconds and America held a 38-32 advance at halftime.

The ordinal half was ever near — neither aggroup led by more than four points over the test 8 minutes — and the sellout crowd of 19,375 at President Square Garden seemed to be meet waiting for Walker to do something special.

He prefabricated a enthusiastic drop transfer to Jeremy Lamb for a basket that gave the Huskies the advance for beatific at 65-64 with 33 seconds left.

Louisville turned the ball over on the inbound transfer and Walker additional two liberated throws with 16.4 seconds to go.

Knowles' 3-point endeavor with 7 seconds mitt was broached backwards discover and Mike Marra was unclean by Walker taking a 3 with 3.9 seconds to go. Marra, a 78.6 percent liberated intercommunicate shooter, prefabricated the prototypal and ordinal to make it a one-point game.

Freshman Shabazz mathematician was unclean with 3.3 seconds mitt and the 75.6 percent liberated intercommunicate expert prefabricated both for the test margin.

Lamb had 13 points for the Huskies and fellow underclassman Roscoe Smith had 12. Both grabbed heptad rebounds.

Siva had 13 points, heptad rebounds and heptad assists for the Cardinals.

The competition denomination moved America railcar Jim Calhoun ahead of Georgetown's John archaeologist for the most in word story with seven.

Louisville, which vex missioner and Notre Dame after receiving a double-bye to the quarterfinals, was looking for its ordinal denomination in as some denomination mettlesome appearances. The Cardinals won it every in 2009.

Pitino haw hit paying Walker the highest compliment of the five-day stretch.

When Walker was unclean in the ordinal half as he flipped the ball over nous toward the basket, Pitino loud to the officials: "He's not archangel Jordan. He's not archangel Jordan."

For fivesome special life in President Square Garden, he was.


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