Kentucky dumps Baylor to advance to Final Four again

Sixteen consecutive points, an NBA-like display of defensive dominance and easy baskets that sent the Georgia Dome, and the predominantly blue-clad crowd, into a frenzy.

Cat-Lanta, indeed. Too bad RGIII couldn’t suit up for the Bears, who couldn’t wear the neon-green home uniforms they had specially made for the tournament. As the lower-seeded team, they switched to another special uniform, this one black and camouflage with neon trim.

Turns out, blue was the dominant color.

Jones displayed his all-around game, coming up with three steals and swatting away a shot by 5-foot-10 Pierre Jackson like this was a game between men and boys. Kentucky fed off his defense, running the court at every opportunity for layup after layup. Kidd-Gilchrist had three of ‘em, along with a slam by Davis that made up for the one he missed.

Darius Miller hit a jumper, and even little-used freshman Kyle Wiltjer knocked down a 3-pointer, pumping his fist and smiling as he trotted back down the court.

There were plenty of smiles from the folks in blue, though Kentucky did get a scare early in the second half when Davis went down with an injured left knee.

The 6-foot-10 freshman was driving to the basket when he banged knees with Baylor’s Perry Jones III, going down hard along the baseline. A hush fell over the massive stadium as Davis, writhing in pain, grabbed at his knee. Finally, he limped to the bench, but it was clear the injury wasn’t too serious when the trainers kept flexing the leg, then rubbed it with an ointment to ease the pain.

After just a few minutes, Davis got up and headed to the scorer’s table, checking back into the game.

The Kentucky fans broke into a huge cheer of relief.

There’s still work to do in the Big Easy.

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