Brian McInnis
Star-Advertiser sports reporter

The Kansas Jayhawks might lack the top-to-bottom talent of Kentucky, but they’ve proven it can win the close ones in this tournament, beating Purdue and North Carolina State by three points each to get to the Final Four.

KU got by Ohio State on Dec. 10, and they’ll do it again in the rematch. Granted, the last meeting was without OSU’s Jared Sullinger, but KU has exceeded expectations all season behind Thomas Robinson. Robinson was highly impressive at the Maui Invitational in November, even when KU lost to Duke in a thrilling final. T-Rob will best Sullinger in their head-to-head matchup.

In a championship with KU against Kentucky, the Jayhawks will be heavy underdogs. But Self got the better of UK coach John Calipari in 2008, when the Jayhawks beat Memphis for the national championship, and I like Robinson and guard Tyshawn Taylor to pull the upset.

Kansas 81, Kentucky 77

Ferd Lewis
Star-Advertiser sports columnist

This is Kentucky’s national championship to win. To hang alongside the others in Rupp Arena.

Always has been. The whole Bluegrass State has known it before the first ball got bounced during practice back in September. The pollsters have reaffirmed it for most of the season and the NCAA committee certified it with the No. 1 seed.

John Calipari, the well-traveled mercenary, has assembled the best NBA-ready roster of one-and-done players in the country. But, as we have seen over the years, the best talent doesn’t always get to cut down the nets at the end. The only question this year is whether Calipari, in the zeal to beat rival Rick Pitino Saturday en route to achieving that elusive his first national championship, over-coaches all that talent.

Kentucky 71, Ohio State 63

Dave Reardon
Star-Advertiser sports columnist

Kentucky over Louisville: Rick Pitino has a team that is capable in both man-to-man and zone defenses, but it won’t matter against a team with as many weapons and different ways to score as the Wildcats. The ’Cats will win the Battle of Kentucky, with Anthony Davis’ (4.3 blocks per game) defense around the basket one of the difference-makers. Ohio State over Kansas: Superb big men Jared Sullinger and Thomas Robinson will basically cancel each other out. The difference will be at point guard, where the Buckeyes’ Aaron Craft will force the Jayhawks’ talented but erratic Tyshawn Taylor into some critical mistakes.

Kentucky over Ohio State: The Buckeyes have one of the best front lines in the nation. But Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones (the old man up front as a sophomore) will be up to the task.

Kentucky 71, Ohio State 61

Jeff Portnoy
Basketball commentator, Blogger

Sure, everybody is picking Kentucky. And why not? The Wildcats have two NBA lottery picks, the best starting five and have handled their first four opponents with ease. But can I really pick a Calipari-coached team? I think not. Will Kentucky be the third Final Four team coached by him that faces NCAA sanctions (ask UMass and Memphis). And then there is Louisville, coached by former UH interim coach, Rick Pitino. Oh yes, I forgot, he doesn’t acknowledge that brief stint and the NCAA sanctions that almost ended UH’s basketball program. So in the battle of my favorite coaches, it will be Kentucky. On the other side, there are two programs that appear to do things right. Coaches who win the right way. I like Ohio State to defeat Kansas.

In the final. I am going with the Buckeyes. Call me crazy, but I still believe there are some things right about big-time college basketball, and a Kentucky championship is not one of them.

Ohio State 72, Kentucky 68

Chris Tanaka
Sports director, Hawaii News Now

The Final Four is being held at 12:01 a.m. Sorry Cinderella, this party takes place after your bed time, and the preferred footwear is work boots, not glass slippers.

In one national semifinal, a pair of two-seeds brings that laborers mentality. In the eight tournament games combined, Ohio State and Kansas have allowed their opponents to score more than 67 points only once. The difference between these two is depth, and Kansas has more of it. In the second, Rick Pitino of Louisville goes against his former program, Kentucky. I keep thinking that Pitino will have some devious scheme up his sleeve to confound the Wildcats … but then I keep seeing the Wildcats flying down the court in wave after athletic wave. Kentucky takes this one.

In the national championship, I like Kentucky for two reasons: 1. Their overall athleticism and starpower. 2. I picked them in my bracket.

Kentucky 76, Kansas 69