Final Four - Kentucky Powers Past Louisville Jonathan Bachman/Reuters Kentucky guard Marquis Teague fends off a steal attempt by Louisville's Gorgui Dieng in the Wildcats" 69-61 victory. NEW ORLEANS - The faithful flocked from the Commonwealth of Kentucky for their sporting version of a religious experience. The fans of Louisville and Kentucky practically filled the Superdome, with its capacity for 74,000 people, and created an atmosphere that made this national semifinal matchup feel like a high school bandbox in Paducah or Owensboro. But in a game that served as a metaphor for Kentucky's dominance in both its home state and throughout this college basketball season, the team known as Big Blue continued to roll. Kentucky fans overflowed Bourbon Street, made the Superdome rumble and had the blue-clad faithful rising from their pews in celebration of Kentucky's herky-jerky 69-61 victory. Kentucky positioned itself to win its eighth national championship, as it will be a heavy favorite when it faces the winner between Ohio State and Kansas on Monday night in the national title game. The Wildcats were led by the precocious freshman Anthony Davis, who scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and shot 7 of 8 from the field. Louisville hung around enough to tie the score at 49-49 in the second half and trailed by only 2 points with 7 minutes 34 seconds left in the game. The Cardinals, who featured a balanced scoring attack, were led by Peyton Siva, who finished with 11 points. The game turned with 5:04 remaining when the Kentucky senior Darius Miller swished a right-wing 3-pointer to build the Wildcats" lead to 58-51. On a team full of resplendent freshmen like Davis, whose N.B.A. potential seem almost unlimited, Miller is the lone fourth-year senior in the rotation. He scored 13 points off the bench for the Wildcats and keyed a 6-0 run with 2 steals and 4 points early as Kentucky led by as many as 13 points early in the second half. But the biggest star on Saturday night was Davis, the best player in the country who looked dominant at times as he blocked shots as if playing Whack-A-Mole. He made his first five shots from the field and left fans wondering why he didn't get more touches on offense. Kentucky shot 60 percent in the first half against the nation's stingiest defense and led by 10 points with just over four minutes remaining. The most impressive flurry took place when point guard Marquis Teague lobbed an alley-oop to Davis that resulted in one of the most authoritative dunks of the tournament. The stadium roared, and the moment hinted that Louisville just may be overmatched, as Davis soared like a condor over the Cardinal frontline. But Louisville, led by the pesky Russ Smith and the savvy Chane Behanan, charged back to stay in the game and gave a hint of what lay ahead in the second half. The Cardinals cut the Kentucky lead to 3 points with 1:30 remaining before the Wildcats finished strong to close the half with a 35-28 lead. Louisville's best attribute in the first half was rebounding. The Cardinals grabbed seven offensive rebounds to help them contain Kentucky's lead. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, one of the Wildcats" star freshmen, played just six minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls, slowing down the typically high-octane Kentucky offense. But at times it looked as if the Cardinals couldn't get out of their own way. Kentucky's talent was evident on the defensive end, where the presence of Davis, the national player of the year, rattled Louisville center Gorgui Dieng. He missed an open dunk, turned the ball over three times and shot just 2 for 7 from the field. Louisville's guards kept dashing down the lane and trying to force passes to him, which either resulted in his failure to hold on to them or the ball skipping out of bounds. Louisville's offensive game plan to take the ball to Davis appeared to backfire as he picked up just one foul - a questionable charge - hit all four of his shots from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. But Kentucky's early burst to the lead didn't come from Davis. The first palpable roar in the Superdome came less than three minutes into the game. Kentucky scored on four consecutive possessions as the Wildcats hit three layups and a wide-open jumper to burst out to an 8-2 lead. The Superdome shook the way it does during Saints" home games as Kentucky fans serenaded from the top of the rafters. And as the Wildcats pulled away to win, the roar lasted long into the New Orleans night.