NCAA tournament 2012: Kentucky tops Baylor, sets up Bluegrass State battle From Syracuse's Fab Melo to North Carolina's Kendall Marshall, the tournament has already seen marquee players sidelined for various reasons. And the Wildcats could ill-afford to lose the national player of the year candidate as they prepare for a juicy national semifinal matchup against in-state rival Louisville. As Davis drove to the basket, Baylor's Perry Jones III provided help defense and briefly collided with Davis, who went down holding his knee. After being taken out of the game, Davis sat on the bench grimacing as he tried to move the joint with the help of a team trainer. Only a little more than one minute ran off the clock before Davis checked back into the game, much to the delight of the fans. Davis seemed more mobile as the game wore on. Midway through the first half, the nation's leading shot-blocker soared through the air and swatted away A.J. Walton's shot attempt. He was finally taken out of the game with 33.1 seconds remaining before Kentucky locked up a berth in its second straight Final Four before 24,035 fans. Davis finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 19 points. And the Wildcats made 30 of 44 free throw attempts in the win over third-seeded Baylor. Kentucky Coach John Calipari has repeatedly said that his team is the only team in the tournament not allowed to lose this season. For Kentucky fans, the only acceptable outcome this season will be the school's first national title since 1998. Point guard Marquis Teague had said that the Wildcats" players are relishing these final few games together this season because they know at least a handful will be headed to the NBA next season. The Wildcats have no more than two more games left to showcase the rare collection of talent that overwhelmed what had looked like an equally athletic team from Baylor. There was 18-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist making 6 of 7 field goal attempts in the first half, scoring as many points as the entire Baylor team (17) in the game's first 16 minutes. There was Terrence Jones, who decided to return to school because the Wildcats fell short of a national championship last season, distributing the ball like a 6-9 point guard in the first half, collecting nearly as many assists (six) as the entire Baylor team. And finally there was Davis catching and converting lob passes into dunks and making outside jump shots that helped swell the Wildcats" lead to 22 points. After struggling in the game's first few minutes, Kentucky showed no signs of tired legs despite some players not sleeping until 4 a.m. Saturday morning after the exhausting victory over fourth-seeded Indiana. Baylor's Quincy Acy tried to set the game's tenor early by hammering Jones on a breakaway layup attempt. A flagrant I foul was assessed, which angered Baylor Coach Scott Drew. Things were about to get much worse for the Baylor coach who took the Bears to two Elite Eight appearances in three seasons. Quincy Miller's three-pointer gave Baylor a 10-5 lead and prompted Calipari to take a timeout, setting the stage for the Wildcats" avalanche of points. Jones flipped a pass to freshman Kyle Wiltjer, a former McDonald's all-American whom Calipari called one of the best shooters he has coached, for a high-arcing three-pointer over the outstretched hand of Deuce Bello. Jones then fired a pass ahead to Kidd-Gilchrist for a layup. Sixteen straight points during a span of 5:06 left Baylor shell-shocked. Kentucky eventually unleashed a 25-5 run that included Jones's lob pass to Davis for a dunk. By game's end, Kentucky fans breathed a sigh of relief that Davis was able to finish in relatively good health.