ARLINGTON, Texas -- Coaches and players left them. Others told them to go away. The guys who stuck around at UConn ended up with the last laugh and a pretty good prize to go with it: The national title. Shabazz Napier turned in another all-court masterpiece Monday night to lift the Huskies to a 60-54 win over Kentuckys freshmen and bring home a championship hardly anyone saw coming. "Youre looking at the hungry Huskies," Napier told the crowd and TV audience as confetti rained down. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what happens when you banned us." The senior guard had 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, and his partner in defensive lock-down, Ryan Boatright, finished with 14 points. The victory comes only a short year after the Huskies were barred from March Madness because of grades problems. That stoked a fire no one could put out in 2014. Napier kneeled down and put his forehead to the court for a long while after the buzzer sounded. He was wiping back tears when he cut down the net. "I see my guys enjoying it," Napier said. "Thats the most special feeling ever." UConn (32-8) never trailed in the final. The Huskies led by as many as 15 in the first half and watched the Wildcats (29-11) trim the deficit to one with 8:13 left. But Aaron Harrison, who pulled out wins with clutch 3-pointers in Kentuckys last three games, missed a 3 from the left corner that wouldve given the Cats the lead. Kentucky never got that close again. One key difference in a six-point loss: Kentuckys 11 missed free throws -- a flashback of sorts for coach John Calipari, whose Memphis team blew a late lead against Kansas after missing multiple free throws in the 2008 final. The Wildcats went 13 for 24. UConn went 10 for 10, including Lasan Kromahs two to seal the game with 25.1 seconds left. "We had our chances to win," Calipari said. "Were missing shots, were missing free throws. We just didnt have enough." Calipari said he decided not to foul at the end "because theyre not missing." In all, Caliparis One and Doners got outdone by a more fundamentally sound, more-seasoned group that came into this tournament a seventh-seeded afterthought but walked away with the programs fourth national title since 1999. They were the highest seed to win it all since Rollie Massiminos eighth-seeded Villanova squad in 1985. Napier and Boatright now go down with Kemba Walker, Emeka Okafor, Rip Hamilton, Ray Allen and all those other UConn greats. This adds to the schools titles in 1999, 2004 and 2011. "When they say Ray, Rip, Ben, Emeka, Kemba -- theyll soon say Shabazz," said their former coach, Jim Calhoun, who was in the crowd along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and a father-and-son team whose dance to the "Happy" song got huge applause when played on the big screen at AT&T Stadium. The crowd was cheering for UConn at the end. A short year ago, the Huskies were preparing for their first season in the new American Athletic Conference after being booted from the Big East and not welcomed by any of the so-called power conferences. Calhoun, who built the program, left because of health problems. And most damaging -- the NCAA ban triggered an exodus of five key players to the NBA or other schools. Napier stuck around. So did Boatright. And Calhouns replacement, Kevin Ollie, figured out how to make their grit, court sense and loyalty pay off. "Its not about going to the next level, its not about going to the pros, but playing for your university, playing for your teammates," Niels Giffey said. "And Im so proud of all the guys on this team that stuck with this team." They were one step ahead of Kentucky all night, holding off furious rally after furious rally. Kentuckys biggest push started when James Young (20 points, seven rebounds) posterized Amida Brimah with a monster dunk to start a three-point play and trigger an 8-0 run. In the middle of that, Boatright, who shut down Harrisons twin brother, Andrew, most of the night, twisted his left ankle while receiving an innocuous-looking pass from Napier. He called a timeout. Got it worked on and came back out. "Ive got a lot of heart and I wasnt coming out," Boatright said. "We put in too much work all year for me to give up on an ankle sprain." Napier and Giffey made 3s on UConns two possessions after the timeout, and that one-point lead was back up to five -- fairly comfortable by this tight, taut, buzzer-beating tournaments standards. The big question in Kentucky is what will happen to all those freshmen. Julius Randle (10 points, six rebounds) is a lottery pick if he leaves for the NBA. Young and the Harrison brothers could be first-rounders. The big question is whether theyll want to leave on this note. "I think all these kids are coming back, so I think we should be good," Calipari deadpanned, getting big laughs. He called his group the most coachable bunch hes ever had. They were pre-season No. 1, a huge disappointment through much of this season. They were seeded an uninspiring eighth for the tournament and came on strong in time for a run to the final. But they got outdone by a team on a different sort of mission -- a team led by Napier, who stuck with the program even though he knew the 2012-13 season was for nothing but fun. But what fun 2013-14 turned out to be. Napier was named the Final Fours Most Outstanding Player and he earned it on both ends of the court, keeping a hand in Aaron Harrisons face most of the night and holding him to a 3-for-7, seven-point, no-damage night. He could also shoot it a bit -- including a 3-pointer in the first half when UConn was having trouble dissecting the Kentucky zone. The shot came from about 30 feet, right in front of the edge of the Final Four logo at Center Court, or, as Dick Vitale put it: "He shot that one from Fort Worth." They felt it back in Storrs, where they could be celebrating another title shortly. The UConn women play for the national title Tuesday. If they win, it will be the first sweep of the titles since 2004. The last school to do it: UConn, of course. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Wholesale White Sox Jerseys . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/. Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. White Sox Jerseys 2019 . This week, they discuss the NCAAs revenue sharing, Don Zimmer, soccer language and Super Bowl 50. Chicago White Sox Gear . The 23-year-old Neustaedter will move at the end of the season when his contract with Moenchengladbach expires. He signed a four-year deal with Schalke.CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta said he enjoyed running into some of his old Orioles teammates before Fridays game at Wrigley Field. Then he had an even better time on the mound, shutting down Baltimore in his first start against his former club. Arrieta held Baltimore to four hits in seven innings and Javier Baez homered again as the Chicago Cubs beat the Orioles 4-1. "There was a little more to it, being your former team," Arrieta said. "You know after the first inning, it was just kind of business as usual. "It was nice to face those guys and see a lot of them again. Its been awhile." The Orioles traded Arrieta to Chicago with reliever Pedro Strop in a multi-player deal during last season. Hes turned into Chicagos ace this season. "A really well-played game all the way around," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said. "The stage was actually set by Jake. Jake did a great job; a phenomenal seven innings of work. Baez hit his sixth homer in his 18th game since getting called up from Triple-A, Luis Valbuena also homered, and Logan Watkins and Arismendy Alcantara each drove in runs with singles as the Cubs snapped AL East leading Baltimores four-game winning streak. Baltimores Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 34th homer, a solo shot off Arrieta (7-4) in the seventh. It came on a change-up that Arrieta said "wasnt too bad of a pitch." Cruz wasnt one of Arrietas teammates on the Orioles, but he had faced the right-hander before. "I think he looked more mature," Cruz said. "He has command of all his pitches. He doesnt make many mistakes." Baltimores Kevin Gausman (7-5) allowed three runs on six hits through five innings, He struck out seven. Hector Rondon pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save. Arrieta retired the first 13 Baltimore hitters before Chris Davis lined a solid single to centre wwith one out in the fifth, one of only two innings when the Orioles managed baserunners against Chicagos 6-foot-4 right-hander.dddddddddddd He struck out five and walked only one. Valbuena, batting cleanup with Starlin Castro out due to a family emergency, tied a career-high with his 12th homer that put the Cubs ahead 1-0 in the fourth. Ryan Sweeney doubled one out later, then scored on Watkins single. Baez hit a towering shot just inside the left-field foul pole, on a 3-2 pitch with two out in the fifth to make it 3-0. Cruz ended Arrietas shutout bid with a homer that reached the left field basket. TRAINERS ROOM Orioles: A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that third baseman Manny Machado will "probably" have season-ending surgery on his injured right knee. The person spoke to the AP on Friday under condition of anonymity because there was no official confirmation of Machados plans. A decision was expected this weekend. Yahoo! Sports first reported earlier in the day that the 22-year-old All-Star was likely done for the year. Cubs: RHP Brian Schlitter, on the DL since Aug. 10 (right shoulder inflammation) has resumed throwing and made a relief appearance with the Cubs rookie league affiliate in Mesa, Arizona, on Thursday night. UP NEXT Orioles RHP Bud Norris (11-7, 3.69) faces Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-1, 1.48) on Saturday at 1:20 p.m. CDT. Hendricks has six straight quality starts since rejoining the Cubs on July 22. NOT O-K Including Fridays game Cubs hitters have struck out 104 times in their last nine games. Baez, a free-swinging rookie had fanned 18 times in 33 at-bats. In his 18 games with Chicago, he has fanned 31 times. "It feels good," Baez said of his homer on Friday. "I know I keep fighting to hit the ball hard. Im not afraid to strike out, so Im just going to keep throwing the bat." ' ' '