National final: SAN ANTONIO -- Call them the Comeback 'Cats.

Andre Miller and the Utes were running on all cylinders ... until the second half Monday night. (AP)

Kentucky capped a truly maddening March with an unprecedented second-half rally, beating Utah 78-69 Monday night to win its second NCAA championship in three years. And the Wildcats did it this time with a new coach and without stars in their lineup.

Kentucky won its seventh national title with its third straight rally of the tournament and became the first team to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit.

National semifinal: SAN ANTONIO -- No gimmicks this time for Utah, just another win over a No. 1 seed.

One week after the Utes shocked the defending national champions in a 25-point laugher, they held on for a 65-59 victory over top-ranked North Carolina on Saturday, advancing to the Final Four championship game for the second time in school history. Utah won the title in 1944.

Against North Carolina, the nation's leading shooting team at 52 percent, the Utes went straight man-to-man and lived up to their title as the No. 2 field goal defensive team in the country. The Tar Heels shot just 39 percent (27-for-69), including 3-for-23 from 3-point range.

Elite Eight: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was a "Cat-astrophe" of massive proportions.

Defending NCAA champion Arizona, stymied by a combination of Utah's stifling defense and its own horrendous shooting, was stunned 76-51 by the third-seeded Utes in Saturday's West Regional championship.

The Utes, rarely mentioned on the same level as the nation's basketball powers, handed the Wildcats their worst postseason loss ever. Arizona lost to Kentucky by 24 points in the 1946 National Invitation Tournament.

Sweet 16: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jarrod West couldn't come up with a miracle shot for West Virginia, and this time he even had three chances.

Michael Doleac made two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining as Utah held off the Mountaineers 65-62 in the West Regional semifinals Thursday night.

Even the presence of Jerry West, the most famous West Virginia alumnus of them all, couldn't help the 10th-seeded Mountaineers record another upset.

Second Round: BOISE, Idaho -- Andre Miller scored half of his career-high 28 points in the final 6:58 as third-seeded Utah advanced to its third straight regional semifinal with a 75-69 victory over sixth seed Arkansas in the West Regional second round.

Michael Doleac added 16 points for Utah (27-3), which will play 10th-seeded West Virginia in the regional semifinals Thursday at Anaheim, California.

Miller, who iced the game with six free throws in the final minute, was 9-of-14 from the field and picked apart Arkansas' halfcourt defense, breaking down counterpart Kareem Reid for short jumpers in the lane.

Reid and Derek Hood scored 16 points apiece for Arkansas, which made its earliest NCAA Tournament exit since losing to Memphis in the second round in 1992. The Razorbacks, who did not make the field of 64 last year, had reached the "Sweet 16" in their previous four appearances.

First Round: San Francisco's return to the NCAA Tournament 16 years after its basketball program was dropped in disgrace didn't last long.

Utah's towering front line, with an average height of 6-foot-7, overpowered the Dons 85-68 Thursday night in the first round.

Michael Doleac scored 27 points -- making 15 of 17 free throws -- for the Utes. He and fellow senior Drew Hansen, who had 13 points, played their 10th NCAA tournament game, a Utah record.

Key players: Michael Doleac is a smooth big man that seems to glide through the paint. Andre Miller is a mystery to most of the country, but the senior point guard does it all for the Utes. Arizona learned this the hard way as Miller scored 18 points and added career-highs of 14 rebounds and 13 assists in the regional final.