Brandon Knight

Philadelphia University is a picturesque campus nestled in the East Falls section of the city. The tiny Division II school's athletic program doesn't receive a fraction of the attention that the Big Five schools get. Well, not until this week. As the host of the Reebok All-American Camp, Philly U. was the center of the college basketball universe. The five-day camp, which concluded last night, showcased 151 of the nation's premier high school boys' basketball players.

NEWARK, N.J. - Kentucky had fallen one agonizing game short last season of reaching a Final Four it had seemed destined to reach, then lost five players who were first-round selections in the NBA draft. But even though expectations were not nearly as great this season, the Wildcats got to the Final Four after all, outdueling North Carolina in the final three minutes Sunday to defeat the Tar Heels, 76-69, and reserve a spot in the national semifinals. The champion of the East Regional as a No. 4 seed, Kentucky (29-8)

NEWARK, N.J. - It had all the characteristics of a heavyweight championship fight - terrific individual matchups, gritty defense, physical play underneath that wasn't for the faint of heart. Ohio State, the overall No. 1 seed, and young but talented Kentucky went at it for 40 minutes Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA East Regional at the Prudential Center, with the lead changing hands, it seemed, every time you blinked your eyes. But in the end, it was Brandon Knight who knocked down the game-winner, a 15-footer from the right wing with 5.4 seconds to play, to give the fourth-seeded Wildcats a 62-60 victory and a berth in Sunday's regional championship game against No. 2 North Carolina.

NEWARK, N.J. - It had all the characteristics of a heavyweight championship fight - terrific individual matchups, gritty defense, physical play underneath that wasn't for the faint of heart. Ohio State, the overall No. 1 seed, and young but talented Kentucky went at it for 40 minutes Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA East Regional at the Prudential Center, with the lead changing hands, it seemed, every time you blinked your eyes. But in the end, it was Brandon Knight who knocked down the game-winner, a 15-footer from the right wing with 5.4 seconds to play, to give the fourth-seeded Wildcats a 62-60 victory and a berth in Sunday's regional championship game against No. 2 North Carolina.

NEWARK, N.J. - Four of the top 10 touted freshmen in the class of 2010 will play tonight at the Prudential Center in the NCAA East Regional. Three of them had instant success and sustained it. The fourth, the player voted a preseason first-team All-America, the most highly acclaimed of the class, shot 0-for-12 against Minnesota, 3-for-12 against Charleston, 2-for-9 against Illinois and 3-for-11 against Evansville. Jared Sullinger (Ohio State) had 26 points and 10 rebounds in his second game, a Buckeyes rout at Florida on Nov. 16. He averaged a double-double and was a force all season for the No. 1 team.

The Monday after Selection Sunday should be a national holiday. If you're doing any real work Monday you're either a sucker or a Communist or both. When I was a senior writer at Boston magazine, I'd spend the entire day filling out brackets while watching for the boss. He didn't like basketball, and he went to Duke. We didn't get along for those reasons and lots of others. (He was a sucker and, I suspect, a Communist.) Now I work for basketball- and-freedom-loving Americans who tasked me to fill out a bracket and write a column about it. It's a great gig. There's just one problem with the assignment: The bosses wanted me to fill out only one sheet.

BOB COONEY   1. Cleveland: Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke 2. Minnesota: Derrick Williams, SF, Arizona 3. Utah: Brandon Knight, PG, Kentucky 4. Cleveland: Enes Kanter, C, Kentucky 5. Toronto: Kemba Walker, PG, Connecticut 6. Washington: Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Diego State 7. Sacramento: Jan Vesely, PF, Serbia 8. Detroit: Jonas Valanciunas, C, Lithuania 9. Charlotte: Marcus Morris, PF, Kansas ...

Josh Smith scored 25 points, Joe Johnson and Vladimir Radmanovic each added 17, and the host Atlanta Hawks beat Chicago, 109-94, on Saturday night to snap the Bulls' six-game winning streak. John Lucas III had 14 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter for Chicago, which never led. The Bulls, who dropped to 7-2, had been off to their best start since going 12-0 in 1996-97. Derrick Rose, last season's league MVP, scored eight points for Chicago - his lowest total since the Bulls took a 17-point victory at Toronto on Dec. 15, 2010.

Bradley Beal scored 20 points, and Nene added 11 points and nine rebounds, as the Washington Wizards beat the Raptors, 90-84, in Toronto on Monday night for their third consecutive victory. A.J. Price and Martell Webster each added 12 points for the Wizards, who won for just the fifth time in 27 road games. DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Kyle Lowry had 18 for the Raptors, who had won six of their previous seven. Elsewhere: Paul Pierce scored 26 points, including seven straight in overtime, and the Boston Celtics beat the Utah Jazz, 110-107, in Salt Lake City.

Kobe Bryant had 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absences of injured Dwight Howard and suspended Metta World Peace, plus the loss of Pau Gasol, to beat the host Brooklyn Nets, 92-83, on Tuesday night. Howard missed his third consecutive game with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Gasol, his replacement, appeared to injure his right foot with a little more than four minutes remaining. Elsewhere: The host Houston Rockets tied an NBA record and set a franchise mark with 23 three-pointers in a 140-109 win over Golden State.