In The Catbird Seat Kentucky Rules College Hoops

Roust the traditionalists. The barons of the bluegrass again are kings of college basketball.

Its characteristic - and predicted - blowout never materialized, but Kentucky outlasted stubborn Syracuse 76-67 Monday night at the Meadowlands to win a sixth national championship.

Tony Delk tied a championship-game record with seven 3-pointers, and a cast of players made key plays down the stretch as the Wildcats, a 14-point favorite, withstood tireless John Wallace and the Orangemen before a sellout crowd of 19,229.

Kentucky answered Syracuse’s last-gasp run with a key tip-in by Walter McCarty and a 3-pointer by Derek Anderson.

Although it was hardly the manner in which the depth-filled Wildcats (34-2) were expected to win, it made little difference to coach Rick Pitino and the legion of 5,000 Kentucky fans in the building.

With Pitino trying to sort through his emotions at courtside and unsung center Mark Pope working his camcorder after receiving the championship trophy, Wildcats fans sang, “My Old Kentucky Home.”

“We’re a little bit like the Green Bay Packers,” Pitino said. “We’ve been a close-knit team all season long, but the whole state owns this team. I haven’t celebrated in three weeks, but New York City is going to be painted tonight.”

Wear denim and paint it blue.

And give Delk a big brush.

Delk, a senior, who gracefully accepted a switch from point guard to shooting guard early in the season, sank six 3s in the first half and made his record-tying seventh in style.

His 3 from the corner turned into a four-point play with 11:12 left when he was fouled by Todd Burgan. The ensuing free throw put Kentucky ahead, 59-46.

“He was hot all night,” said Ron Mercer, who backed Delk’s 24 points with 20 of his own. “He stepped up and showed everybody why he was the SEC player of the year.”

Said Delk, the Final Four’s most outstanding player: “You work so hard every day, you shoot so many 3s that when you’re open you take them. That’s the way we play… . It wasn’t only me knocking out 3s, Ron and everyone else played big tonight.”

Syracuse (29-9) made mistakes that proved just as critical. They included five consecutive turnovers preceding Delk’s final 3.

And they allowed the Wildcats to become champions despite shooting worse (38.4 percent) than any titlist in 33 years.

The Orangemen, who committed only five turnovers in a semifinal triumph over Mississippi State on Saturday, had their fifth on Monday 6:05 into the game.

They finished with 24.

“We made about three or four bad turnovers that we couldn’t afford,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “We didn’t have to play a perfect game, but we had to play a little bit better than we did.

“We played pretty well. We held them to 40 percent shooting, kept the ball away from their good shooters a number of times.”

Wallace did his best.

Syracuse’s star forward toiled for 38 minutes, producing 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting and 10 rebounds.

But perhaps his key statistic was five fouls.

Syracuse trailed 72-67, but had the ball and Lazarus Sims, sporting a wrap on a badly sprained left wrist, spotted Wallace in the lane. But Sims’ pass was stolen by Pope, who then was fouled in frustration by Wallace, his fifth foul.

“We needed a big play right then,” Boeheim said. “That was the game.”

Said Wallace: “It was a bad feeling, fouling out, leaving your team hanging there like that. We definitely could have won the game.”

Instead, the Orangemen head home two-time runners-up. They lost to Indiana in their only other title-game appearance when Keith Smart hit a buzzer-beater in 1987.

For Kentucky, Monday’s title adds to the ones the Wildcats won in 1948, ‘49, ‘51 and ‘58 under Adolph Rupp. Joe B. Hall guided the ‘78 team to Kentucky’s other title.

Only UCLA (11) owns more championships.