CLEVELAND – Kentucky freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns told his dad that the person who struggled mightily against West Virginia in the Sweet 16 was not him.The kid who registered one point, two rebounds, one turnover, four fouls and no made field goals in 13 minutes of a 39-point rout of West Virginia was a 6-foot-11 mystery man.That mystery man did not show up at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night.Against Notre Dame, Towns played like the Freshman All-American he is, putting together an offensive clinic against the Fighting Irish that they had no answer for. After going 2 for 5 in the first half, Towns went 8 for 8 in the second half to finish with a career-high 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in 25 minutes of action.”He was unbelievable,” UK head coach John Calipari said.Kentucky didn’t miss a shot for the final 12:05 of the game to stave off a Notre Dame team that appeared destined to be the first to knock off the undefeated Wildcats. Instead, UK hit each of its final nine shots, with Towns accounting for four of them.”I just did a better job of getting better position,” Towns said of his second half. “Also I jumped a lot more, used my legs. I was liking that in the first half. And in the second half, I just trusted what the coaching staff told me, and I guess the results speak for themselves.”With Notre Dame essentially refusing to put two defenders on Towns in the paint, the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year excelled. He went to his right with a left baby hook. He went to his left with a right baby hook. He pump faked and went up and under. He finished through contact.”They didn’t do anything to stop him,” junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein said. “They didn’t try to double him. Every other team we play, they double him. They just played a dude on him, straight up, and he’ll torch whoever is gonna play straight up on him. You can’t just put one player on him. That’s what he did. Give him the ball and get out of his way. He’s going to find a way to put the ball in there.”Essentially, he showed why many NBA Draft analysts have him pegged as either the No. 1 or the No. 2 pick this summer.”Offensively, by the time this season winds down, I want people to look and say, wow, a big man, can make free throws, can score around the basket, can play pick and roll defense, not today but he can,” Coach Cal said. “Blocked shots, makes his free throws. That’s what you want, and I’ll tell you, he’s the greatest kid, he’s a great kid, really is.”And because of that, his essential absence against West Virginia is what was so puzzling. How can a guy go 0 for 3 from the field one game, and then the next game hit 10-of-13 shot attempts while battling foul trouble?The answer may just be that he’s a 19-year-old kid and that he plays on a team loaded with numerous scoring options. If you’re not “engaged” in the game, as both he and Coach Cal said he wasn’t, you can get lost in the shuffle.No matter the reason, Towns wasn’t worried about it, and his teammates had all the faith in the world that he would bounce back in a big way.”With this team, you never worry about what you did last game,” Towns said. “That wasn’t me. I just went out there and I wasn’t engaged. I just wasn’t playing well. You don’t let that game affect how you play this game, especially in a time like this. It’s not even a regular season game, this is tournament time. I just took yesterday to work hard and refocus.””They asked me last game, what do you think Karl’s gonna do next game,” Ulis said. “I said he’s gonna have a big game. It’s Karl. He’s a great player, one of the best players in the country and he carried us this entire game and I thank him for that.”He doesn’t worry about the last game. It tells you how confident he is in his game and how much he’s grown throughout the season, playing through fouls, finishing over the defenders and just listening to what Cal says.”After the game, Towns sat in his locker at Quicken Loans Arena with a swarm of media around him and the Midwest Regional trophy proudly sitting in his lap. Freshly minted the regional’s Most Outstanding Player, Towns could hardly get the smile off his face.A kid wise well beyond his years, though not immune to a few childish actions from time to time, Towns was able to reflect and appreciate the moment. Just because Kentucky was undefeated, just because he was one of the most highly touted players coming out of high school and a likely millionaire in a few months’ time doesn’t mean what happened Saturday had to happen the way it did.”There are a lot of things you’re supposed to do in life. Sometime it doesn’t go your way,” Towns said. “Just blessed to have it so far go our way and we have more work to do, but we’re going to really cherish this moment and enjoy this moment.”