Kentucky-Kansas NCAA Championship Game Makes Rivals of Celtics Teammates Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce

BOSTON –- Paul Pierce decorated his locker with three University of Kansas hats and a T-shirt Sunday, showing off his school pride in advance of the Jayhawks' showdown with Kentucky in the NCAA men's basketball championship on Monday night.

After the game, Pierce confidently predicted his alma mater would win.

"He has to say that," said teammate Rajon Rondo, a Kentucky product. "He went to Kansas."

Pierce and Rondo said they had planned to place a friendly wager on the game, but did not say Sunday if they had made one.

Rondo played two years at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats win the SEC championship and advance to the Elite Eight in 2005. Pierce earned Big 12 Conference tournament MVP honors in his last two seasons at Kansas before he left his junior year in 1998.

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