NCAA Final: Kansas vs. Memphis

For the first time since 2004, the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament will crown a new champion other than North Carolina or Florida. That’s because Memphis rolled over UCLA 78-63 and Kansas surprisingly pounded North Carolina 84-66 last night at the Final Four. The Tar Heels were out hustled and out muscled by the Jayhawks early in the game as they beat Carolina at their own speed game by racing out to a 40-12 lead midway through the first half. Carolina made a furious rally and cut the lead to as few as 4 in the second half before Kansas ended the game on a 17-5 run to close it out. As for Memphis, the Tigers showed why they have been one of the two best teams the entire year as they simply had too much size and firepower for a UCLA team that was making their third straight Final Four appearance. Memphis had too much depth for the Bruins, who sorely need another scorer to help them take the next step. The Tigers were able to run and play at their pace and didn’t allow UCLA to slow the game to a crawl as the Bruins did in their ugly 50-45 win over Memphis in the West Regional Final two years ago. This sets up a great championship game between the two winners. Coaches Bill Self of Kansas and John Calipari both deserve to have their teams here as they have done a great job all year long. This will be the first championship game appearance for each. As for the game, I like Memphis. Unlike UCLA, Kansas really has a lot of quality depth and good size on their front line as they showed in controlling Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough for a good chunk of the game. But Memphis’ front line is also very talented as they dominated UCLA freshman sensation Kevin Love and made him a minimal factor in their game. Memphis also has a great point guard in freshman Derrick Rose. He has the ability to control the tempo of games and dominate. He’s very strong for a guard and is not afraid to take it inside to the glass. I think two things will decide this game- Rose will be the difference maker and the fact that Kansas had to expend a lot of energy to hold off Carolina will be a factor. At points in their game, Kansas was simply holding on for dear life so I see them being a bit tired come Monday night as a result of the max effort they put out against the Tar Heels. It should be a great final with lots of up and down the court action. Memphis has certainly proved they can play with anybody in this tournament. There were doubters coming in but it’s nice to see the Tigers prove their worth. They are very good and take a backseat to no one in this Final Four. I think it will be a close game for about 30 minutes but in the end I see Memphis just being a bit fresher and pulling away to win 82-72.