Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks who chased away the demons by winning the National Championship last night against the Memphis Tigers. They finally got over the top after 20 years of unbelievable tournament losses, and they did it in dramatic fashion. I must say this is was the best championship game that I have watched in my years of watching the NCAA Tournament.
The game was a back and forth battle most of the way. Two very similar teams pounding on each other with tremendous defense. With about eight minutes left, Memphis started to pull away because of the great play of Derrick Rose. Rose caught fire when Kansas changed from a man-to-man defense to a box-and-one. This freed Rose up to go to the hole, pull up with the shot, or kick it to an open shooter. I thought Bill Self made horrific decision by switching out of a defense that had been so solid all night long. Had they not come back, Self would have been bashed with questions about this move.
Then, Rose hit an unbelievable shot before the four minute timeout that I thought was the dagger. He shot an off balanced 20 footer that banked off the backboard into the net. This was all as the shot clock was expiring no less. That shot reminded me of Arkansas's Scotty Thurman breaking my heart with the shot clock expiring three he hit to break a tie in the final minute of the 1994 NCAA Championship Game vs. Duke. Who didn't think the game was over when Rose hit that remarkable shot. There needs to be an investigation if he isn't picked #1 or 2 in the NBA Draft.
With 2:12 remaining, Memphis led 60-51. The championship seemed won, but here's where the meltdown began. I point to four things to why they blew their lead:
1.) Sherron Collins draining a three off a stolen in bounds pass to cut the deficit to four.
2.) Joey Dorsey fouling out 20 feet away from the basket and giving Mario Chalmers free throws.
3.) (The most important reason) Chris Douglas Roberts and Derrick Rose missing four of five foul shots in the final minute.
4.) Memphis failing to foul Sherron Collins coming up the court in the final moments. I hate when teams foul, but the three point shot is so easy in college, you almost have to foul. Ask Xavier vs. Ohio State last year.
There are probably more reasons, but those four really stand out to me. It was even more amazing that Memphis lost considering they had a couple offensive rebounds and a huge blocked shot in the final 30 seconds of the game. Truly amazing they lost. John Calipari will be sick for the rest of his life thinking about how this one got away. I also believe he should have called a timeout before Kansas's final possession to get his kids on the same page, and after Mario Chalmers's incredible shot to set up a hail mary shot with 2 seconds left. After blowing a lead like that, it seemed more likely that if Memphis was going to win, it would have been on a dramatic buzzer beater vs. winning in overtime. The team that makes the emotional comeback normally routs the opponent in OT. (Ohio State/Xavier, Georgetown/North Carolina, etc.)
Congrats to Kansas though. This historic program finally won another National Championship. After Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA, Kansas probably is the fourth most historic program, but after Danny Manning's epic run in 1988, Kansas has been tormented by more horrific tournament losses than any other program. The Jayhawks clearly washed away those years, and to throw in an incredible comeback capped by the highlight of Mario Chalmers's buzzer beater on top of that, this one will be remembered forever.
Rock Chalk Championship!
Pat Morgan
Duke Blue Devils 2009!
