Memphis and Kansas will be playing for the national title tomorrow night after astonishing performances in their respective national semifinal games last night.
Memphis v. UCLA
It is very clear why UCLA lost this game. Darren Collison could in no way handle the Memphis guards, and Kevin Love did not get nearly enough touches in the second half.
Collison was manhandled all night by the larger, stronger Memphis guards, especially Derrick Rose. On the offensive end, Collison never got into any sort of rhythm, and the UCLA offense suffered for it. He eventually fouled out with two points, with about five minutes to play, on a stupid play he made strictly out of frustration.
When Memphis started to pull away in the second half, UCLA lost their poise and settled for taking ill-advised threes, rather than banging it inside with Kevin Love. Memphis' Taggert and Dorsey each had three fouls with more than 19 minutes to play, but UCLA never took advantage, and Love went very long stretches without an offensive touch of the ball.
Had UCLA kept their heads in the game, been patient, and worked the ball inside, they may have had a chance. Instead, they played right into Memphis' hands by launching threes, which led to long rebounds and fast break opportunities for Memphis.
Kansas v. North Carolina
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Between the 15:00 and 5:00 minute marks of the first half, Kansas put on the most incredible defensive display of college basketball I have ever seen. The explosive UNC offense looked like a JV team; Kansas' weak-side and help defense was astonishing.
After a 25-2 run, it was 40-12, and it looked like the game was done. UNC, however, came back on a 15-2 run and went into the half trailing 44-27, which is at least manageable. In the second half, UNC continued the comeback, and you could see Kansas getting tight, getting worried, and missing shots.
Brandon Rush made a series of nice plays to turn back the tide, and then UNC seemed to deflate, allowing Kansas to roll to a comfortable victory. Still, UNC's comeback was almost as stunning as Kansas' dominate first half; credit the boys in Carolina blue for hanging tough after an absolute nightmare the first fifteen minutes of the game.
The key to the game was Kansas' defensive energy in the first half. They attacked, attacked, attacked. It seemed that every Carolina player had two defenders, and the number of help-side steals was amazing; it was like one of the highlight reel montages from "Hoosiers."
Despite UNC's comeback, it was simply too much to ask, and Kansas eventually pulled away after UNC had closed the gap to five points at one time, and then missed a series of threes down the stretch.
Kansas never let Hansbrough get going in this game. He had a few plays here and there, but he was swarmed all night. To wit, after he grabbed one offensive rebound, four Jayhawks swatted his put back, putting Hansbrough on his back hard. He earned the foul, but the Jayhawks made their point of allowing no easy baskets.
Of course, the Tall Tales of Tyler continued as one of his put back dunks only occurred because he was the last guy down the floor and happened to be running down the lane when the shot went up and missed. And, of course, Nantz and Packer gushed about his hustle.
It was a sad night for the over-hyped big white hopes, Kevin Love and Tyler Hansbrough, who were both overcome by faster, team-oriented defenses. Memphis and Kansas both played outstanding defense, and Memphis' fast break is unbelievable.
Derrick Rose has become an excellent decision-maker, which may prove to be the difference on Monday night. Too many times, Kansas made questionable decisions in transition, and they frequently jacked up ill-advised shots in the set offense. They can't afford to give Memphis any more opportunities to get off and running.
If Kansas' shot selection isn't improved on Monday night, Memphis can run away with the game, a 39-1 record, and a national title.
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4 months ago
Kansas better come up with a way to slow down Rose, just like they came up with plan to exploit North Carolina's post defense, or it will be a long night for them. The only team to beat Memphis (Tennessee) had the length and athletes on the perimetter to stay with Memphis.
Not sure Kansas can take a page out of their book. I sam Memphis wins a close one, and makes their free throws down the stretch. Let me know what you think.
Andrew
4 months ago
KU found a way to contain Hansbrough, just as it found a way to contain Stephan Curry a week before. In the regular season, it found a way to contain Mayo, Beasley (the second time around) and Augustin (the second time around). While nothing is certain, I think the Jayhawks have the ability to contain Rose.
4 months ago
Memphis Kansas will be a great matchup in the championship game. I think Memphis will win in a close one.
4 months ago
Being a Jayhawk fan I think my opinion is skewed. But if you base the quality of game Kansas' four big men produced It would be hard to think that Kansas will lose against Memphis. The problem is if KU gets too cocky and rely on the three then they are in trouble. No offense to Memphis but I think this game will be determined by which Kansas team shows up, the one that was holding on against Davidson, or the one that dominated North Carolina.
4 months ago
Who's going to guard Rose for Kansas? Their guards are all 6'1 or under...
4 months ago
Kansas is learning as a team. You could see how they learned from their mistakes last night against UNC and returned to team basket ball. Hopefully they remember these lessons and it will be quite a contest Monday night. Looking forward to it big time! Go Hawks!!!
4 months ago
This tourney ended up with the best four teams fighting it out, and then the best two teams. Why can't the BCS do something similar? There's some logic to the b-ball system, at least. Here's a good debate about it:
http://digits.hrblock.com/ssDigits/digits.php?rType=1&sPath=1703&sNode=1703&uId=286
4 months ago
Andrew, I think you're right on. Kansas will have their hands full, no doubt. Kansas' best bet is to make intelligent shot selections on the offensive end of the court to reduce the number of fast transitions that Memphis can make. If they do that, and play good team defense again, they have a shot. I don't see Kansas' guards getting worked like Darren Collison, but Derrick Rose will still have a big night, I suspect.
Remember, so many times, a single game can come down to one player having an off night or having a career night. Hinrich and Collison had off nights (5?) years ago, and Kansas lost to Syracuse, despite having a clearly better team throughout the season.
Either way, it should be fun to watch!
4 months ago
unfortunately andrew (first comment), you were right about one thing: a close game.
but you were wrong about memphis making free throws
pressure determines all
4 months ago
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