Curtain Call: NCAA Championship

The weekend left everyone breathless. Even as I was in some part of Indiana, I was still getting updates from people who just wanted me to be wrong. Everyone wanted the Tar Heels and Bruins to face each other tonight. Unfortunately, no one is going to get to see that, and no one seems to be mad from it.

Memphis Tigers

On Saturday night, the Memphis Tigers moved one step closer to their first national championship with a 78-63 win over UCLA behind their phenom Derrick Rose. John Calipari has slowly but surely turned his team into the Florida Gators of yesteryear. Their road to Monday night's showdown was one filled with minimal protests.

A quick dispatching of Texas-Arlington started the chain reaction known as their Cinderella postseason. The Tigers then had a shootout with Mississippi State, ended with a 77-74 victory to advance to the Sweet 16. After one State put up a fight, another State obviously left their game in Denver.

A dominating Memphis team took out the legendary Tom Izzo and his Michigan State squad 92-74 to advance to the Elite Eight. As I said before in my Final Four Preview, someone knew what they were doing when these brackets were made. A showdown that everyone saw coming didn't live up to those expectations.

The result of the meeting of the minds aka Memphis and Texas? The Longhorns were straight up smacked around by the Tigers 85-67 while Memphis was sent a ticket to the Final Four. Their opponent was UCLA, but with Derrick Rose leading the charge, no one from the Conference USA team was the least bit intimidated by the sight of The Love Squad.

All season, North Carolina and UCLA got all the hype for #1 in the country. So while they were doing that, Memphis was quietly creeping up in the polls and preparing to pounce on the competition in the tournament. So after Saturday's 78-63 drubbing of the Bruins, can anyone really say that Davidson should be the all time Cinderella of this year's tournament? Though Memphis was a #1 Seed, it's hard to believe that they were expected to come out of the South Region alive. 

So they are here, and they're opponents on Monday night also gave a dose of upset redemption over the weekend.  

Kansas Jayhawks

If there is a team that knows what it is like to get served, it's Kansas. Seeking their first national championship since 1988, the Jayhawks got to deliver their own version of sweet justice against their former coach Roy Williams. But that's not the only thing that left Bill Self's team speechless en route to the Monday Night Mayhem.

It started with a set of easy wins: An 85-61 victory over Portland State and a 75-56 win over Lon Kruger's UNLV Rebels. Their victory over Villanova left people wondering if anyone could stop the Jayhawks' quest for redemption against North Carolina. That's when the bottom half of their bracket gave them a wake up call.

Davidson came out of nowhere and knocked out not one, not two, but three top basketball powerhouses. A victory over Kansas would earn them a spot in history. And after eliminating Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin en route to their first Elite Eight appearance, can anyone doubt that?

Kansas needed all the help they can get. And Brandon Rush was determined that he was better than everyone else in the tournament. With the weight of the world on their shoulders, they didn't disappoint. Davidson's Jason Richards missed a game ending three pointer to give Kansas another trip to the Final Four and their showdown with North Carolina.

The Jayhawks went into the Final Four game with one intention: Revenge. Roy Williams in some form went to the enemy in the eyes of everyone at Kansas. And they showed how much they appreciated his departure by containing Tyler Hansbrough and the North Carolina Tar Heels 84-66 and advancing to the Biggest Party of the Spring (next to Spring Break and Mardi Gras, of course).

Monday Night Melee

So the stage is set for arguably the biggest dogfight of the year. If the Sports Gods are willing, we will see at least one more slugfest to end the college basketball season. Though many are still a little sore from North Carolina getting dispatched by Kansas, that shouldn't stop them from watching a good title game.

However, don't think that just because these two teams have been given the shaft pretty much all season that they're just happy to be in the dance. These two teams are out for blood. Kansas eyes its second championship in 10 years, while Memphis eyes its first ever championship. 

This truly is the battle that everyone has been waiting for. Brandon Rush versus Derrick Rose. Bill Self versus John Calipari. Kansas versus Memphis. It's a game that will be filled with lots of screaming and lots of favoritism. Since I pick the Gators every year, I'm sticking with the underdogs in this game too.

With that being said, Derrick Rose will make AI, Melo, Joakim Noah, and several guys who have tasted success in this tournament. John Calipari will have finally tasted sweet success. The Memphis Tigers will have done the unthinkable and shocked the world.

As for Kansas, there shouldn't be any shame in their game. What they did against Davidson is impressive. How they dominated Roy Williams and North Carolina is nothing short of unbelievable. But quite honestly, as good as Brandon Rush is, it's all about the underdogs in this tournament, and no one can deny who the true underdog is. 

Final Score: Memphis Tigers 84, Kansas Jayhawks 77

This is the year of the Tigers, and after months of getting no respect, they get some tonight. Barring a screw-job from the referees, Memphis wins this game by seven and will hoist up the richest prize in the industry. And somewhere in America, Billy Donovan is smiling. Why? Because he started something two years ago...and now everyone's getting in on the act.

That's the rundown. Enjoy the game. This article is dedicated to everyone who supported my wild writing behavior. And to whoever edits this piece, leave this in. It's a personal thing. Get it? Got it? Good.