2008 NCAA Tournament: A Championship to Remember

With 4:16 left in the game, KU was down five against Memphis and had prevented the Tigers from getting a good look at the basket for 32 seconds of the shot clock.

However, momentum was on the Tiger's side after effacing a deficit that had haunted them most of the game. With three seconds left on the shot clock, Derrick Rose, caught behind the 3-point line and 5 feet away from the baseline, made one dribble, took a giant step to his right and launched a fade-away prayer from the wing..

And as the ball majestically soared through the air, KU fans breathed a sigh of relief because there was no way that this terrible shot was going in. Everything was working against Rose, even his own balance!

The sighs were immediately silenced as the ball caressed the backboard and kissed the inside of the front of the rim before massaging the net for a score.

Unbelievable. Simply incredulous. How could that possibly happen? Was it God? Was even God now against the Jayhawks as time melted away from the clock? Was the momentum of having two potential top ten draft picks in Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose driving the team to the greatest dream of college basketball not enough?

But wait... was Rose's shot a three or a two? Little did Jayhawk fans know that the placement of Rose's left foot would be crucial in determining the final outcome of the game. The referees gathered and replays showed that Rose's foot was within the three point line and hope remained for the men in crimson and blue.

A series of bad coaching decisions, namely a box-and-one focused on Chris Douglas Roberts that actually helped jump-start Derrick Rose, left KU with 2:12 remaining in regulation and facing what at that point seemed like an insurmountable 9-point lead.

Memphis was making drives, hitting shots, and, most importantly, sinking free throws.

Suddenly, Memphis's engine started to struggle, turning over an inbounds pass at their end of the floor which led to a wide open three by Sherron Collins. Then, their free throws stopped falling and KU continued to cut into that lead.

Eventually, more missed free throws left Memphis with a three point lead with nine seconds left and KU with the ball.

Sherron Collins took the inbounds pass and rushed the ball up the court, but started stumbling as he approached the three-point line. At that moment, Jayhawk fans briefly envisioned Sherron Collins falling flat on his face after kicking the ball out-of-bounds, taking their dreams along with it.

However, before Sherron could fall down, he shoveled the ball off to Mario Chalmers at the wing, who dribbled once to his left, then let go the biggest three-pointer in KU basketball history.

And that was what this game was after Mario's shot immaculately touched nothing but net - history. With that shot, Super Mario sunk the hopes and dreams of the Tigers and their fans because that last 2:12 proved that KU was a team of destiny.

And in overtime, KU showed that it was the year of the Jayhawk, as they completed a championship that history will never forget.