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COLLEGE BASKETBALL — April 7
NCAA Championship Game
KANSAS (+3) vs. MEMPHIS (Total 147.5) — We would first concede that Kansas has the ability to win this game. After all, there are a lot of positives, including the Jayhawks’ great balance which makes it difficult for the other team to defend them, and a very good balance in the inside-outside game, as Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson, two big guys, are able to complement the little guys on the perimeter like Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson. And there is the guy everyone calls the “X-Factor” - Brandon Rush, a future NBA player who had 25 points in the semifinal game against North Carolina. After off-season knee surgery, it took him a little whole to find himself. But now here he is - in your face.
But Memphis has some of the components that present a different challenge than the Tar Heels did. Tyler Hansbrough, the talented inside scorer for North Carolina, may have been a liability on defense, and if you noticed on Saturday night, Kansas went inside to Arthur and Jackson with great effectiveness, often over Hansbrough’s head. But Joey Dorsey, who has won the defensive player of the year award in Conference USA, knows his role is to patrol the middle, is not soft by any measure, and provides muscle and toughness that, frankly, Kansas has not had to encounter from any defender at any stage of this tournament (remember, they faced smallish teams like Villanova, UNLV and Davidson coming through). As an added attraction, there is the distinct possibility that Rush may Memphis’ 6′6″ defensive stopper, Antonio Anderson, draped all over him for much of the game. And you must acknowledge that the size of Memphis’ guards (Derrick Rose at 6′4″ and either Anderson or Chris Douglas-Roberts at 6′7″) have stopped smaller guards in these critical games leading up to the final. Look what they’ve done against Drew Neitzel of Michigan State, D.J. Augustin and A.J., Abrams of Texas, Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook of UCLA, When you really look at things honestly, Kansas’ 6′1″ Robinson, 6′1″ Chalmers and 5′11″ Sharron Collins (who comes off the bench), would seem tailor-made for this kind of approach.
Then there is the subject of free throws, and since Memphis shot just 59.7% from the line during the season, it needs to be mentioned as a possible problem. When you hear John Calipari talk about how his team will make its free throws when they really count, it doesn’t seem to make sense on the surface. But when you see a sizzling 81% (76-of-94) in the last three games, you have to start giving some credibility to that statement. You know, with double-digit wins over real heavyweights like UCLA and Texas leading into this game, you have to give very serious consideration to a team with matchup advantages, depth, defense, speed, and a 38-1 record. Don’t doubt Memphis, they are for real.
JAY’S PLAY: MEMPHIS ***
