basketball
Kansas Wins National Championship in Dramatic Fashion
The Kansas Jayhawks trailed the Memphis Tigers 60-51 with 2:12 left in the game. They had the Tigers right where they wanted them.
KU had taken a 33-28 lead into the locker room at halftime. However, some clutch shooting by freshman star Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts gave Memphis the lead and momentum in the closing minutes of the game.
Robert Dozier hit two free throws with 2:12 left in the game to give Memphis a 9-point lead. That's when KU put on a display of basketball brilliance that will live on for years.
Darrell Arthur got the comeback started by knocking down a long two. KU immediately called a timeout with 1:54 remaining. Sherron Collins then got into the act. He started by stealing the inbounds pass after the timeout. He knocked down a clutch three-pointer just seconds later. The Memphis lead was cut to 60-56 with 1:46 still left on the clock.
Memphis pushed the lead back to 6 with two FT's. Mario Chalmers cut it back to 4 with two FT's of his own. Douglas-Roberts missed the front end of a one-and-one on the other end and Darrell Arthur came down and scored two more for KU. Arthur's bucket cut the Memphis lead to 62-60 with 1:01 left to play.
Then the pace picked up even more. Douglas-Roberts missed again setting up an opportunity to tie for KU. Sherron Collins got the rebound and raced down the court. He drove it all the way to the hoop before having the ball stolen.
Douglas-Roberts was fouled by Arthur with just :16 left on the clock. He went to the line for two. He missed the first one. He also missed the second one but Memphis caught a break as the ball was rebounded by Robert Dozier for the Tigers.
The ball wound up in the hands of Derrick Rose who was quickly fouled by Brandon rush with only :10 seconds left. Rose had a chance to put the game away for Memphis. He could have pushed the lead to 4 which would have all but ended KU's hope for a comeback. However, he missed the first FT.
Rose found his composure and knocked down the second FT giving Memphis a 63-60 lead with :10 seconds on the clock. KU had one last chance. They would need a three-pointer to at least send the game into overtime.
The Jayhawks inbounded the ball to the speedy Sherron Collins who took the ball across midcourt. He made it to about the three-point line before he began to stumble. He clumsily got the ball into the hands of Mario Chalmers. The junior guard from Alaska then proceeded to hit the biggest shot of his life. Chalmers hit a three-pointer from the top of the key while fading away with a man in his face.
Chalmers tied the game and sent it into overtime. KU had captured all of the momentum.
Memphis grabbed the tip to begin overtime but the ball was stolen away by Collins moments later. Brandon Rush scored off a Collins' assist to give KU a 65-63 lead. Memphis missed a shot on the other end and KU made them pay. Chalmers found Arthur cutting to the hoop for an alleyoop. The score was 67-63 in KU's favor. Memphis then missed yet again. KU came down and put the dagger in the heart of their opponent. Arthur found Darnell Jackson for a driving layup just as the shot clock was expiring to give the Jayhawks the last points they would need.
That made the score 69-63 with 2:38 left in OT. KU finished the game with poise and won it 75-68 to capture their first National Championship since 1988. It was the third NCAA Championship for the Jayhawks.
Mario Chalmers finished with 18 points, 4 steals, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. He was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Darrell Arthur led KU in scoring with 20. He also grabbed 10 boards. Brandon Rush added 12 points and 6 boards. Sherron Collins contributed 11 points, 6 assists and 3 steals off the bench.
Chalmers, Rush and Arthur were named to the Final Four All-Tournament Team. The team finished with 37 wins on the season which is a school record.
Congrats to Head Coach Bill Self and all of the players.
