SAN ANTONIO (AP) - So patient for 20 years, Kansas had no
problem working an extra five minutes to bring a long-awaited
championship back to the heartland.
Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in
regulation to push the game into overtime, and the Jayhawks grinded
it out from there for a 75-68 victory Monday night over Memphis in
one of the best title games in recent memory.
"We got the ball in our most clutch player's hands, and he
delivered," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
It was the first title for Kansas since 1988, when Danny
Manning, now an assistant coach for the Jayhawks, led them to an
upset of Oklahoma. And the shot earned Chalmers the most
outstanding player honor.
"I had a good look at it," Chalmers said. "When it left my
hands it felt like it was good, and it just went in."
The most memorable performance in this one came from freshman
Derrick Rose of Memphis, who completely took over the game in the
second half, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points during one stretch
to lift the Tigers to a 60-51 lead.
But Kansas (37-3) used the strategy any smart opponent of
Memphis' would - fouling the heck out of one of the country's worst
free-throw-shooting teams - and when Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts
combined to miss four of five over the last 1:12, it left the door
open for KU.
Hustling the ball down the court with 10.8 seconds left and no
timeouts, Sherron Collins handed off to Chalmers at the top of the
3-point line and Chalmers took the shot from the top. It hit
nothing but net and tied the score at 63.
Robert Dozier missed a desperation shot at the buzzer, and Rose
went limping to the bench, favoring his right leg. Brandon Rush,
Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson scored the first six points of
overtime to put Kansas ahead 69-63. Memphis, clearly exhausted,
didn't pull within three again.
Arthur was dominant inside, finishing with 20 points and 10
rebounds, lots on dunks and easy lay-ups off lob passes. Chalmers
finished with 18 points. Rush had 12 and Collins had 11 points, six
assists and did a wonderful job shutting Rose for the first 28
minutes.
Rose wound up with 18 points in a game that showed how ready he
is for the NBA. He was 3-for-4 from the line, however, and that one
miss with 10.8 seconds left is what almost certainly would have
sealed the game and given the Tigers (38-2) their first title.
Instead, the title goes back to Lawrence for the third time in
the fabled program's history.
"If we played 10 times, it'd probably go five and five," Self
said. "We got fortunate late."
The inventor of the game, James Naismith, was the first Jayhawks
coach. It's the school that made household names of Wilt
Chamberlain, Manning - and yes, even North Carolina's Roy Williams,
the coach who famously left the Jayhawks, lost to them in the
semifinals, but was, indeed, in the Kansas cheering section to
watch Bill Self bring the title back that he never could.
This game was not about coaches or sidestories, though. It was
about the game, and what a dandy it was - a well-needed reprieve
from a more-or-less blah tournament in which 42 of 63 games were
decided by double digits.
This was the first overtime in the title game since 1997, when
Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79.
Kansas, mostly Collins, put the clamps on Rose for the first
half, allowing the freshman only four shots and leaving him spiking
the ball on the floor as he walked to the locker room after a
frustrating 20 minutes.
It stayed that way for the first five of the second half, but
Kansas couldn't pull away. Douglas-Roberts made sure of it, winning
enough of the 1-on-1 matchups that the Memphis offense creates to
keep the Tigers in range.
Then, finally Rose took over - a 3-pointer here, a scooping
layup for a three-point play next. Then, the capper, an
off-balance, 18-foot shot off glass with the shot-clock buzzer
sounding. It gave Memphis a 56-49 lead. Most teams would have been
demoralized.
Clearly, Kansas is not like most teams.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)