This may sound insensitive, but honestly there is no other way to put it. I hope all incoming freshmen headed to the University of Memphis have signed up for this one because it might become a mandatory part of the curriculum after tonight.
There was no other way to say this….this was Memphis’ night. This was Derrick Rose’s coming-out/vindication for all the hype party. This was the celebration of John Calipari and all the people that had doubted him and every Memphis player. For 36 minutes they had completely outplayed, out-toughed and out-hustled the Kansas Jayhawks.
Memphis scrapped their way to the lead and took the game from Kansas. After Brandon Rush scored to make it 47-44 with 9:19 left in the game, the Tigers took over. Kansas didn’t score until the 4:52 mark when Sherron Collins had a layup. By then it was 54-49 Memphis after Rose had scored 8 big points.
And to add to that….Rose’s jumper. That was going to be the signature moment of the tournament. Jim Nantz went so far to even say ‘that’s the shot of the tournament.’ You know…the fade-away, three guys on him, hands in faces, bankshot. I thought it was game. Memphis was up 7 (56-49) with 4 minutes left…they were on a 12-2 run over about 5 minutes. Memphis had been so dominant and had control of everything I thought that was game. You couldn’t help but feel that way.
And if you felt that way you were only being validated.
2:12 left in the game and Memphis is up 9.
And then Joey Dorsey fouled out.
It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time besides the obvious ‘they stopped the clock and gave them points blah blah blah’. However someone might as well have flashed a sign that said ‘LET THE GAGGING BEGIN’
62-58 with 1:15 left. Chris Douglas Roberts holds on to the ball. You have to love a player who wants the ball in clutch situations. One and one, its free throw time, Memphis had already conquered that against Memphis. Calipari has been talking all year about how ‘they will make them when it counts.’
Miss.
Kansas comes down and Darrell Arthur scores….does he score if Dorsey is still in the lineup?? Who knows. It’s 62-60 with a minute left. Kansas no longer had to trap or foul. It was dig-in and get a stop time.
They got the stop after CDR missed a runner. Except Memphis got a break because Sherron Collins wanted to be a hero and went 2-on-1.
Memphis gets the board, it is back in CDR’s hands. Time to break out the ice. These are the nails in the coffin.
Short.
Short again.
Unbelievab…wait Dozier got the rebound. Unreal. Got it to Derrick Rose, Rush fouls him. NOW IT’S OVER. Rose has been the man of the tournament, playing so well people pretty much forgot about Stephen Curry’s run. He had the MOP in his back pocket…what a storybook ending.
Coup texts me: “Is Rose clutch?”
Short……wow.
He made the second.
It didn’t matter once Mario Chalmers rose up and nailed one of the biggest three-balls possible in basketball. Once that went in I knew Kansas was winning the game. 9 times of 10 a team that has no busy winning but finds a way to come back and force OT…they end up winning.
No surprise that Kansas’ first 8 points of the OT period were either layups or dunks. That’s what happened when Dozier isn’t in the lineup. That’s why I say his fouling out was the underrated game-changer.
Credit to Mario Chalmers for making the big shot…credit to Bill Self for doing a great job of coaching his squad. This was probably one of the best Championship games I’ve seen…up there with the drama of Kansas/Syracuse when Melo was there.
At the end of the day…this was a game that Memphis lost.
They choked.