NCAA Championship Preview

Well, we finally made it.  This one's for all the marbles.  Will Bill Self finally clip the choker he's been wearing for the past 8 years?  Will John Calipari provide the punchline for the whole "we get no respect" routine?  Will either one of them win their first NCAA Championship?  Will either of them wear a tie that coordinates with their team's colors?  We'll see...     

There's a lot on the line here.  Of particular importance is all the play money we lost on the Heels the other night.  Damn you, Alexander Julian and your inappropriate influence on UNC's mojo!  But that's neither here nor there.  Turning now to tonigt's ball game...

(1) Kansas vs (1) Memphis, 9:21 (seriously?) ET

Line:  Memphis, -2

All things considered, absent Kansas' virtual quartering of Ramsees Ram on Saturday, that line might be closer to Memphis -7.5.  That said, it's easy to understand why Vegas and the betting public in general are a bit wary of the Jayhawks at the moment.  Basketball fans witnessed yet another massacre in San Antonio's heralded history on Saturday, and Kansas was playing the role of Santa Ana, almost poetically, at the Alamodome.  It was brutal for the Heels, and brutal on Frumpzilla's play money wallet, but did the Jayhawks, like Santa Ana, merely win a battle at the cost of winning the War?

Kansas looked like they'd of given the Heat a good game on Saturday, but they expended a lot of energy doing so.  Billy Packer called that game with over 7 minutes remaining, in the FIRST HALF.  It was that bad, but then so were the Heels.  Watching Kansas, I was convinced their starters would simply fall out by the middle of the 2nd half, forcing Self to resort to the scrubs.  Didn't happen of course, though Carolina did valiantly claw their way back. 

The fact that Robison and Chalmers are still ALIVE is baffling.  I fully expected to see those two on oxygen during the combined 17 minutes they sat out.  Apparently such measures weren't necessary.  Nevertheless, I have to believe that, on one day's rest, Kansas' tanks may only be about half full going into tonight's matchup against a Memphis team that's been handling opponents in a similar manner, yet extending, seemingly, a fraction of the effort.

On top of that, there's no doubt in my mind that Memphis is a superior team from a talent perspective.  When they stay focussed and disciplined on both ends of the floor, it's hard to imagine them in a losing situation.  That's not to say Kansas is a blue collar squad, far from it.  There's a lot of great individual matchups at play tonight, but one has to give the overall edge to the Tigers.  Derrick Rose will likely be the 1st or 2nd pick in this year's NBA draft, and he'll be looking to shine in his last college game.  CD-R vs Brandon Rush?  Mouth watering.  Joey Dorsey, love him or hate him, battling Sasha "Feel for You" Kaun (Sasha Kaun...) and Darrell Arthur?  Sooooweee! 

Let's not forget that "The Man Child" held Kevin Love to 12 and 9 whilst grabbing 15 boards and blocking 2 shots in what was probably a MVP performance.  Sure, he didn't score, but he didn't need to, didn't care to, and that's why Memphis has got something special going on right now.

Bottom line, all that said, we've got two great teams, both of which are playing great ball at the moment in a Clash of the Titans esque battle tonight.  We're fortunate.  I think it'll be close for a bit, but the Tigers will eventually, slowly begin to widen the spread.  Tigers bring home the title tonight, assuming Calipari dresses appropriately of course...

By the way, will Mario Chalmers hit two shots from downtown tonight?  He better...

Bonus by the way, does Sasha Kaun's (Sasha Kaun...) points + rebounds reach 11?  Hmmm...