2008 NCAA Championship: Kansas vs. Memphis

Final score: Kansas 75 Memphis 68

The long road to a championship is over. What started at 65 teams was left as a face off of two number 1 seeds. Just one is crowned champion: Kansas.

Kansas’ road to the championship went like this: Portland St, UNLV, Villanova, Davidson and North Carolina. After surviving tournament cinderella Davidson and overpowering a true test in North Carolina, Kansas proved they were ready for the power and the speed of Memphis.

Kansas faced a big test, and one thing was clear: no Big 12 team had ever won a National Championship. They were up against a Memphis team who proved they were ready for a championship after defeating two of the best teams in the tournament: Texas and UCLA.

Not only was it a battle of two great teams, but two great coaches. John Calipari and Bill Self are only two of three coaches in NCAA Division I history to coach two different schools to a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams are very similar in that they have faced paced offenses that score about 80 points a game, while only giving up about 60.

Dorsey, who didn’t score at all in the previous game against UCLA, started things off with the game’s first basket.

Kansas faced its largest point deficit of the tournament when Memphis took an early 9 to 3 lead, but responded nicely with a 15-4 run of their own.

The second half was very face paced with both teams going back and forth, keeping the game close. Kansas experienced a minor scoring drought, which allowed Derrick Rose and the Memphis Tigers to pull ahead slightly.

Derrick Rose, who has shined throughout the tournament, had not scored fewer than 17 points in any NCAA Tournament game, although only averaging 13.9 points during the regular season. The Kansas defense had him held to only 3 points in the first half.

Kansas had a big game inside, not only on scoring, but rebounding as well. It was enough for Bill Self and company in his first appearance in a National Championship.

One thing in question was Memphis’ free throw shooting, as they are shooting just 61.3 percent for the season. This wasn’t an issue when they faced UCLA, where they made 20 of 23 for a nice 87% average. It didn’t prove to be much of an issue against Kansas until a front end of a 1-and-1 was missed toward the end of the game. It was the missed free throws that led to overtime.

Kansas played some great D against North Carolina and was pretty solid against Memphis. All eyes were on Brandon Rush, the Junior small forward who led a balanced attack against the Tigers. Look for Kansas Coach Bill Self to get a huge contract after this game.

Every March, the NCAA tournament brings forth countless memorable surprises, which are why it is regarded as one of the most highly-anticipated sporting events to date. This year, the intensity level is even greater.

For the first time in NCAA history, four #1 teams will battle it out in the Final Four. North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Memphis are set to compete this weekend, and Monday night a champion will be crowned. Though all of these teams experienced their struggles during the regular season, there is no question that they were the top four contenders in the country. The Tar Heels will square off against the Jayhawks, while the Tigers will battle the Bruins. Each of these schools has bred some of the most influential players in basketball history, including Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, and Wilt Chamberlain, demonstrating just how successful each respective basketball program has been. Come Monday, one of these schools will reach another historic feat.

What intensifies the North Carolina vs. Kansas match up even more is the fact that UNC head coach Roy Williams left the Jayhawks in 2003 to go coach at North Carolina, his alma mater. Many considered him a traitor for doing so, but either way it is clear that he was able to help make an impact with the Tar Heels, as was evident by the National Championship that he brought to North Carolina in 2005.

Many find the NCAA tournament entertaining considering it brings out the best in every competitor. Two years ago, George Mason shocked the basketball world with their trip to the Final Four. This year, Davidson, a school of just 1,700 students, defeated a handful of the country’s top teams before losing a disheartening game against Kansas by a score of 59-57. The stakes in this year’s tournament only mean that certain players, such as North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, UCLA’s Kevin Love, Kansas’ Brandon Rush, and Memphis’ Derrick Rose, will have to bring their game to another level. As mentioned earlier, each school has generated a handful of athletes that have gone down in sports history as some of the most recognized historical figures. This weekend, the game’s current top superstars will have a similar opportunity.

Who is favored to come out on top? Most experts believe that North Carolina has the edge, especially since the Tar Heels have probably been the most consistent of the four over the past decade. The Memphis Tigers actually have something else to play for, as one more win will secure them the record for most victories by an NCAA Division 1 team in a single season. It is also interesting that these four teams headed into the season ranked as the top four in the country. Despite all of the leaps and bounds experienced in the regular season, we are back to where we started, and this weekend a definite champion will be crowned.

Tom Crean hopes to bring the Hoosiers to better days

The Indiana Hoosiers’ hunt for a new head coach is over. When rumors started to circulate that former Chicago Bulls head coach was next in line for the job, a deal did not seem far off. However, the IU athletic department was hesitant to make an abrupt, desperate decision.

Tom Crean will take over as the new head coach for the Indiana Hoosiers, and according to him, accepting the job was a “hearty” decision.

"This was a heart decision," Crean said, his voice cracking. "This was not a business decision or a legacy decision. I'd had other opportunities to walk away [from Marquette], and none of them felt like this. I'm going to miss those people a lot, but I'm excited to be here."

Crean grew up a passionate Hoosiers fan, and now he will now get the opportunity to lead the team he followed as a child. For Crean, it only seems like days ago when he attended his first coaching clinic with future Hall of Famer Bobby Knight. It is obvious that he is looking forward to the job, but he unquestionably has some work ahead of him in cleaning up the mess that former coach Kelvin Sampson left behind.

In addition to earning his lifelong dream job, Crean will also be bringing home a happy paycheck. Indiana has agreed to an eight-year deal worth over $18 million with Crean, making it clear that the Hoosier organization was willing to pay whatever price necessary to bring in someone to take the organization out of the hole that Kelvin Sampson put it in.

"I'm going to look for people who understand why we wear the candy-striped pants and why we wear Indiana on our jerseys," he said. "It's going to take time."

The unfortunate part is that Crean is literally getting everything thrown his way that still remains regarding the whole Sampson scandal. Two players, Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis, who were dismissed from the Hoosier team, are expected to meet with Crean sometime soon to discuss their future with the organization. Crean will also have to be present for the scheduled hearing that the Hoosiers have coming up this June with the NCAA infractions committee.

The players are also ecstatic to hear that they will now have a long-term coach. Crean has been their third in the past two months, and it was evident in the Hoosiers play at the end of the season that they were struggling under the circumstances.

"It didn't seem quick enough, it's been horrible for us," Crawford said of the search. "It was a very long season, a lot of stuff happened, so it's good to start it over and have a better season."

After the first weekend of the NCAA tournament there has been a handful of stunning surprises. Several teams, including Davidson, Western Kentucky, and West Virginia, have eliminated some of the top contenders, filling the next few weeks with uncertainty. However, one thing is for sure: two #2 teams will not be participating in the sweet 16.

Let’s begin with Georgetown. Entering the tournament as a #2 seed, many fans (including myself) considered the Hoyas a final-four caliber club. The Davidson Wildcats proved these fans wrong. On Sunday, Stephen Curry, son of former NCAA superstar Dell Curry, led the Davidson Wildcats to a 74-70 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas. Before this weekend, very few people knew that Davidson even existed, and even less thought that a school of just 1,700 students would be able to overcome the Hoyas. While the win over Gonzaga on Friday was viewed as an upset, Sunday was even more dramatic for Davidson given the unfavorable circumstances.

"Never. That thought never crossed our mind," said Davidson senior point guard Jason Richards when asked if he and his teammates thought that the Hoyas, at one point hitting better than 70 percent of their shots, were simply too good on this day. "You can never think about that. We stayed focused, stuck to our system, and I mean like I said before -- you can't think you're not going to win the game, to fight the full 40 minutes. And that's what we did."

On Friday, the Wildcats will have their hands full against the Wisconsin Badgers, the Big 10 champions. There is no question that it will take a strong effort from Davidson to pull off another upset. Either way, Davidson has left its mark, being the first team from the Southern Conference to earn a victory in the March tournament.

But that wasn’t the only surprise this weekend. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils were unable to surpass the Mountaineers of West Virginia, who held off Duke’s championship hopes until next season. Though this upset was probably not as shocking as Davidson’s victory over Georgetown, it is still difficult when trying to figure out what actually went wrong. It seemed as if Duke was under pressure the whole game, and with roughly 10:00 left in regulation it was as if Coach Krzyzewski hit the panic button. Some of the Duke youngsters, including Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer, started tossing up three-point shots left and right without getting any good looks. This is the second year in a row that Duke has failed to make it to the sweet 16. From 1997-2006, Duke always made it through the first two rounds. What was the problem? Coach Krzyzewski felt that the struggles were due to a lack of leadership from their senior star DeMarcus Nelson.

"I think he probably struggled with trying too hard," Krzyzewski said. "He's the only senior on our team and really one of the main reasons we've won 28 games this year. I think sometimes at the end, a person who cares sometimes puts too much on themselves. ... The last couple of weeks I think he's done that. It's just the fact that -- he's had a great year and he didn't have a real good game (against West Virginia). But the kid cares as much as he can. It's one of those things. I feel badly for him."