SAN ANTONIO “”mdash; Two blowouts down, one potential classic to go.
After two underwhelming semifinal matchups on Saturday in which Memphis blew out UCLA and Kansas crushed North Carolina, the Tigers will take on the Jayhawks on Monday night in the national championship game.
And given the similarity in pace between the two teams, and the gifted and athletic defenders on both sides, it could be a much better matchup than either of the other two games.
“They’re similar to us, you know,” Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge. It’s going to be a great game because it’s so evenly matched.”
What Kansas will have to do, however, is find the right matchups to go against both Douglas-Roberts and point guard Derrick Rose, something UCLA failed to do for most of Saturday’s 78-63 loss. Kansas starts two 6-foot-1-inch guards, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers, in the backcourt, while Memphis has a backcourt consisting of Rose (6-3), Douglas-Roberts (6-7) and Antonio Anderson (6-5). That could present challenges to the Jayhawks similar to those that were presented to UCLA, but Jayhawks coach Bill Self has indicated he may be more flexible in his defensive strategy than UCLA coach Ben Howland was in his.
“Without telling you what we’re going to do, we have to be prepared to guard them in a way that gives us the best chance,” Self said, indicating he would try some zone if man defense failed. “But our best defense, though, is playing man-to-man, just like Memphis’ best defense is.
“We know we have a great challenge ahead of us, one that we’re certainly looking forward to.”
Brandon Rush will likely get the assignment of guarding Douglas-Roberts, who had a field day against UCLA, getting to the hoop at will and shooting over UCLA’s Russell Westbrook much of the first half. The 6-6 Rush should present more of a challenge in that regard, but Self knows that Kansas will have its hands full with both Douglas-Roberts and Rose.
“They’re both fabulous athletes,” Self said. “Derrick has a gear that very few have, if any. The whole team is great at getting into the paint.”
Memphis coach John Calipari sounded less stressed about stopping Kansas in the Sunday interviews, instead choosing to focus on what he wants to see out of his team. That has been his way of thinking for much of the NCAA Tournament, and he did not change on Sunday.
“At the end of the day ““ I keep saying this ““ I want anybody that watches the game (to say) Memphis had more fun than any team in the tournament,” Calipari said. “Memphis has more fun. And that’s what I’m trying to get through to these guys.”
And with one more victory on Monday, Calipari could probably assure that Memphis will have had more fun than anyone.