NCAA Final Four Notebook

By Matt Santillo

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- There was Memphis coach John Calipari, trying to explain how his team could not hold a big lead with just a few minutes remaining and bring home the school's first championship. After freshman Derrick Rose almost singlehandedly carried the Tigers into the lead, scoring 14 of his team's 16 points in one stretch to turn a three-point deficit with 13 minutes remaining into a seven-point bulge with 4:14 left, Memphis appeared to be sitting pretty after two free throws by Robert Dozier made it 60-51 with 2:12 to go. However, Kansas rallied back to force overtime, closing out regulation with a 12-3 run that included Mario Chalmers' historic tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left. That nine-point lead seemed like a sure thing, even to the cautious Calipari. "All I want to say is I thought we were national champs, and that's the great thing about college basketball and sports," Calipari said. "Within 30 seconds, they make a play and it's OT and it's on again. "Hats off to Kansas. I'm really disappointed. You know, again, as a coach, when you're up five with whatever seconds left to go, (you are) supposed to win that game." It was an interesting turn of events on Monday, as the Jayhawks did something to the Tigers that Memphis had done to a pair of Conference USA teams during the season en route to its NCAA-record 38 wins. Still in midst of a perfect season, the Tigers edged out Texas-El Paso, 70-64, at home on February 2 to improve to 21-0. The game was actually tied with just over 2 1/2 minutes remaining before Memphis ripped off a 10-4 run. Fourteen days later, the Tigers were in a much bleaker situation, trailing Alabama-Birmingham, 77-70, on the road with 90 seconds to go. Star guard Chris Douglas-Roberts led the improbable comeback, hitting a 3-pointer after one by Antonio Anderson and also completing a three-point play with 6.5 seconds left to seal a 79-77 win that got Memphis to 25-0. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Jayhawks took a page out of their playbook at the absolute worst time.

STAR BACKING: Although it could not bring home its first championship, Memphis did have some stars out supporting the team. Not only was former Memphis standout and NBA star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway among the loyal fans that made the trip down to Texas to cheer the team on, but so was pop star Justin Timberlake. Wearing a blue Memphis t-shirt and a white Tigers cap pulled down low, Timberlake cheered on his hometown team. Unfortunately, Jessica Biel, Timberlake's reported love interest, was not by his side. Not to be outdone, Kansas had former coach Roy Williams on its side. Williams, who led the Jayhawks to a national runner-up showing against Syracuse in 2003, graciously supported Kansas despite absorbing an 84-66 whipping along with his North Carolina squad in Saturday's semifinals.

TID-BITS: Despite the fact that Kansas is now 3-5 all-time in national title games, Mario Chalmers became the school's fifth player to be named the Most Outstanding Player. Along with Clyde Lovellette (1952) and Danny Manning (1988), B.H. Born (1953) and Wilt Chamberlain (1957) won the award in losing efforts. ... The Jayhawks finished the season 9-0 in neutral-site games this season. ... Kansas coach Bill Self became the first coach since Maryland's Gary Williams in 2002 to win the NCAA title in his first appearance in the championship game. ... Despite Monday's loss, Memphis tied an NCAA record for the most wins in a three-year period with 104. Kentucky accomplished the feat between coaches Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith from 1996-98. ... The Tigers' loss Monday was their first away from home this season. The last time that Memphis dropped a non-home game was here in the Alamodome against Ohio State in last year's NCAA Midwest Regional final. Overall, the Tigers are 2-2 in NCAA Tournament games played at the Alamodome.

NCAA Final Four Preview

No. 1 Memphis (38-1) vs. No. 1 Kansas (36-3), 6:21 pm, CBS

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- If Chris Douglas-Roberts and freshman Derrick Rose can keep the good times rolling, Memphis will go home with the ultimate prize. The Tigers will look to their stellar guards to carry them to their first national championship when they face Kansas in the title game of the NCAA Tournament on Monday.

There has been no real surprise how Memphis has advanced to its first national title game since 1973, riding the scoring of Douglas-Roberts and Rose. The duo have combined for 151 points over their last three games, wins over Michigan State, Texas and UCLA. In Saturday's 78-63 victory over the Bruins in the national semifinals, Douglas-Roberts scored 28 points and Rose added 25 as the Tigers (38-1) became the first team in NCAA history to win 38 games in a season. It was an impressive showing by the duo, who got nearly whatever shot they wanted against normally rugged UCLA.

"They're fabulous athletes," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Derrick has a gear that very few have, if any. And to be that big and that powerful at a young age, he can go from head of the circle to head of the circle in two bounces. "Chris is shooting the ball much better from the perimeter this year, statistics show. And because of that people can now crowd him. When you crowd him, he's very good at getting his shoulders past you." So far, there has not been much that has slowed down the two guards, although Rose was more than just a bit under the weather on Sunday. Complaining of an upset stomach, Rose missed Sunday's pregame interview session with the media. According to the Memphis sports information department, the freshman point guard will be ready to play against the Jayhawks.

Kansas (36-3) advanced to the title game on the 20th anniversary of its last title, when Danny Manning led it to a stunning upset of Oklahoma. The Jayhawks are back into the national title game for the second time in six seasons after an 84-66 victory over North Carolina on Saturday. Kansas had an explosive first half against the Tar Heels, going on an 18-0 run and taking a 28-point lead before the break. Although the cushion was eventually trimmed to just four, the Jayhawks surged again. Brandon Rush, who probably would have left school if not for a torn ACL last May, scored 25 points for Kansas, which shot 53 percent and topped North Carolina on the boards, 39-32.

Along with their impressive offensive showing, the Jayhawks starred on defense, holding the Tar Heels to 36 percent shooting and forcing 18 turnovers, 10 on steals. "I was very impressed," Douglas-Roberts said. "They're similar to us. They have great guards. They have a great inside presence. "So it's definitely going to be a challenge. It's going to be a great game because it's so evenly matched." Overall, Kansas owns a 3-2 record in the overall series with Memphis, although the teams last met in 1987.

NCAA Women's Final Four Preview

No. 2 Stanford (35-3) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (35-2), Tuesday, 4:30 pm, ESPN

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - Tennessee shoots for its second straight national championship Tuesday when it meets Stanford. The Lady Vols (35-2) are in position to win their eighth Tournament crown after a dramatic 47-46 victory over Louisiana State in the semifinals on Sunday. Alexis Hornbuckle scored on a putback - her only basket of the game - with seven-tenths of a second remaining to provide the winning margin. Playing with a separated left shoulder, Candace Parker had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Shannon Bobbitt scored 11 points for Tennessee.

"I'm just proud of our team for fighting through some adversity, when things wouldn't go our way, for whatever reason," Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt said. "I thought our defense did step up and also I thought we had different players step up and help us out tonight, and that was huge for us." The Volunteers' defense will have to be up to par against the Cardinal, who have averaged 85.0 points during the tournament.

Stanford (35-3), which owns a 23-game winning streak, ousted Connecticut, 82-73, in the other semifinal game on Sunday. Candice Wiggins had 25 points and 13 rebounds in the victory, one game after scoring 41 in the regional final against Maryland. The senior scored 44 in a second-round win over Texas El-Paso. Tennessee, which defeated Rutgers in last season's title game, lost in overtime at Stanford, 73-69, during the regular season in December. This is Stanford's first appearance in the final since winning the championship in 1992.

NCAA Final Four Notebook

By Matt Santillo

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- The national championship game on Monday is going to be full of emotion for Memphis' Joey Dorsey. The lone senior starter for the Tigers, Dorsey will wrap up his collegiate career win or lose. "It will be like Senior Day, very emotional," Dorsey said. It will culminate an up-and-down four years at Memphis for the 6-9 Dorsey, who will end up as Conference USA's leader in rebounds and, if he can score nine points in the title game, will be one of four players in school history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Despite the impressive stats, Dorsey has been considered a bit of an enigma while with the Tigers. A hulking player, the forward has lacked focus at times, failing to take advantage of his tremendous physical gifts against inferior players or not showing up in big games. "I get on him," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "The reason (that) I get on him is because I know how good he is. I've seen a big block sometimes three times in a game. I've seen him dunk with his head on the rim. But I've also seen him - we throw the lob and he's not ready, he fumbles it out of bounds. He did that a couple of times. I know how good he is." Dorsey has also been plagued by maturity issues in the past, infamously shooting off his mouth prior to last year's South Regional final in which he called Ohio State's Greg Oden "overrated." Dorsey also claimed that he would grab 20 rebounds, but instead failed to score and had more fouls (4) than boards (3) as Oden and the Buckeyes went on to the Final Four. This season, Dorsey has shown that he has done some growing up, being happy to just fill his role and go along for the ride. Although he failed to score in Saturday's 78-63 win over UCLA, Dorsey was all smiles at the postgame press conference, content in that he grabbed 15 rebounds and posted two big blocks. Without him rocking the boat, Dorsey's teammates have made it a point to declare that they are going to play Monday's game with the intent on sending out their senior on a high note. "Winning for Joey would mean so much," Tigers guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "We all know everything he has been through and that he was with this program before it was really anything. This team wasn't very good before my '05 class came in. I will probably be more happy for Joey when we win than he will be for himself." "My teammates told me that this is for (me), go out, rebound and we will take care of the rest," Dorsey said. The old Dorsey would not have relied so much on his friends.

NEW RIVALRY? Although Monday's title game will be Kansas' first matchup with Memphis since the 1980s, the two schools have been foes in the more recent past. According to both Jayhawks coach Bill Self and the Tigers' Calipari, Kansas and Memphis are very frequent recruiting rivals, even clashing for some of the top talent that will bring one of the two schools a national crown Monday. Self made a push for both Douglas-Roberts and freshman star Derrick Rose, failing to sign either of them, but he made it to the Final Four in his fifth season regardless. "Well, I feel like I know 'em pretty well since I recruited 'em both, you know, couldn't get either one of them," Self said. "But, we went up to Cass Tech, I believe it was in Detroit, I believe his (Douglas-Roberts') junior year, if I'm not mistaken, and coach (Danny) Manning and myself went up there. We went up there and gave our pitch. Obviously he wasn't very impressed or Cal (Calipari) did a much better job selling it than we did." According to Calipari, it is a common occurrence for Memphis to battle with Kansas in terms of players. "We probably recruit the same type of kids and the same players," Calipari said. "(We) recruit more against Kansas than against anybody else."

NO OBSTRUCTED VIEW THIS TIME: The last time Kansas won a national championship, Self was in attendance. Working as an assistant with his alma mater Oklahoma State at the time, Self was at Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1988 when Danny Manning led the Jayhawks to a thrilling upset over rival Oklahoma. What does Self remember about that night 20 years ago? "That my seats were really bad and they were at the top of the building," he said. Odds are very good that Self will have a much better vantage point when Kansas attempts to find a way to slow down Memphis' dynamic duo of Douglas-Roberts and Rose and capture its third national title.

Women's Final Four Update

(2) STANFORD 82, (1) CONNECTICUT 73 -----------------------------------
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Candice Wiggins had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Kayla Pedersen added 17 points as Stanford held off overall No. 1 seed Connecticut, 82-73, in the national semifinals on Sunday. Jayne Appel chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal (35-3), who will face either Tennessee and Louisiana State on Tuesday night in their first national title game appearance since 1992. The Wade Trophy winner, Wiggins shot 7-of-19 from the floor and added five assists to lead the Cardinal to their 23rd consecutive win. Stanford went on a 10-4 run midway through the first half to open up a 25-18 lead with 8:33 to play and held a 40-33 advantage at the break. Connecticut scored the first five points of the second half and later pulled within 47-46, but Stanford had an answer. Wiggins made consecutive 3-pointers to ignite a 10-0 spurt as Stanford took a 57-46 bulge with 10:28 remaining. The Huskies (36-2) closed within 71-66 with under three minutes to play but Pedersen made a 3-pointer and Wiggins scored on a jumper to push Stanford's lead up to 76-66 with 1:42 to play, and the Cardinal cruised to the finish. Freshman Maya Moore had 20 points and eight rebounds to pace the Huskies, who shot 37 percent (26-of-69) from the field. The 82 points were also the most the Huskies have allowed in a game this season.

(1) TENNESSEE 47, (2) LSU 46 ----------------------------
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Alexis Hornbuckle scored on a putback shot with seven-tenths of a second left to lift Tennessee to a 47-46 victory over Louisiana State on Sunday in the national semifinals. Hornbuckle's dramatic follow shot of a miss by Nicky Anosike sent the defending champion Lady Vols (35-2) into Tuesday's title game against Stanford. It also was a bitter loss for the Tigers (31-6), who are only the second team to earn a berth in five consecutive Final Fours but never have advanced to the championship game. It was the only basket for Hornbuckle, who finished 1-of-8 from the floor and came after LSU's Erica White hit a pair of free throws to put the Tigers ahead, 46-45, with 7.1 seconds to play. Candace Parker, playing with a separated left shoulder, had 13 points and 15 rebounds for seven-time national champion Tennessee, which lost in overtime at Stanford, 73-69, in December. Sylvia Fowles had 24 points and 20 rebounds for the Tigers, who connected on just 7-of-19 shots at the free-throw line. The teams had split two earlier meetings this season. LSU rallied from a 21-2 deficit to win at Tennessee, 78-62, in the regular season before the Lady Vols avenged that defeat with a 61-55 victory in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

NCAA Final Four Notebook

By Matt Santillo

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Now that Derrick Rose won the battle of star freshmen with Kevin Love, the inquiries about whether Love plans to turn pro have begun. The son of former NBA player Stan Love, Kevin had 12 points and nine rebounds on Saturday, but it was not enough to stop the juggernaut that is Memphis, which got 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Rose. Putting the finishing touches on a remarkable season for Love, in which he became just the second freshman to be named the Pac-10 Player of the Year and, along with Kansas State's Michael Beasley, averaged a double-double, a jump to the NBA does not seem that far-fetched. As would be expected, Love did his best to put a swift end to any talk about himself potentially moving on. "The season just ended. I haven't given any thought about if it's my last college game," he said. "As of right now, I'm still a UCLA Bruin. I'm enjoying my time and I'll be at class on Monday." In further explanation, Love gave a genuine response that just might calm any anxious feelings that Bruins' fans might be having. "This has been the best year of my life," he said. "I know we didn't come out on top. There's only one team at the end of the year that really feels truly satisfied. You know, we've had a great year. "We've been a true family. Just being part of the UCLA program has been really huge for me. Like I mentioned, it's been the best year of my life inside basketball, outside of basketball, and family-wise, as well." Sounds almost like No. 42 might just take himself and those full-court wrist shots out on the college trail for one more season.

TAKE THE PSYCHO OUT OF THE T: Kansas had a surprise contributor and maybe a flash to the future in its impressive win over North Carolina, as freshman center Cole Aldrich stepped up. Appearing rarely in the Jayhawks' postseason run, Aldrich was pressed into duty as both Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun were whistled for some quick fouls. Stepping into the fray, the 6-11, 240-pounder did an admirable job in holding Tar Heels star Tyler Hansbrough in check. He also contributed on the offensive end, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds - four offensive - in playing in a season high-tying 17 minutes. "I didn't expect him to play that much," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "I didn't expect Darnell and Sasha to get two fouls right off the bat. But it's probably a good thing that things played out the way they did because Cole was unbelievable. He was as good an inside performer as we had tonight." Aldrich played a key role in helping to limit Hansbrough inside, holding him to 17 points and nine rebounds as the Tar Heels attempted to rally from a 28-point first-half deficit. However, the youngster was not looking to thrust himself into the limelight. "It wasn't just (me)," Aldrich said about the defense on Hansbrough. "I mean, Darnell and Sasha, Shady (Darrell Arthur) all helped out. It was a whole team effort because you can't guard him 1-on-1. He's just way too good. He hit the offensive board really hard. (He's) just so tenacious on both ends of the floor."

MEMPHIS' BIGGEST FAN: With his dreams of the NBA apparently over, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway has found something else to fill his time. The former NBA All-Star and Memphis standout was in attendance on Saturday as the Tigers advanced to their first NCAA Tournament title game since 1973. A native of Memphis, Hardaway donned a Tigers t-shirt that had all of the names and numbers of the players on it, and even took a trip into the team's locker room to celebrate with them afterwards. "They are almost there," he said. "This is a great collection of kids and the people in Memphis are all behind them. They just have to keep their heads down and get it done."

Kansas Downs North Carolina

KANSAS 84, NORTH CAROLINA 66 ------------------------------

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Kansas nearly coughed up an unbelievable start. Instead, the Jayhawks gave their former coach a loss that will be hard to swallow. Brandon Rush scored 25 points as Kansas staved off a furious comeback by North Carolina to post an 84-66 victory and advanced to Monday's national title game. The Jayhawks (36-3) are in the championship game for the second time in six seasons, and the first since coach Roy Williams spurned them to return to North Carolina. Winning its last title back in 1988, Kansas will face Memphis (38-1), which roughed up UCLA, 78-63, earlier Saturday. Williams, who was facing the Jayhawks for the first time since leaving them following a national runner-up showing against Syracuse in 2003, saw his Tar Heels managed just 10 points through the first 11-plus minutes, falling behind by as many as 28 points.

Memphis Rolls Past UCLA

MEMPHIS 78, UCLA 63-----------------------

By Matt Santillo

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Having beaten Oregon twice during the season, UCLA had no answers for a similar offense that had a little bit of something extra. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 28 points and freshman Derrick Rose added 25 as Memphis pummeled the Bruins, 78-63, in the national semifinals of the Final Four on Saturday evening.

Winning for the 12th straight time, the Tigers (38-1) advanced to the championship game for the first time since 1973. They will face either North Carolina or Kansas on Monday night. Asked to compared Memphis to a team from the Pac-10 in Friday's pregame press conference, UCLA center Kevin Love said that the Tigers reminded him a lot of Oregon - "on steroids."

The freshman sensation got a firsthand taste of that Saturday, as Douglas-Roberts and Rose had very little trouble getting the shots that they wanted while Love and his teammates had to fight for most of their points. The Tigers led by as many as seven points in the first half, but had to settle for a 38-35 edge at the break after the Bruins scored six of the final eight points. Douglas-Roberts and Rose combined for 24 points in the opening half, and had eight together in the opening moments of the second half to give Memphis a 48-37 bulge.

In the Final Four for a third straight time, UCLA (35-4) did close within 50-45 on a layup by Alfred Aboya with 13:39 to play, but Memphis answered back with six of the next eight points, pulling ahead, 56-47, on a layup by Rose with 11:12 left. Scoring at least 23 points for the fourth time in five games, Douglas-Roberts added an exclamation point to the Tigers' impressive showing with a thunderous dunk over Love on a back-door cut from the right baseline, making it 61-52 with 4:56 remaining. Russell Westbrook had 22 points for the Bruins. Love finished with just 12, including two in the second half.

NCAA Final Four Notebook

By Matt Santillo

PA SportsTicker College Basketball Editor

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- In a strange twist, Bill Self is sitting right in the place that North Carolina coach Roy Williams was five years ago. Although he is less than a week removed from exorcising his past failures from four previous appearances in a regional final, the Kansas coach has become the main topic of rumors at the Final Four due to the unexpected opening at his alma mater, Oklahoma State. It is much the same that Williams had to go through when he was leading the Jayhawks to a national runner-up showing against Syracuse in 2003. A former player and assistant coach at North Carolina, Williams was linked with the Tar Heels, who were ready to make a change after two sub-par seasons under Matt Doherty. Those rumors, of course, proved true as Williams got his dream job and led North Carolina to a national championship two seasons later. With Sean Sutton's surprising resignation from Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Self finds himself fielding question after question about his interest in what could be an outstanding opportunity for the 45-year-old coach. A four-year letterwinner with the Cowboys in the early to mid-1980s, Self also served as an assistant there for six seasons (1987-1993). When Sutton first stepped down, Self basically stated that he was happy at Kansas and did not want to be "remotely disrespectful" to Oklahoma State by being forced to turn it down. However, rumors continued to abound on Friday, with an individual linked to Self - Stewart Campbell - stating in the Tulsa World that it would take "eye-popping numbers" to get Self to consider the job with the Cowboys. Self firmly put those rumors to rest Friday. "Stewart Campbell is an attorney that looks over my contracts," Self said. "So he does not speak for me. I haven't spoken to Stewart Campbell in a month. "So anybody speaking on behalf of me doesn't know what they're talking about because I will speak for me. So I don't know if that answers your question. But I'm not looking for anything except our team to play well this weekend. That's all I care about."

TOUGH BREAK:

While Self may have permanently severed himself from the Oklahoma State opening, the Kansas coach has bigger things to worry about now due to a freak injury. Reserve guard Rodrick Stewart fractured his right kneecap near the end of a light practice that was open to the public at the Alamodome on Friday, suffering the injury when he landed awkwardly before going up for a dunk, having slipped on a wet spot. "Guys practice their whole life to get to participate in a Final Four," Self said. "That's been taken away from him." One of five seniors for the Jayhawks, Stewart averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 11.6 minutes over 33 games this season. He transferred from Southern California in 2004. However, Stewart's playing time was limited in the tournament, appearing in nine minutes in two games. Still, his teammates did not take the news lightly. "I don't know exactly how it will affect the guys other than the fact that it was a subdued locker room when I told them what the injury was," Self said. "It is disappointing to have this happen," Kansas guard Brandon Rush said. "It is bringing us down right now but we will have to rise above it and go out tomorrow and play our game." According to Self, Stewart will have surgery in Lawrence, Kansas when the team returns from the Final Four.

REBEL, REBEL:

Advancing through the tournament behind the battle call of "It's us against the world," Memphis plans to continue its trend of being the "rebel team" despite already showing up its critics. The Tigers, who will face UCLA in the opening game of the national semifinals on Saturday, had former Nevada-Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian speak to them on Thursday. Always a thorn in the side of the NCAA, Tarkanian has Memphis as his favorite to win the national championship, in large part due to the play of freshman point guard Derrick Rose. Tarkanian, who led the Runnin' Rebels to a national title in 1990 and had a perfect season ruined by Duke in the national semifinals the following year, was happy that Tigers coach John Calipari has not put too much into the fact that the team has struggled with its free throws, as long as it maintained its focus on defense and rebounding.