Kansas Vs. Memphis: Jayhawk Chalk Vs. Tiger Torment

The NCAA national final is here with less fanfare than usual, but that doesn't mean there won't be drama. Everybody and their mother picked UCLA to match wits with North Carolina and I'll bet some folks in Vegas are ripping their toupees out and stomping on their Hawaiian shirts. But guess what? The party ain't over, folks, and I was right about Memphis. Goes to show you how someone with a little knowledge about where these Tigers came from (That's big-time inner-city high school programs) and a propensity for taking risks can make everything seem right. Of course I blew it big-time with Arizona, but that's a story for another day.

Anyway, with two balanced and athletic teams in Kansas and Memphis crashing the party it does make for an interesting national championship game. So what if UCLA and its big man on campus, Kevin Love, as well as North Carolina's monster Tyler Hansbrough aren't here, anyway.

What you have in Kansas and Memphis are two lunch pail types of teams who win the old-fashioned way, with stifling defensive pressure and balanced scoring. It's the kind of combination usually unseen in the national championship. Bobby Knight has to be salivating at this kind of national championship game, for it's the bread-and-butter of all of his great Indiana teams. And God only knows, you'll get plenty of 'ol Bobby every time you tune into ESPN this weekend.

In the Jayhawk-Tiger matchup there are some back court stars in our midst and they happen to be matched up against one another Monday night in Jayhawks Mario Chalmers, their floor leader and their dynamic two-guard in Brandon Rush. Brandon's fixing' to do what no other Rush, including his much-talented bro Jaron has done and that's win the big one.

Thing is, they only have to go against a Memphis team that has the premier play maker in the land: Derrick Rose. Going up against this guy is not only bad for your health but also horrible for your team's chances to move on in the NCAA Tournament. Ask Michigan State, Texas and UCLA what Rose can do and it's a collective sigh along with your head buried in your hands, the typical pose one strikes when getting tossed out of the tournament.

But that's not all, folks. Both Kansas and Memphis have solid front courts, leading one to ponder this question: will the game be high-scoring, or will it be in the mold of the Kansas-Davidson game in which the Jayhawks were one three away from being sent home? Is it gonna be the depth? One could argue that both teams have the type of depth necessary to win the whole enchilada, but the sauce for each team comes from Kansas' Darrell Arthur, the kind of player John Salley would be proud of and Memphis' Joey Dorsey, a shot-blocker and a senior with lots to prove.

You see, while Jayhawks Rush and Chalmers get all the points and the accolades--and Tigers Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts collect all the hoopla like congratulatory text messages on their Blackberrys, the real reason for both teams' success is defense.

They've shut down good, if not great, offensive teams. And yes, that included that doozy with Davidson, that little Cinderella with a big-time scorer. And Stephen Curry may have gone for 30-plus but no other Davidson player reached his numbers, further putting forth reasoning behind my explanation. If you want more, how about the Tigers' embarrassing UCLA? The Jayhawks merely thumped North Carolina, a game so one-sided that in the national semifinal the score at one point in the first half was 40-12. So in a nutshell Kansas treated the Tarheels like any No. 1 seed would treat a No. 16 seed in the opening round game of the tournament. Ouch.

As for Memphis they do have players who can get their points in Rose and Douglas-Roberts. By the way, the Tigers will get to the free-throw line more often in this game than the tutors who check in with Coach Cal to see who made grades. (That's a lot for those of you not in the know.)

In the final analysis it doesn't take a professor in basket weaving class to decide the fate of this game. I predicted Memphis would make it to the Final Four, resulting in my only Final Four pick that was correct. Nevertheless, the Tigers seem to be a team of destiny, having lost only once and setting a ferocious pace of madcap pressure defense and athletic prowess that, frankly, hasn't been seen since Grand Mama Larry Johnson and Co. led UNLV to its only national title before Tark the Shark was run out of town and an investigation ensued, along with salacious photos of people lounging in hot tubs.

For that reason and many others not printable here, Memphis will finally have its national championship and Derrick Rose will most certainly be the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick this summer. He'll buy a Hummer and live in a mansion, swimming in a hot tub filled with dollars. Kansas has had a great run, particularly with a so-called upset of North Carolina in the national semifinal. Its players will get respectable jobs in real estate and securities. In fact they will handle Rose's stocks he invested in Sean John. The only other question is, will Memphis' only title hold up once the dust has settled and they receive probation/suspension for some "alleged" impropriety? Son, it's what dreams are made of. Big-time NCAA dreams, that is.

Final score: Memphis 77, Kansas 56