It was quite a wild ride to the 2008 National Championship tonight. Here, in pictures, is a quick chronological look at the pomp and circumstance that surrounded the Kansas-Memphis title bout here in San Antonio...

(Four hours before Armageddon hits. The quiet tranquillity of the stadium you see here won't last for long as the crowd, the teams, the bands, the cheerleaders and the energy start to fill the building.)

(Jim Nantz and Billy Packer are prepping for their first on-camera appearance of the night. Doesn't it look like Nantz is looking straight at the camera as if to ask, "Who the hell is this freak taking a picture of me?")

("Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." ESPN's Shelley Smith is about to give a court-side pre-game report.)

(Ya' gotta love CBS hoop dude Gregg Doyel. Not only does he know his roundball stuff, but he also sported the coolest haircut among the Final Four media throng. Dig the Mohawk Gregg. Although he did tell me it was only temporary because his slight bald spot is exposed more with this cut.)

(The Memphis dancers and Pouncer the Tiger are keyed up for tip-off.)

(Who's more fired up, the Kansas dancers or the dudes in the lower sections that are leering at the Kansas dancers?)

(Of course, no Final Four would be complete without Jesse Jackson, right? Here, he and Houston Phi Slamma Jamma alum Clyde Drexler are chatting it up with a mutual friend.)

(Soon after, Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell happened to pass by and made this a trio of famous people all within the frame of my camera lens.)

(For the injured Roderick Stewart, this was the only way to get around the Alamodome before the game.)

(This is the Memphis Tigers walking out of the locker room on their way to the court. As you can see from some of the players that are laughing, they were loose and even quite jovial at this moment, seemingly at ease with the big game ahead of them.)

(KU, on the other hand, walked out a few minutes later and were very quiet and serious in demeanor. I didn't think this was a good sign for the Jayhawks.)

(ESPN roundball guru Andy Katz is caught courtside looking for another story to break.)

(KU seemed a step slow in the early going, although Mario Chalmers is providing some in-your-face D here.)

(At halftime, both teams walked amongst each other on their way to the locker rooms and to my surprise there was no trash talking at each other. Unlike on the way to the court to start the game where the two teams stood in the tunnel one behind the other and a couple of F-bombs were tossed back and forth - there's a picture of that in one of the earlier entries.)

(The dreadfully shy Dick Vitale gives Patrick Ewing a hug after being introduced at halftime of the game as part of the Hall of Fame class of 2008.)

(As the game went on, you could see John Calipari's body language and expressions change as the score tightened.)

(Ya' nervous there? I bet so. This Memphis dance girl had to catch her breath as she saw Kansas start making its move in the waning minutes of the game.)

(Check out this look that Calipari was shooting at Joey Dorsey. Ouch. Coach Cal was not particularly happy with his enforcer after he fouled out of the game in regulation.)

(As was their bugaboo all season long, the Tigers couldn't hit their free throws - even though Calipari swore up and down that the poor charity stripe percentage was not a big worry of his. Here Derrick Rose tosses up another late-game brick.)

(This was my view of Mario Chalmers' game-tying shot at the buzzer. Sorry for the slight blur to the picture. Then again, this whole final sequence seemed to go as fast as a blur anyway.)

(The scoreboard and the confetti didn't lie. Kansas wins the game and the national title. The jumbotron camera is fixed on MU's Joey Dorsey as he leaves the court.)

("Did this really just happen?" Chris Douglas-Roberts can barely look up as he makes the long walk back to the locker room.)

(The Jayhawk radio crew wrangles Chalmers up for a post-game interview. Doesn't that guy look like a slightly heavier version of James Carville?)

(Coach Self gets his post-game query from Jim Nantz. This is the one media interview every college coach dreams of doing.)

(Jim Gray, manning the mic for CBS Radio, gets second dibs on Self after the TV crew is done with him.)

(Funny thing I found out about the post-game celebration... See the KU player holding up the "Champions" newspaper - something that is very common for teams that win the football national championship. Now, notice the player behind him taking the paper out of his hands...)

(This is J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA, he has a wad of those faux "Champions" papers in his hands. J.D. would later tell me that those newspapers aren't allowed to be shown because only those advertisers that are "corporate champions" to the NCAA are allowed to have a post-game presence at the Final Four. So this fake Lawrence paper printed out well beforehand proclaiming Kansas as the national champs had to be confiscated.)

(To the victors go the nylon spoils. Mario Chalmers is relishing his turn up on the ladder after the game.)

(... and one last shot of the Kansas Jayhawks holding up the rather blandly-styled NCAA basketball trophy. Ever wonder what happens to the shirts and hats that were pre-printed with "Memphis - National Champions" on them? They are set in a locked room in the bowels of the stadium and later set ablaze by the NCAA, never to be seen again.)

It was an awesome game, full of unmatched elation on one side and palpable heartbreak on the other. Incredible.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

SAN ANTONIO -- You have to feel bad for Memphis coach John Calipari, who had a great team and a great season, but must be pained by the missed opportunities in tonight's championship game.

Even the hot UofM dancers had a hard time handling the stress...

Billy says, "Damn. I screwed the pooch on my bracket!"...

But Mr. Dunk-the-ball-then-grab-it-so-they-can't-inbound-it deserves a long walk tonight...

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 12:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas has scoreboard...

Kansas has cutting nets...

Kansas also has its Self...

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas completed its remarkable comeback and won the national championship, 75-68, in OT.

And now, we are buried in confetti.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor hail of confetti can keep us from blogging.

As time wound down, Memphis fans sense that their team had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. You really have to feel for Memphis and the heartbreaking way they lost this game.

Kansas fans also had a sense of what was coming when Rock Chalk went up with 18.2 secs left.

Final stats have just been handed over. Arthur finished with 20 and Chalmers had 18, including the game-tying shot.

For Memphis, Rose, who played every minute, had 18, but CDR led the Tigers with 20. Memphis shot 63 percent from the line, better than their season average, but missed free throws down the stretch certainly aided the Kansas comeback.

The all-tournament team has been announced. Mario Chalmers is the MOP. Artuhur, Rush, Rose and CDR are also on the team.

And that is a wrap from San Antonio. I may attempt a Hang Time entry tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that will be possible. We are closing down CSTV.com after the NCAA Tournament.

So with that said, I want to take this opportunity to especially thank my editor at CSTV.com, Josh Herwitt, and Managing Editor Dan Kaufman, for giving me an opportunity to bring coverage like this to you over the last several years. And also a big thank you to all you readers. Hopefully, you'll see me around here again sometime.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas wins a remarkable game with a remarkable comeback and Memphis can only wonder what-if?

Final score: Kansas 75 , Memphis 68.

Free throw shooting did, in the end, have an effect on the Tigers season.

That'll do it for us. We thank you for being there.

Posted by David Scott at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Overtime started great for the Jayhawks. Collins got a steal, leading to a Rush layup. After a stop, Arther got an alley-oop from Chalmers that they didn't even signal to each other.

Chalmers just threw it up and Arthur went up and got it. The next possession saw some great passing from Chalmers to Arthur, who fed Jackson for another layup, and KU is now up six half-way through the OT. Kansas is now on a 13-1 run.

The mood in this gym has changed considerably. I'm hearing a lot more very bad words from the Memphis fans behind us.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas out 6-0 to start OT. Memphis has the ball with 2:29 left in OT and Kansas up, 69-63.

. . . Memphis 10-of-17 at the free throw line in regulation.

. . . How huge is that negated three-pointer from Rose? It was the right call of course.

. . . And Memphis is really missing Dorsey in the post.

. . . A bad three-point attempt by Anderson, too.

Posted by David Scott at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- OK, Coach Cal ... guess what? We're not going to believe you from now on when you say free throws won't be a problem.

Here's a shot of Derrick Rose's choke job (following CDR's choke job) that helped KU send the game into OT:

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Chalmers drained a long three to tie the game with about two seconds left after Rose hit one of two from the line and we'll have some free basketball.

Memphis appeared to be trying to foul on the possession, but none was called before Chalmers slipped away and drained a rainbow from beyond the arc.

Wonder how momentum will go here. KU seems to have it now, but sometimes the team that comes back relaxes too much after completing that job.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Derrick Rose is limping and we are headed to overtime. A tremendous comeback by the Jayhawks and a huge three by Chalmers sends us to an extra session. Rose appears to be OK, and Memphis' free throws did hurt down the stretch.

Memphis tried to foul with the three point lead but no call was made allowing for Chalmers to bury it with 2.1 seconds left.

. . . Big factor now that Memphis is without Joey Dorsey for the OT. No one still in foul trouble for Kansas.

Posted by David Scott at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- After a miss by Memphis, Collins flew down the floor, shot in traffic and missed. Self wanted the foul, but didn't get it. CDR was fouled at the other end and went 0-for-2.

Dozier grabbed the rebound though and after another foul, CDR spiked the ball with a 30-foot bounce, and for the only time in basketball history, that move did not earn a T.

Don't know if Self complained about that.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas tried a 2-3 zone for one possession, but it didn't work as Memphis extended its lead to eight.

Since then, two baskets by Arthur sandwiched around a Collins three have got the lead down to two with 44 second left and Memphis on the ball. Dorsey has fouled out and a missed ft and a turnover have helped the Kansas cause.

We were warned to protect our computers from confetti at the end of the game. That might be some time off.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Forty-four second left in the game, Memphis up 2 with the ball and 19 seconds on the shot clock.

CDR missed the front end of a one and one and Arthur answered with a nice shot on the baseline. 62-60.

Give the ball to Rose.

Posted by David Scott at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Joey Dorsey fouls out with six points and two rebounds, but every point was big and he was 3 of 3 from the field. Tigers up six, 62-56 with 1:23 left.

It's never easy.

Posted by David Scott at 11:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas has now begun to foul and Robert Dozier is the first victim and he makes his two shots. Kansas answers with an Arthur jumper. With 1:54 left in the game, Memphis is up 60-53.

. . . Attendance 43,257.

. . . Taggart who had been awful most of the game gets a huge bank shot to go with 2:45 left in the gamne to keep the Memphis lead at 58-51.

Posted by David Scott at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Yes he did. Final Four MOP-in-waiting Derrick Rose banked in a two-pointer from deep with the shot clock at zero and 4 minutes left in the game to put tthe Tigers up 56-49. His left foot was just inside the line and the officials reviewed the play during the under-4:00 timeout to make the proper call. The shot came on a broken in-bounds play.

Good biut of officiating.

Posted by David Scott at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Kansas is learning the hard way how tough it is to stop Derrick Rose. He has totally taken over the game on the offensive end for Memphis, including a back-breaking three to beat the shot clock and give the Tigers an eight point lead at the last media timeout.

Sherron Collins scored in the lane for Kansas for the Jayhawks' only bucket in quite a while.

We're watching the replay of Rose's last shot on the monitor next to us and his shot is clearly a two-pointer, so we expect the lead to drop to seven as the refs review the play.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas's box and one experiment is over but they might want to bring it back and use it on Derrick Rose who has taken over this title game in every way imaginable. Rose now has 15 points (12 in the second half) and the Tigers lead 54-47 with just over 5 minutes left in the game.

. . . Tony Barbee and Bruiser Flint are sitting next to each other and in what looks to be excuciating pain on each play.

. . . CDR picked up a foolish foul with 6:20 left. It was his third and sent Willie Kemp into the game. He got a steal right away and then made a sloppy pass in transition on an alley-oop attempt to Dozier.

. . Bill Russell looks thoroughly disinterest. He's in a red sweater, gray pants and has white NBA socks on with black casual shoes. He's still the meanest looking dude in the building.

Posted by David Scott at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- The longer the game goes, the more animated Memphis coach John Calipari seems to get. He has been gyrating, screaming and fist-pumping like a whirling dervish this second half. Here he is in one of his "calmer" moments:

And this was the KU fans reaction to the Alamodome jumbotron showing former KU coach Roy Williams in the crowd.

(See? Kansas fans still love Roy. So can we all just move on now?)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas went to a box and one using Chalmers and Robinson instead of Rush on CDR. That worked ot the extent that he hasn't scored since they switched.

However, Rose got loose for five points, and Dozier hit a tough shot in the lane, so Memphis is now back ahead 49-47 with just over eight minutes left to play.

The Tigers have done a good job on the other end keeping Kansas out of the paint, where it was so dominant in the first half (24-8 advantage). They are also attacking the glass much better in this half.

In the KU huddle, Self is very calm and collected. He's telling the team that everything is fine. He is one of the coaches who does not have a coaches' meeting prior to talking to his team. His assistants just chime in when they have something to add. Some x-and-o discussion happens and they're ready to go. It's a very business meeting-like huddle.

Right in front of us, NCAA Tournament Queen Jeanne Boyd shows us how detail oriented she is by picking up a towel from behind the Memphis bench and laying it over a chair.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis has picked up its defensive intensity considerably and is up slightly in rebounding, holding a 10-8 edge in the second half. The Tigers lead 49-47 with 8:08 left in the game.

Derrick Rose now has 10 points, seven in the second half.

. . . On Robert Dozier shot and foul in the lane with 8:49 left Calipari got as animated in reacting as I've ever seen him.

. . . Kansas is Box and oneing CDR now (he has a game-high 15 points) and it looks like Chalmers has drawn the CDR assignment.

Posted by David Scott at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas got back-to-back baskets from Darnell Jackson to help keep a 43-42 lead at the second TV timeout.

I walked down to the KU huddle and got as close as I could. It's a bit loud in here, but if I heard things right, we might see a box-and-one coming on CDR. He also told the team, 'The game is in our hands."

Or maybe he was just educating them on the importance of washing their hands.

I think my first guess is better.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Well, that was fun.

Hope you enjoyed the Palmist.

Did he say anything bad about me?

And yes, I would have been T'ed up and probably ejected by now by the computer officials.

. .. Tigers are out to a lot better start this half and Derrick Rose must've had some gummy bears at halftime because he's looking a lot more like the Rose that has carried Memphis to this game.

. . . The halftime deficit was the second time Memphis has trailed by five this season and they won the other time vs. USC in overtime in NYC.

. . . Jesse Jackson gave a pre-game speech to the Tigers and the message he relayed played off of John Calipari's "Dream Team" theme that he has been pushing during the post-season. Jackson, according to a Memphis official who was present for the brief comments, said that the players should go out and live their dreams tonight.

Posted by David Scott at 10:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis scored the first five points out of the locker room to tie the game, and it's been going back and forth ever since.

The action in this game has been incredible throughout, but just in this sequence, we had a dunk by Dorsey on a beautiful feed by Rose, and another by Dozier off a Rose pass. Also, in two possessions, Kansas blocked three shots by Dozier.

Dorsey also picked up his third foul on a silly play, and when he came out, he heard about it from Calipari. John's wife won't like that.

We now return you to David Scott's Memphis coverage, already in progress.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- Strange as it sounds, Kansas and Memphis walked intermingled with each other to the locker rooms and not a single word was said to anybody from either team. In this day and age, that's an upset in itself. I'll see if anything is said when they come out for the second half.

Oh, also, they announced the college basketball Hall of Fame class of 2008. Here's a picture of them. (Special thanks to ESPN's Shelley Smith, who allowed me to stand in the spot where her seat was.)

(I didn't hear the entire class, but second to left is Adrian Dantley, followed by Patrick Ewing, Akeem Alojuwon, Pat Riley, some lady and Dickie V.)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SAN ANTONIO -- Well, that was quite a first half if I must say, but certainly a surprise to me to see Memphis down by five at halftime.

Back in the press room here at the Alamodome, the media is taking a break to get some refreshments and put together a few notes on the first 20 minutes of action that have unfolded here.

But one thing that I noticed was Derrick Rose doing a lot of jumping and passing and getting himself hung up in the air at times. Anyone who has played basketball knows that's a coaching no-no, so we'll see if John Calipari says something to his freshman point guard, who's only got three points to this point, in the locker room.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, meanwhile, is picking up the slack nevertheless and having a heck of a game for Memphis with a game-high 13 points. And at the other end, Brandon Rush is really struggling to find his shot as he's having to use a lot of his energy to contain Douglas-Roberts, who shot 5-for-8 from the floor and 1-for-2 from three-point range in his 18 minutes.

One more thing to say before we head back out to the court...Darrell Arthur is playing pretty well himself. The sophomore forward has 10 points to lead the Jayhawks and has been very active on the defensive end in guarding both Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart, who both have been riddled with two fouls. And with Joey Dorsey also picking up two personals in the first half, it will be interesting to see if Calipari's big men can stay out of foul trouble early in the second half and give the Tigers a chance to make a quick comeback out of the gates.

Back to the court...

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas scored the last five points of the half to take a 33-28 lead into the break.

Kansas is flat out killing Memphis on the boards, 19-11. The Jayhawks also have all but about nine of their points in the paint.

KU is also shooting much better, 52%-39%.

All that considered, coach Calipari has to feel pretty good about only being down five. His big guys had foul problems, Rose only had three points and at least as many turnovers. KU took away a lot of what Memphis wants to do, but they're still right in it.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Chris Douglas-Roberts put Memphis on his back and tied the game at 28. In the last three and a half minutes, he has a runner in the lane, a three off a great feed from Rose, another jumper to tie, and a steal which is why Memphis will inbound when we come out of the final media timeout of this half.

Kansas was able to respond with a runner by Collins and a dunk by Kaun, who is getting a breather at the moment.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- When Shawn Taggart drove toward the goal, trying to get a foul call but instead just forced up a wild shot that flew out of bounds, Calipari took him out immediately. He sat him down on the Tiger bench and said, "You've got two fouls! You're not going to get that call. If you're not going to get the call, don't just throw it away!"

(Taggart after getting called for his second foul earlier in the game)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - The action, and to some degree, the tempers are getting hot.

A Rush layup and a three by Chalmers capped a 15-4 run by the Jayhawks early on in this sequence. We also had big plays by the big men, with Dorsey on a steal and dribble for a dunk, followed at the other end by an alley oop to Arthur, who had beaten Memphis down the floor.

KU had been doing a better job keeping the Memphis guards out of the lane, but the last two possessions for the Tigers were penetrate and dish threes to keep them within 3 at the 8-minute timeout.

Memphis is getting a little frustrated with the KU defense, the officials, and the fact that some technical gremlins are keeping my partner and Tiger tailer David Scott from posting at the moment. His jacket has come off and he's on the verge of getting a T.

TV just showed Roy Williams in the stands wearing a KU sticker. So, I guess we're not done talking about Roy yet.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - At the last timeout, Bill Self sent in Sasha Kaun and Sherron Collins and they made an immediate impact.

Robinson hit Kaun for an alley oop that seemed to get the Jayhawk juices flowin'.

Collins added a driving layup to tie the game and it remains tied at the second media timeout.

Memphis had a particularly frustrating sequence with three fouls and an out of bounds call right in front of their bench that went Kansas' way. Looked from here like it hit Sasha last. That possession resulted in two Jackson freebies for KU.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - At the first timeout, Kansas is losing the battle of the backcourts big time. KU trails 9-5 and it's only because of Darrell Arthur that they are in this at all. He has both field goals for Kansas.

All three of the Jayhawk starting guards have turnovers, and Robinson has a foul on a made shot by Rose.

There was one scary moment when Rush, who suffered a knee injury last year, went down hard on a dunk attempt after being fouled by Anderson. He was OK though, and Anderson helped him up, which is a kind of sportsmanship rarely seen these days.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - A little bit ragged to start and some poor shot seletcion by Memphis but the Tigers lead 9-5 with 15:36 left in the half. Memphis is 4 of 8 from the field.

. . . Dorsey scored the game's first bucket 2-0, a good sign for Tiger fans.

. . . Antonio Anderson turnover leads to breakaway and then a hard foul by Anderson on Rush.

. . . CDR on Rush, Antonio Anderson on Collins, Dorsey on Kaun, Rose on Robinson and Taggart on Arthur.

. . . Tigers very loose during introductions boucning all around and creating a circle. Chants of "JOEY, JOEY" for the first time tonight.

. . . The scoreboard is in proper order tonight, something that wasn't true for the start of Saturday's first game.

. . . Willie Kemp was very loose in warm-ups, bouncing and dancing and bumping teammates. If he and Mack can give a lift off the bench, Memphis will be in very good shape.

. . . Pouncer the Tiger mascot in my favorite blue Elvis jumpsuit with glitter.

Posted by David Scott at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - It was plenty loud in here for lineup introductions, and the volume seems to be pretty equal for both teams.

Memphis does a strange thing with its introductions. The non-starters bounce around in a pile, and the starter "busts" through them as the reserves jump back. No high fives, low fives, chest bumps or anything like that.

The Big Man, Bill Russell, sitting right behind me. Much better than in front of me.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- As the two teams were standing in the darkened tunnel you see below, some Memphis players turned around and started yackin' back at the Jayhawks who were standing behind them.

Pierre Niles and Robert Dozier (who you can sort of see in the background of the picture) of Memphis were the biggest trashers, even going so far as to throw out a few "f___ y__!" yells back at the Kansas players. The KU players were yelling stuff back as well, but I couldn't hear them as well from where I was standing.

Boys. Boys.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

SAN ANTONIO - All that's left is prediction time, keeping in mind that Memphis is a 1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 146.

Jerry Palm predicts Memphis, 82-76
David Scott predicts Memphis, 85-75

Let's get it on!

. . . Bill Russell is seated over my left shoulder wearing a black Celtics cap.

Posted by David Scott at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- We're about 10 minutes away from tip-off and I must say Mr. Scott and Mr. Palm, your two live-bloggers for the evening, are looking rather dapper tonight in their suits.

Memphis and Kansas are in their layup lines and warming up as we speak and the mascots are doing their thing along with each team's cheerleading squad and band.

As you would figure, there doesn't look to be a vacant seat in this place and people are filling the place in the top deck without being able to even see the court (take a look at Mr. Sorenson's picture from Saturday to see what I mean).

The media room has pretty much cleared out now as most have headed to the court and that's what we'll do as well as we get ready to take in a big-time matchup between the Tigers and Jayhawks.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - If you are missing a pair of blue glasses on press row, I found them and turned them in to media coordination staff. Better than stepping on them.

Tonight's lineups were not passed out to the media, but we're sitting next to the NCAA broadcast desk, so the guy there helped us out.

For Kansas:
G Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush
F Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson

For Memphis:
G Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson
F Joey Dorsey, Robert Dozier

Our refs are Ed Hightower, Ed Corbett and John Cahill

And representing God, the Rev. Jesse Jackson

Thanks to staff paparazzi Eric Sorenson for this pic.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - The Memphis celebfans are pouring in and so far we have Mrs. Fields (Debbi Fields), who lives in Memphis with her husband, Mike Rose. Mmmmmm, cookies.

Also here are in the Memphis section are the Governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, creator of the dribble drive offense, Vance Walberg, Calipari coaching pal and Manhattan head coach Barry Rohrssen and former Elvis running mate, Jerry Schilling.

Some ex-Memphis athletes include Larry Keenon, Hank McDowell, Isaac Bruce, DeAngelo Williams and Cedric Henderson.

. . . National Anthem is complete and we're inching closer to game time.

Posted by David Scott at 09:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - We're less than an hour from tip and both teams are warming up on the court. Kansas in their red shooting jerseys and blue uniforms is shooting at the basket in front of the Posting Up Perch. Memphis players have a combination of white and blue shooting shirts over their white uniforms.

. . . Jesse Jackson, who a week ago spoke to the Tigers at practice, is right behind the Posting Up perch, two rows behind the Calipari family.

. . . Officials have not yet been announced but we did see Ed HIghtower near the River Walk today, so unless he's a back-up official, it's likely he will be one of the three.

. . . The Calipari family is directly behind our perch in their usual seating order of, from left to right, Ellen, Megan, Erin and Bradley.

. . . Penny Hardaway is here again, of course, and was scheduled to be a guest on the CBS College Sports Network pre-game show.

Posted by David Scott at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Good evening from the Alamodome everyone and we all hope you enjoy tonight's national championship game on CBS.

Out here in the media room, things are looking pretty busy as we're under an hour before tip and most of the media are either working on their laptops, eating some very mediocre meat/vegetable lasagna or chatting with other colleagues. Eric "Big Daddy" Sorenson, Jerry "Hairy" Palm and Dave "The Professor" Scott are all out by the court taking in the scene as fans slowly file into this massive arena for one more night of college basketball in 2007-08.

And what a year it has been.

Sure, there's still one more game -- one very big game between two very good teams -- to be played, but in taking a look back at all the great games this year, it's certainly been a heck of a ride over these last five months.

So when Memphis and Kansas hit the floor in a little bit, tonight's game will be the culmination of something special that's developed from November to now April.

Yes, finally tonight a champion will be crowned and myself and the other three CSTV.com culprits will be fortunate enough to witness what should be a spectacular matchup between two very similar teams.

But with that said, we head to the court to watch both teams warm up and get loose for the big showdown. We'll be back, of course, to offer some quick notes, tidbits and thoughts throughout the night.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Dang, they just moved our stat monitor to the table in front of us. I'll have to use my x-ray vision to see it. I'm not sure I drink the right kind of beer to get x-ray vision though, and it certainly wasn't being served to the media at dinner.

They did give us a pretty good lasagna (for catered food) and Caesar salad.

Meanwhile, the teams have taken the floor for warmups.

Kansas players stretch using big rubber bands.

And we have also learned that's it's never too late to learn more about your opponent.

A Memphis cheerleader phones in a scouting report on the Kansas warmups.

The championship game sometimes brings out the rich and the famous. We'll be sending CSTV.com photog Eric Sorenson out for some candids.

This pic of KU football coach Mark Mangino holding court was snapped with my cheesy cell phone camera.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- Here in San Antonio, the Alamo is the center point of town and a national landmark.

But in 1982, Ozzy Osbourne visited.

On a cool February night, the Ozzman, drunk in his hotel room, decided to don one of his wife's dresses and go out and about to take pictures of the city. At one point, while allegedly changing film, he decided to lift up his dress and urinate on a crumbling part of a wall. Turns out it was a wall on the side of the Alamo.

So when the police spotted him, he got busted. He was then banned from performing in San Antonio. Soon after, Ozzy did a benefit concert raising $10,000 for the Alamo. The ban was lifted in 1992.

- Turns out that Jon Feinstein doesn't like Robert Earl Keen.
Keen's twangy music and performance was being televised on the big screens around the AlamoDome and the sound was - I admit - a tad on the loud side. But Jon got up from the table he was sitting at near me and said, "Now if we could just get the staff to turn this sh#@t down."

- Just thought I'd say it here... Palm is better.
Jerry Palm nailed all 65 teams in the NCAA tournament in his projections he does right before the field is announced. He also got all the seedings correct too, just missing out on a few teams going to different venues. How did Bracketologist Joe Lunardi do? According to an XM basketball radio host, also at my table, Lunardi missed 11 of the teams in the 2-through-5 seeds. "He would've done a better job flipping a coin to get those picks."

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - There are two signs that have caught our attention more than most at this year's Final Four. The first is the NCAA's catchy, "The Road Ends Here." Problem is, Robert Earl Keen (still on the big screens live from HemisFair) has a song (that we hope he does soon) titled "The Road Goes on Forever." The rest of the lyrics include the line, ". . .and the party never ends."

So which is it? Does the road end here or does the dance never end? For one team it will be the end, but for the other the party will never end.

Our other favorite sign was posted coincidentally at our favorite drinking establishment of the fortnight here, The Sirius Club on Losoya. It read, "Stay Thirsty, My Friend."

That's exactly what these teams have done to get here. They stayed hungry, thirsty and composed.

Okay, we're getting all clichey on you now, but you get the point. Big night, big game. Enjoy it.

. . . And yes, we've stayed reasonably thirsty despite our frequent visit to Richard the Barkeep at Sirius.

. . . In between songs of REK, the Big Board is showing each of tonight's teams' Road to San Antonio.

. . . Our Posting Up Perch is located two rows behind the Memphis bench, a much better seat than Saturday.

. . . REK just did "Merry Christmas from the Family," one of his classic. We're guessing he either closes or encores with "Road Goes on Forever."

. . . Fans have been allowed in and slowly they are filling seats throughout the Alamodome.

. . . We've got to go get some nourishment so we'll leave you with a link to our feature from last year's Monday night game on the talented writer (and best singer) of "One Shining Moment."

Posted by David Scott at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - The Posting Up crew has a little better seats tonight. Check that, much better seats.

TV dudes working in front of our seats.

Not only are we close, but we're at command central. I have a TV monitor on my left and a live stat monitor on my right.

No excuses for not knowing tonight's stats and Scott is already hard at work.

Bill Self's seat isn't much better than ours.

No stat monitor here, but that's why he has assistant coaches.

I spent some time today shuffling along the Riverwalk, where fans from both teams congregated for lunch and pregame lubrication. This woman had the best headgear on the river.

Excuse me, ma'am, but there's a bird on your head.

We're still an hour and a half from tip. Time to check out the media pregame meal.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 07:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Welcome back to the Alamodome for tonight's national championship game between 38-1 Memphis and 36-3 Kansas. About 20 minutes ago the 2008 Selection Committtee gathered at midcourt around the Final Four logo for a "team picture."

The big boards in the arena are currently simulcasting the concert from HemsiFair Park and The Big Dance featuring Robert Earl Keen, which we consider vert fortuitous. We were torn between coming here early and going to see REK, a long-time favorite, and decided it was better to actually do the work we are paid for.

. . . In a first for the Final Four, the newly announced Hall of Fame class will be introduced at halftime of the game. Dick Vitale has been floating on air all weekend.

Posted by David Scott at 07:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - It's another sunny, warm day in Spurstown and we took a leisurely stroll over to the Memphis team hotel at the Crowne Plaza to get a feel for the gameday temperature of Tiger Tooters.

But first, an update on Memphis freshman Derrick Rose who had a stomach ache yesterday that kept him out of media interviews. Rose's brother, Reggie, said the freshman phenom is feeling better and will, as expected, be ready to go tonight. Reggie also said that Derrick is curtailing his gummy bear intake.

. . . Outside the team hotel, a band - complete with three gyrating ladies - entertained a throng of probably a thousand or more blue-clad Memphis fans in a raucous event sponsored by the Memphis Alumni Association. Tables of Tex-Mex food were spread out on the street and cash bars dotted the perimeter of the stage. One of the dancing ladies shook a blue and white pom-pom and used her Tiger tail as a microphone for the band's rendition of "It's All Right Now."

. . . For JD Moorehead of Wichita, Kansas things are more than just all right now. A native Memphian, Moorehead and his 9-year-old son Luke made an 11 hour car ride to San Antonio in order to root on the Tigers. "I grew up going to games in the old Coliseum and watching Larry Finch," said Moorehead who held a hand painted sign that read: "Kansans for Memphis. "I've yet to meet another Memphis fan in the six years I've lived in Kansa and I have one neighbor who is just a huge KU fan."

As for third-grader Luke, who was feeling the effects of his historic road trip, the youngster actually prefers another blue team, the Duke Blue Devils. "When Duke's not playing," his dad said, "he roots for Memphis."

Tonight, young Luke will be a Tiger backer all the way.

. . . We're in the final hours before the 9:21 ET tip and we're going to get into full pre-game mode with a poolside nap and pre-game stretching exercises. Jerry Palm and myself will begin blogging live from the Alamodome in the 6 p.m. ET hour and then be with you (technology permitting) throughout the National Championship Game.

Tell your friends, bring your family and sit back as CSTV.com caps off the season in style.

Posted by David Scott at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - That's what Bill Self wants to know. You could see him rolling his eyes as the inevitable Roy Williams question came.

"There is no animosity or jealousy, at least on my end, when it comes to Roy Williams. We never mentioned that once to our kids. We were not motivated by that at all. This win is special regardless of who is the opposing coach. I hope we're done talking about this now and that we can all move forward."

I don't know if Packer and Nantz asked about Williams.

Self noted that the first fifteen minutes of the game were the best a team of his had ever played. He also noted that the next fifteen minutes were almost as bad as the first fifteen were good.

The stat sheet doesn't lie. KU won big. Of particular note is the shooting percentage, 53% for KU and only 36% for UNC. Kansas won the battle of the boards as well 42-33.

Brandon Rush had the big stat line, with 25 points and seven rebounds, but the player of the game was Cole Aldrich, who came off the deep bench to contribute eight points and seven rebounds, filling in admirably when Arthur and Kaun had first half foul problems.

We'll be back on Monday night with the final between Kansas and Memphis, and the dueling bloggers of David Scott and myself. That's one matchup where the motivation is all about who is on the other bench, er, keyboard.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Well, with five minutes to go, we did have a game -- for a little while.

But in the end, it was Kansas who was too strong for North Carolina as the Jayhawks move on to Monday night's national championship game with a 84-66 victory.

While Wayne Ellington keyed a big second-half comeback for UNC, the sophomore shooting guard and the rest of his teammates weren't able to keep it up down the stretch.

"I thought at halftime we had a chance to come back and win the game," North Carolina coach Roy Williams confessed. "I did have a lot of confidence that our kids would come back. We just didn't get over the hump."

Ellington led the Tar Heels with 18 points on 8-of-21 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three steals, while Tyler Hansbrough finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Danny Green was the third double-digit scorer for UNC with 15 but did commit a team-high five turnovers. Point guard Ty Lawson, meanwhile, scored just nine points and dished out only two assists in his 28 minutes of floor time.

"They were just real aggressive, and then we had open shots that we couldn't knock down," Lawson said. "Other than that, we just didn't play very well."

The ACC champions end their season at 36-3 and have nothing to be ashamed about, although Williams and his players will certainly be disappointed with the outcome of tonight's game.

"I think we're all lucky," Williams remarked. "This is a really special team. We had no issues. It was just a fun group to coach, and in some ways, that makes it hurt even more."

After all, a big 28-point deficit in the first half and a shooting slump late in the game killed the Tar Heels' chances of winning and playing for a national title, but Williams will still be proud of the way his team fought back to cut Kansas' lead to five midway through the second half.

"They just came out from the gate and played real well," Hansbrough said. "They played real good D."

"This is the first time this North Carolina team panicked," Marcus Ginyard explained. "It got to the point where they were just up big. We did a great job all year long of stepping up to the challenge. Tonight Kansas threw the biggest challenge at us we have seen and it took too long for us to respond."

Three-point shooting was one area that the UNC coach will probably point to, as his team shot just 5-for-24 (20.8 percent) from beyond the arc with an overall 35.8-percent (24-for-67) mark for the game.

"We did a lot of great things this year," Ellington said. "We just fell short."

On the boards, Kansas was surprisingly dominate, grabbing a 42-33 advantage behind Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush and Cole Aldrich, who could have been the game's biggest surprise with eight points, seven rebounds and a strong defensive performance against the All-American Hansbrough.

And for Jayhawk fans, this could just be the long-awaited revenge that they had hoped to earn on Williams, who left Lawrence, Kan., back in 2003 after 15 years of coaching to return to his alma mater and his home state.

"That's life," Williams offered. "It's not roses all the time."

So with a win over the No. 1 overall seed in this year's NCAA Tournament and an opportunity for Bill Self to accomplish what Williams was never able to do at KU, the excitement surrounding Monday night's national championship matchup with Memphis has just gotten started.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - The Rock Chalk chant went up with about a minute and a half to go as Kansas ran away from Carolina at the end and won 84-66, meaning the Jayhawks actually outscored UNC by a point in the second half.

Both coaches actually emptied the bench for the final half minute.

I'll be back with a recap in a bit, but here's a pic or two of the celebration.

Yay, we win!

Posted by Jerry Palm at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - I can't help but think of Chaka Khan whenever I hear Sasha Kaun's name. Kaun's layup followed by a dunk on an alley oop snatched the momentum back for Kansas, and now the Jayhawkds are up by 12 again at the last media timeout.

Darrell Jackson finished the most recent sequence with an alley oop dunk and a layup of his own.

Carolina's defense in the paint went away again at the worst time.

I feel for you, Sasha Kaun

Thanks again, Eric.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- At the four-minute media timeout, North Carolina has letup a little bit with its comeback and now trails by 12 with Kansas up, 73-61.

Darnell Jackson just threw down a dunk off an alley-oop pass and then cleaned up the mess with a layup to put the Jayhawks back in control and give the KU faithful plenty to cheer about with 3:40 remaining.

It's really now or never for North Carolina, who had its best success with Wayne Ellington and Danny Green shooting the ball. Ty Lawson, meanwhile, hasn't played much of a factor on the offensive end after missing all three of his field goal attempts and tallying just two points in the first half.

Right now it's Ellington leading the way with 18 points and Hansbrough just behind with 17. Danny Green has 15 and nearly had more after a three-point attempt of his went around the world before rimming out.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Danny Green had a three-point attempt do a lap and a half around the rim before rolling off. That would have cut the Kansas lead to two, but as it stands, KU leads 58-53 with 7:53 left. Cole Aldrich is going to the line for two when we come back.

The KU band has piped up with, "We're not going to take it." They did that right before what ended up being the decisive run against Davidson as well. You gotta go with what's working.

Coach Self perhaps looking for some Divine inspiration.

Thanks to staff shutterbug Eric Sorenson for the pic.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Well folks, we got ourselves a ball game now.

North Carolina has made a stunning second-half comeback on the shoulders of Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, who have both found their rhythm from three-point range, and now just trail by five, 58-53, with 7:53 remaining in the game.

The Tar Heels have also got it done on the defensive end, creating turnovers to fuel its transition offense and get easier looks at the rim.

But some of this turn of events has been attributed to a letdown by Kansas, which is certainly looking more fatigued and hasn't had its shots go in nearly as much as they did during the first 20 minutes of action.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas has seen eight more points shaved off its lead since the last timeout, and now the Jayhawks are only up six at 54-48.

During the timeout, Self told the boys, "forget about the score. Just play."

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- North Carolina's 28-point deficit in the first half was hard to believe, but the tables have certainly turned and the Tar Heels have sophomore shooting guard Wayne Ellington to thank for it.

Ellington hit a three and then stole the ball on the following possession down the floor before making another pull-up jumper.

At the 12-minute mark, UNC is down by just eight now, 54-46, and it's the Rock Chalk Jayhawk faithful who has suddenly become quiet in this gargantuan arena -- except when a foul is called on KU.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Until a Danny Green three right before the first media timeout, Kansas and Carolina were basically trading baskets, which is fine for KU. The next time down for Kansas though, Sasha Kaun was called for knocking down Hansbrough, so UNC has the ball when we return.

Danny Manning told Kaun, "it's a very bad word call, but you gotta go with it."

The biggest lead ever blown in a Final Four game belongs to Maryland, who gagged away a 22-point cushion in 2001 to Duke.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- After being down by 15 point at halftime, North Carolina is trying to make a dent in Kansas' big lead, but things haven't really change much in the first four minutes of the second half.

The Tar Heels find themselves trailing by 14 after Tyler Hansbrough got Sasha Kaun to commit his third personal with an offensive foul down low on the block.

Danny Green, meanwhile, has joined Hansbrough as UNC's other double-digit scorer, and the junior currently has 11 after nailing his third three-pointer of the game. Hansbrough has tallied 13 points to go along with his six rebounds.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Bill Self could hardly have asked for better. Even though Carolina cut into what was a 28-point lead at one time, Kansas leads 44-27 at the break after a Sherron Collins jumper at the horn. That letup late in the half will give coach Self something to talk about.

Rush leads Kansas with 12 points, a number he's been sitting on for a little while because he didn't play much at the end of the half due to foul trouble.

Five other Jayhawks have scored between 5-7 points. Cole Aldrich is the leading rebounder in the game with six, and has helped KU to a 23-15 advantage over Carolina. KU shot 18-33 from the floor for 54.5%, and 4-6 from behind the arc.

The Kansas crowd is a pretty U dancers/cheerleaders performed at the half, but otherwise it's just highlights, music video-style on the big board.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- In what may have been North Carolina's worst half of basketball this season, the Tar Heels find themselves down by 15 at halftime, 44-27, to Kansas.

In fact, not much went right for Roy Williams' team in the first 20 minutes of play, as the Tar Heels shot just 29 percent (9-for-31) from the field and a dismal 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from three-point range.

Not to mention, Carolina was out-rebounded, 23-15, by the Jayhawks with just three offensive rebounds and that's always surprising when you have Tyler Hansbrough out on the floor. The All-American forward does have 10 points and five boards for his team, but UNC will need to be much more efficient in its offensive sets in the second half if it hopes to make things close with KU down the stretch.

Danny Green was one of the bright spots toward the end of the half for the Tar Heels, canning a couple of threes from the right wing to crack Kansas' 20-point margin, which the Jayhawks held for much of the first half. Both teams are showing that speed that we thought before the game would have this game in the 80s and 90s, and with that has some turnovers from both sides as well.

North Carolina, though, will need to cut down on its turnovers after halftime (10 in the first half) and force a few more if it hopes to have any chance of reaching Monday night's national championship game against Memphis.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas has gone a little cold. UNC has a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 18 with 2:27 left.

The players aren't the only ones cold. The cheerleaders changed to long sleeves.

KU missed a dunk out of the timeout, but slammed one home on the next possession to momentarily stem the tide.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- After looking dead in the water and completely out of synch for the first 15 minutes of this first half, North Carolina has put together a 7-0 run and the momentum has started to swing a little bit in the Tar Heels favor.

Wayne Ellington got things started by converting a three-point play off a fast-break and Tyler Hansbrough just got a two-handed dunk off a rebound to get the UNC faithful standing for one of the few times this half.

But the Tar Heels really need to hold Kansas to little to no points before halftime and score another 10 points or so in order to feel a little bit better about their chances in the second half. And at the other end, if Kansas can hold Carolina to less than 25 points before halftime, you can bet it will be tough for Roy Williams' club to come back.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- I have to admit, my fellow colleague, and RPI guru, Jerry Palm put it best after the final buzzer's echo was still ringing throughout the arena, "UCLA just never did stop their guards. Their three starting guards score almost all of their points."

Sorry to plagiarize Jerry, but that's pretty succinct.

(Unfortunately, Coach Howland and his two star players sit through another painful post-game press conference at the Final Four)

The Tiger trio of Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose and Antonio Anderson combined for 65 of their 78 points. And with Joey Dorsey making the blocks his own personal piece of real estate with 15 rebounds, it's no surprise that they'll be lacing up the high-tops one more time.

Once again it seems like another basketball season for the Bruins was just one player short of climbing that epic mountain. Just one athlete too short. As fate would have it, Kevin Love wasn't the missing piece to UCLA's fortunes, though he was the most important. In the end it was a missing difference-making guard that the Bruins so desperately needed in tonight's loss.

Russell Westbrook was brilliant, chipping in a Bruin-high 22 points. But unfortunately for the blue and gold, it was another case of here today-gone tomorrow for Darren Collison, who had more fouls than points, rebounds or assists, going just 1-for-9 and committing five turnovers. Josh Shipp finished with nine points, only three of which came in the final 36 minutes of the game.

When it got down to crunch time, the Bruins did the one thing that most people expected as the clock was becoming it's enemy, they put the Tigers at the line. Unfortunately for the Bruins, and just like Coach Calipari promised everyone, they knocked them down. Fifteen feet away from the charity stripe, Memphis went 20-for-23 in the game. Once again, the Bruins' best-laid plans just didn't come about.

So it's Memphis that moves on to the Monday night championship game. The Bruins see their season end once again on the biggest stage possible. In turn, providing the blue and gold fans with the biggest heartache possible.

.
Key play:
With the score at 59-52 with just over five minutes left, Chris Douglas-Roberts sliced through the Bruin defense, and with Kevvin Love below him trying to get a charge call, CDR posterized the Bruin frosh, putting Memphis up by a 61-59 count. But Joey Dorsey looked down at Love, laughing and pointed at him. That's when you knew it was the Tigers' game.

.
Key player:
Derrick Rose, Memphis.
Is it right for a freshman point guard to score 25 points, pull down nine rebounds and hit 11-of-12 free throws in the season's biggest game so far?

.
Key stat:
That's easy. Free throws.
Memphis went 20-for-23 from the line. See? Coach Calipari warned us people.

.
Quotes:

Ben Howland:
We're very disappointed to get all the way here and lose. Memphis State is a very, very good basketball team. No wonder they went 38-1.

On their three guards:
They had very good guard play. Obviously Douglas and Rose have been very consistent all season and they were the difference today.

On their tough luck:
We had two three-pointers go in and out and either of them would've cut it to four. I thought this year was our best team and our best chance to win it all.

Russell Westbrook:
On playing against their guards.
Them are two great players . They're just real tough players and it showed tonight.

On the pace of the game:
They got a lot of transition points that we didn't get back for. And that's their game. They took advantage of their chances in the second half.

Kevin Love:
On playing against Joey Dorsey:
That's a man, right there. He had 15 rebounds in 27 minutes and I didn't even realize he only played 27 minutes. I felt I did a good job defensively against him. But he got to a lot of balls and made some big blocks.

On Memphis disrupting his rhythm:
I wouldn't say it threw me out of my comfort zone, I had two turnovers, but other than that, we just didn't execute well enough.

On Memphis:
At this stage I feel like Memphis is the best team we played. We didn't drop our heads, we just kept fighting. But like coach said, they are 38-1 for a reason.

On Derrick Rose saying something to him near the end of the game:
We're good friends and all he said to me was 'you're a winner and keep your head up.' And I told him that he was a winner too.

On how much he has enjoyed his college experience:
This has been the best year of my life. we've had a great year, we've been a true family and it's been great.

Ben Howland:
On their guards:
Well they ended up shooting 42%. They're just really good players and hard to match up with their length and athleticism. We tried to double them up but they're hard to catch up with and it cost us a couple of times.

On Memphis compared to the previous seasons Florida teams:
I tell you what, they're really good. They both have strength in all areas. They are very well-coached. They're similar in a lot of respects.

What it will take to get here and win:
Every year is different. There is no sweeping change that needs to be made. There's only four teams that make it here. We just ran into a team that had all five starters back again, just like Florida last year. So every year is different... get a new coach maybe. (laughs)

On the key to the game:
We failed to stop their transition game early on. We don't have a lot of depth in the backcourt so we had to play a slower pace to have a chance. Only one team is going to leave here completely satisfied. Again I have to credit Memphis and coach Calipari.

On their transition defense:
They made a couple of big blocks. Every time we jumped to make a pass, we turned the ball over. Half of our turnovers were dunks or layups on the other end for them.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Do not adjust your monitors folks. It really is 38-12 KU with 7:32 left in the first half. The Jayhawks are holding a team that averaged 93 points a game in the first four rounds of the tournament to a 40-point pace. The only concern is fouls, of which Kansas has nine. They are absolutely kicking Carolina's rear ends in every other aspect of the game.

Hansbrough has eight points, but only one rebound. Rush already has 12 and 4, and Cole Aldrich, a 6'11" freshman from Minnesota, has 4 and 6 off the bench.

As we went to the media timeout, referee Tom Eades was explaining to Bill Self how Darrel Arthur getting slapped in the face badly enough that they had to stop play wasn't a foul. I'm sure Eades said something like "must have been the wind blowing something into his eye."

While that was going on, assistant coach Danny Manning went over and exhorted to the Jayhawks not to let up.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- It's really hard to believe what the scoreboard is reading with less than eight minutes to go before halftime, but North Carolina already looks dead in the water with a 38-12 deficit now on its hands.

The Tar Heels have not been able to get stops at the defensive end, and it's partly due to the fact that Kansas doesn't seem to miss when it puts up a shot from outside.

Tyler Hansbrough has eight of UNC's 12 points after dropping in a pair of free throws, and the junior All-American has been neutralized by a physical KU frontcourt that is attacking the glass and making it hard for any easy baskets to go down. And at the other end, Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich are really taking it at Hansbrough and forcing the big man to keep his feet on the ground.

Roy Williams is looking rather stunned by what's developed so early in this game, especially considering that Kansas had trouble scoring the ball against a slow-it-down Davidson team in the Elite Eight last weekend.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - At the second timeout, Kansas' lead is now up to 13. They are forcing turnovers on defense and beating NC down the floor for easy baskets. Almost all of the Jayhawks' points have come in the paint.

They have also started some fast breaks with blocked shots.

The only concern at this point is 2 quick fouls on Sasha Kaun. And our hit-and-mostly-miss internet connection.

And the fact that sometimes the game looks like this.

Can't see the forest through the trees.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- North Carolina's defense has been critiqued and scrutinized for much of this season, and maybe it's for good reason now.

The Tar Heels, after all, are trailing 23-10 to Kansas and look completely out of synch as well on the offensive end. That's in large part due to Kansas' speed and size, which is making it tough for UNC to get good looks at the basket and slow down a potent Jayhawk attack.

Tyler Hansbrough has done most of the scoring work so far for North Carolina, tallying six points in the first eight minutes of the game but having yet to grab a rebound.

Wayne Ellington has a jumper and Deon Thompson also has a bucket for the Heels, who haven't been able to slow down Kansas at all.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Internet troubles have reared their ugly head again, so we'll see how well this goes.

Kansas is trying to go inside right away and succeeding. They are also having more luck trying to run because they have forced a few turnovers.

Arthur and Jackson already have six points in the paint, but Kaun missed a tough layup from a bad spot under the basket.

Of course, it's not always easy to see what's going on.

No, really. Down in front!

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- North Carolina and Kansas are going back and forth in the early going of our second national semifinal and there hasn't been much defense from the Tar Heels so far.

Kansas has got good looks at the offensive end and is looking to push the tempo against a team that also likes to run.

As far as attendance goes, Kansas looks like it has twice the amount of fans that North Carolina has, and the Rock Chalk Jayhawk faithful are really getting behind their team with KU up, 11-6, with 15:43 remaining in the first half.

The Carolina cheering section, meanwhile, has been mum to this point.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Here are a few images from between the games. I am sitting about 15 feet beyond the end of the baseline in the corner by the Kansas bench at the first press table that goes that far. I'm wearing a green shirt, if you're looking for me.

This guy got a little too close for the comfort of the lady on the left at one point. Me too. He was practically in my lap.

Hey! Down in front! How are we supposed to see the game?

Newly injured Rod Stewart (not the singer) watches as his teammates warm up.

KU didn't bring that half-pint jaychick to the Final Four. We get Big Bird, er Big Jay.

The lineups are in.

Kansas starts G Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush, and F Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson.

UNC counters with G Marcus Ginyard, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, and F Deon Thompson and Psycho T.

Our refs are Tom Eades, Tony Greene and Verne Harris.

Game tips in about 10 minutes.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- With one national semifinal in the books and Memphis headed to Monday night's national championship game after cruising past UCLA, our attention turns to the court for North Carolina and Kansas, who are out on the floor shooting around and getting loose.

In what seemed to be a run-when-there game between UCLA and Memphis, our second game should be more of a track meet between two high-powered offenses. But discount either of these team's defenses, which have given opponents fits all year and helped fuel transition baskets at the other end.

For North Carolina, that defense starts in the middle with First Team All-American Tyler Hansbrough, who will be making his first appearance in the Final Four after missing out his first two years in Chapel Hill. And if the junior forward can have his usual type of game, you can bet that the Tar Heels will have a good chance of winning this one. Of course, Hansbrough won't be the only one that will need to play well for North Carolina. Diminutive point man and floor leader Ty Lawson is really the key for UNC's success at the offensive end, and if the sophomore can get his teammates involved and also manage to do a bit of his own scoring, the Tar Heels will be in good shape in facing North Carolina coach Roy Williams' former team.

Kansas, though, has a lot of weapons on the offensive end, and Williams understands that just as well as anybody. After all, the five-year coach said earlier this week that North Carolina has not played any team as balanced as the Jayhawks, and that's something that Bill Self's team possesses when it comes to its offensive game. UNC sophomore Wayne Ellington will not only need to shoot the ball well from the perimeter, but he'll also have a tough defensive assignment in slowing down Brandon Rush, who returned this year to Lawrence, Kan., after a stellar sophomore campaign. Darrell Arthur, similarly, will need to do his best to keep Hansbrough in check, and that's something that not many -- if any -- opposing big men have been able to do this season. That's certainly why Hansbrough is considered to be a heavy favorite, along with Kansas State's Michael Beasley, to win several Player of the Year awards.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Leading 73-60 with 1:03left in the game, Memphis appears ready to advance to the Championship game on Monday night as UCLA is now in full-on foul mode and the Tigers are, as Calipari foretold, hitting the free throws that matter.

Just another very impressive performance from Memphis and one that will likely make the Tigers a small favorite on Monday evening.

We'll be turning things over to Jerry Palm and Josh Herwitt for our second game so please stay tuned and keep on Posting Up with CSTV.com.

Posted by David Scott at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This cat knows his team has won. 78-63.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis does not appear inclined to let this one slip away and in the course of about two minutes has now provided about eight shining moments and a few absolutely sinister moments of excellence in baksetball.

With a 13-point lead, Memphis is up 65-52 with 2:53 left in the game. Dorsey now has 15 rebounds. It is the Tigers' biggest lead of the game.

Chants of JOEY, JOEY echoed through the Dome and then the in-house video board showed Penny Hardaway and Tiger fans went bananas. This endzone is electric right now.

. . . UCLA had two chances to cut the lead to five or four and missed oustide shots on all three in the under-7 minute range. CDR brought it back to nine with a ridiculous one-handed dunk over a flopping Kevin Love.

. . . Joey Dorsey's blocked shot in transition was IN-CRED-IBLE.

. . . Collison still playing with his four fouls, remember.

Posted by David Scott at 08:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- These Memphis band members might as well be playing "Taps" for UCLA.

Once again, it doesn't seem to be the Bruins turn to win it all. Memphis is now up 65-52. Barring a hah-yuuuuuge comeback that makes me eat crow by the pound, I'm thinking it's Memphis moving on to play on Monday.

Just one athlete too many for the Tigers.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- UCLA is shooting itself in the foot.

A pair of unforced turnovers and a blocking call on Lorenzo Mata-Real have really put the Bruins behind the eight-ball, down 10 with 7:53 remaining.

(Ben Howland knows it may be "Love-time" in the late stages here)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis continues to withstand rallies by UCLA and now leads 59-48 with 7:53 left in the game.

. . . Collison with four fouls for UCLA, likewise for Dorsey of Memphis. Collison's 4th came on a offensive foul just before this media timeout.

. . . Dorsey with a dozen boards and zero points, a stat line that will look just fine for the big fella if the score holds up.

. . . Westbrook with 17 to lead UCLA.

. . . Memphis shooting 43 percent for the game; UCLA at 40 percent.

. . . By the way, the "smidge" of an edge that I gave the UCLA cheer squad in the first half became a full blown monster advantage after the ladies' halftime performance in denim mini-skirts and cowboy boots. Oh my, as Dick Enberg might say.

. . . An alley oop miss by Dorsey from Rose with 10:23 left would have brought the Tiger faithful into full eruption. Dorsey just couldn't handle the pass.

Posted by David Scott at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis leads 54-47with 11:41left and CDR now has a game-high 21 points as UCLA can't find a way to contain the plastic and elastic Tiger.

UCLA trimmed the Tiger lead to 50-45 with 13:32 left in the game prompting a John Calipari timeout. Out of that timeout, CDR was re-inserted and scored to move it back to 7.

. . . Joey Dorsey has 10 rebounds to lead all boarders and his performance throughout the NCAA Tournament could very well move him into the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. He has shown what a force he can be especially when he's focused and consistent.

Posted by David Scott at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- The Bruins cut the Tiger lead to five at just under the 14 minute mark, but MU quickly came back with a steal and dunk and a pair of free throws by Chris Douglas-Roberts to put the Tigers back up by eight with 12:20 left.

Key stat to keep in mind: The foul was called on Bruin guard Russell Westbrook, which was his third of the game. However, he is the only UCLAn in foul trouble. For now.

(former voice of the Bruins, Dick Enberg is on hand to take in the action of his old team)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis now leads 48-41 with 14:55 left in the game. The Tigers had built it out to 11 but once again UCLA has crept back in and not allowed the game to get out of control.

. . . Memphis got out to a seven point lead with 1:15 gone in the half after a 4-0 mini-run and ben Howland called a time out.

. . . Joey Dorsey whistled for his third foul with :52 gone in the half. Looked like a questionable call, but from our vantage everything does.

. . . Memphis used 9 players in the first half, UCLA used 7. But Niles for Memphis played just one minute.

. . . Penny Hardaway is over our right shoulder behind us and eating nachos. We'd like some nachos right about now. And a cerveza, por favor.

. . . Sean Miller, Bruiser Flint and Tony Barbee, three Calipari confidants are all seated together behind the Tiger bench. Miller also is eating nachos. It's a conspiracy I tell ya.

. . . Keep forgetting to mention the unbelievable work that CSTV's Danielle Santoro and her two-man Memphis 24/7 crew have done over the past three weeks. They've been embedded with the Tigers.

. . . Hashim Bailey evidently had to remove his tribute headband to Andre Allen and just wore it for it pre-game. I believe the NCAA has a ban on written messages on gear.

. . . UCLA was 3 of 5 from 3-point land in the first half; UCLA was 3 of 9.

Posted by David Scott at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- UCLA needs to come out with a new purpose in the second half.

Despite appearances here, the Bruins haven't looked very good so far in this game. It's Memphis 38-35 at the half, but the story is that Memphis has "sped" the Bruins up so far in this game and are keeping the Bruins in an uncomfortable position so far.

At the half the Bruins have shot just 12-for-27 (44%) and have been boxed out well, getting only four offensive rebounds so far in the game. If not for an 8-3 free throw advantage, it would be a much bigger Tiger lead.

As expected, Love leads the scoring with 11 points and has added six rebounds.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 07:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Stat check:

FG % - M, 16 of 40, 40 percent; UCLA, 12 of 27 44 percent
(Memphis got 13 more shots up thanks to nine offensive rebounds.

Rebounds, Memphis 20-19

FTs - UCLA, 8 of 10, M, 3 of 4

Leading scorers: Love with 10 and Westbrook with 11
CDR with 13 and Rose with 11

Love has 6 rebounds to lead UCLA; Memphis led by Dorsey's 8 (he laso has two assists)

Turnovers - Memphis, 3 and UCLA 8

Darren Collison leads all with 3 dimes.

Fast break points, Memphis 10-0
Paint points, Memphis 18-14

Largest lead, seven by Memphis.

. . . Chatted with new Indiana coach Tom Crean for a minute and he said, "I think he'll get it," referring to good friend Calipari. "They just couldn't bury them. The first seven, eight minutes will be key."

Posted by David Scott at 07:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis had some poor clock management down the stretch and what could have been a seven or eight point lead at the break is just 3 as Memphis leads 38-35.

A very competitive first half and great action at both ends of the floor. Some late big man foul trouble for Memphis allowed UCLA to score inside more easily in the final two minutes of the half.

We'll have halftime stats shortly.

. . . As Eric Sorenson pointed out, big John Thompson sports the black Crocs with his back suit. As a fellow Croc lover, we give big ups to Big John for that fashion statement.

Posted by David Scott at 07:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- Ben Howland just took point guard Darren Collison aside and told him that he "needs to control things more out there." The pace is still in Memphis' favor, at 38-33 with 37 seconds left in the half.

(Howland giving some pointers to Collison during a timeout.)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis leads 32-27 with 3:57 left in the half. Shawn Taggart has continued his solid play from the Texas game and now has 7 points. Now, with 2:19 left, 36-29 and in comes Pierre Niles. Hello, Big Fella!

. . . Calipari is doing a nice job of giving Derrick Rose some breathers, knowing that his main back-up Andre Allen is not available.

. . . Westbrook continues to lead UCLA in scoring with 11.

. . . Co-blogger Eric Sorenson has been having even worse technical issues than us and has wisely gone to the upper deck to shoot some photos that I'm sure he'll be bale to post for halftime.

. . . Joey Dorsey with his second foul with 3:12 left in the half. He is replaced by Taggart.

. . . Forgot to mention the Calipari family of Ellen, Megan, Erin and Bradley are sitting behind the Memphis bench. Bradley has some killer blue glasses that flash. Jerry Palm would like those considering his blinking blue necklace choice of last night.

. . . Great battle of cheer/dance teams in thsi one. Edge: UCLA by a smidge. Okay, a bit more than a smidge. California dreamin' indeed.

Posted by David Scott at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Memphis leads 28-23 with 12:43 gone in the half.

Derrick Rose has several highlight reel moves already and there's still 7:17 left in the half. He has eight points and two rebounds.

Memphis shooting 46 percent and UCLA at 45 percent from the field.

. . . CDR with a super block in transition.

Posted by David Scott at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - A technical note: we seem to back with regular service so we abandoned the Cover It Live option. Sorry for any confusion. Snafus happen.

We're 8:14 into this one and both teams are scoring with relative ease and relative proficiency. UCLA is 8 of 14 from the field and Memphis is 9 of 15. Those first game of the semifinals jitters that sometimes plague the early game are a non factor so far.

Memphis is liking the pace and if the game continues this way, it favors the Tigers we'd think.

. . . CDR with double digits in scoring (10 points) less than eight minutes into the game.

. . . Russell Westbrook has seven points for UCLA, CDR leads Memphis.

. . . Scoreboard issues have been resolved. You'd think the NCAA might check things like that, right? Or is that another thing you can't blame the NCAA for?

Posted by David Scott at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- At just under the 11 minute mark of the first half, the Bruins usual grind-it-out-and-defend style is taking a back seat to the track meet Tigers.

It's 24-21 Memphis, and you can see it's frustrating Ben Howland... or maybe he always looks salty out there.

(Whatever Coach Calipari is drawing up, it's working for the Tigers.)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - I don't want to say that John Calipari doesn't miss a beat, but the guy sure does multi-task well. Good friend and new Indiana coach Tom Crean and his wife are sitting in the corner behind the Memphis bench and Calipari spotted him just as line-ups were being announced and sent a team manager over to try and upgarde Crean's seats. Didn't seem to work, but it does go to show that Calipari probably is fairly loose.

. . . Unreal start to this one as Memphis now leads 17-12 with 14:22 left in the half. To think, the over/under was 130!

. . . Memphis in man-to-man as usual. UCLA also going man but may be throwing in some junk as well.

CDR with Tigers' first four points.

. . . Backstage celebs included Bill Russell and Tim Robbins, a regular Final Four attendee.

. . . Players point totals are reversed under the big board's scoring with Memphis players listed under UCLA and vice versa.

Posted by David Scott at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO-- Josh Shipp is bombs away in the firrst four minutes of this one. John Calipari keeps looking up to see the replays of his team getting out-hustled so far. Calipari was just in the grill of Robert Dozier, saying, "Don't let that ball get behind you. C'MON!"

It's now UCLA 10-8 at the 16 minute mark

(Meanwhile new Indian coach Tom Crean can't see over the media seats, Memphis cheerleaders or Tiger bench. He's looking to get re-assigned seats.)

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Due to some technical difficulties within the Alamodome and on the wireless network, we are reverting to using the Cover It Live software for the remainder of our blog for the first game. We will do our best to stay within the paramaters of the NCAA Blogging guidelines but can not risk being shut down in the midst of posting or slow connections. Our apologies in advance should we consider to encounter such issues.

Posted by David Scott at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- Here are the starters for tonight's Memphis-UCLA game:

UCLA:
G- Russell Westbrook
G- Darren Collison
F- Josh Shipp
F- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
C- Kevin Love

Memphis:
G- Antonio Anderson
G- Chris Douglas-Roberts
G- Derrick Rose
F- Robert Dozier
F- Joey Dorsey

Game Officials:
Karl Hess
Curtis Shaw
JD Collins

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO -- That's right, you read correctly. The seats from where this picture was taken were $450 for two seats for all three games. So if any of you out there are thinking of trying to get seats for the 2009 Final Four through that lottery system, THIS IS (approximately) WHERE THEY WILL BE.

Okay, maybe they'll have a few rows better than this. But it's your money.

Posted by Eric Sorenson at 05:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Both teams were allowed to begin shooting around at 4:06 local time and both began simultaneously. Memphis is in home white uniforms with dark blue shooting jerseys and the Bruins are in light blue road uniforms with matching shooting jerseys.

Posted by David Scott at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Fans were allowed in at 4:15 and a smattering of them have settled into their seats. Lots of a similar color blue with the Memhis and Kansas fans and then lighter blue with the UCLA and UNC fans.

Members of the Selection Committee gathered at mid-court for what appeared to be a photo op and both Dick Enberg and Lesley Visser did live stand-ups from opposite baselines for the CBS cameras.

. . . Just spent some time with the Memphis Tigers coaching staff and they once again did everything but say, "The hay's in the barn." But it is.

. . . The Tigers tookt the court at 3:56 local time to loud cheers from their faithful.

. . . Reserve Hashim Bailey has a white adidas headband on and on the back he has written "#15" in black Scripto on the back of it to honor suspended teammate Andre Allen. Robert Dozier is the only other Tiger that wears a headband regularly but there is no writing on his.

. . . Our first game will feature live-blogging from myself and cohort Eric Sorenson who has been following UCLA through its tournament run. Sorenson is currently taking photos in the arena, including his annual shot from the worst, farthest seat in the house. He'll be back with that soon.

. . . Don't forget ASAP Sports if you're looking for transcripts from this weekend (now featuring yesterday's press conferences).

Posted by David Scott at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Good afternoon and welcome to balmy, sunny San Antonio where there's not a cloud in the sky nor a fan in the arena. Every paid seat in the Alamodome contains a Final Four seat cushion on it and red-jacketed ushers are beginning to man their assigned sections.

The River Walk area is absolutely jammed with lunchtime waits reaching an hour or more at several locations. Fans are swarming the River Walk and surrounding area, including the outdoor block party where Kid Rock is scheduled to perform.

The Posting Up Perch is located behind the Memphis bench which is to the left of the scorer's table (as you face it), about 15 feet beyond the baseline. Clearly CBS's relationship with the NCAA carries no weight for the CSTV.commers, nor would we expect it to beyond the fact that we have more readership and site visits than a good portion of those outlets seated in more advantageous positions. Clearly that doesn't go in to the thinking when assigning seats and it's probably the least of the NCAA's worries, not to mention something you the valued reader could cared less about. However, it will affect our vision on some plays at the other end of the floor so forgive us if we get a call wrong or mis-identify a player.

. . . We'll be back throughout the pre-game with sights and scene from the National Semifinals.

Posted by David Scott at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SAN ANTONIO - Kansas has a difficult challenge in the second semifinal tonight when it faces the tournament's top seed, North Carolina.

Both teams are very fast and like to run, so we could see a high scoring game. A lot of the focus is on trying to stop, or at least slow down, Tyler Hansbrough. Although, coach Bill Self realizes that's not the only problem.

"They're averaging about 90 a game and he's getting 23 of them," Self said yesterday. "There's still a lot of other points there. Everyone concerns me."

Self thinks it will be important to slow them down. "We have to do a real good job I would say defending the first five to ten seconds of the possession."

He said that was important because Carolina gets a lot off shots off that quickly, and often times the defense isn't ready yet to rebound misses, so they can get a lot of putbacks. The transition defense, stopping the ball, closing out on shooters, and most importantly, rebounding misses is going to be one of the keys for Kansas.

In partcular, in any rebounding situation, they have to find and try to box out Hansbrough, who is a relentless rebounder. He'll get some - you can't shut him down entirely - but they need to minimize the damage.

Offensively, very simply, they need to play loose. Against Davidson, they were tight, short-arming shots and playing not to lose. That resulted in a pretty ugly 59-point performance that was good enough to win that game, but will get them embarrassed today.

Kansas does a good job of creating turnovers on the perimeter and turning them into points. It would be ideal if that would happen today, but it's not likely to be a common occurrence.

They also need a good performance from Brandon Rush, who is the one guy for the Jayhawks that can beat you outside and inside.

One other factor is simply being mentally in the game. The injury to Rodrick Stewart shook the team a bit, and made what should be a fun day a real downer. They need to shake that off and focus on the task at hand. It is too big of a task to allow for distractions.

Posted by Jerry Palm at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)