One of the more unlikely comebacks in NCAA Tourney history occurred tonight, as the Kansas Jayhawks, in the 20th Anniversary of their last national title when Larry Brown and Danny Manning were the leaders of the team, defeated Memphis 75-68 to win their 3rd national title in school history. The Jayhawks trailed 60-51 with 2:12 left, but some big shots, a big turnover, and some missed free throws (4 combined from Memphis’ two star players, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose) conspired to cut the lead to 63-60 with 10 seconds left. Although the Memphis players attempted to foul Sherron Collins before he could shoot or pass, they weren’t able to catch him, and he got the pass off to Mario Chalmers. The shot is pictured above, and Chalmers’ 3 tied it up, and Kansas went on to dominate the OT period en route to a national title.
There will be controversy over this game, and perhaps none moreso than towards North Carolina head coach and former Kansas head coach Roy Williams. Williams, whose Tar Heels were blasted by the Jayhawks on Saturday, wore a Kansas sticker on a black shirt, and was seen rooting on the Jayhawks during the game. While I do think his loyalty to his former program in some ways is admirable, it was not the smartest move, especially considering many in Tar Heel land were not exactly fond of his coaching in the UNC-KU game.
One Shining Moment, the video montage that is on at the end of each national title game, was once again excellent, although more shots of Sonya Curry woulda been nice (woulda also been nice if Google had had them, stupid pieces of crap). A nice touch was the shot honoring Mr. Wildcat, Bill Keightley, who was an integral part of Kentucky basketball tradition for years and who passed away last Monday night on the eve of the Final Four
