Memphis vs. Kansas Preview

Memphis vs. Kansas
By Brian Edwards

With four No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four for the first time since the field expanded in 1985, the national semifinals seemed to have the makings of one of the best ever.

But that didn’t happen.

Memphis and Kansas came to San Antonio and rolled to easy wins over UCLA and North Carolina, respectively.

The Tigers allowed the Bruins to produce a run late in the first half to make things respectable (38-35), but all that did was allow gamblers to press their Memphis wagers at halftime.

Seriously, it was crystal clear from the get-go that Memphis (38-1 straight up, 18-19 against the spread) was bigger, better, faster and stronger than UCLA. For the third consecutive season, Ben Howland’s team came to the Final Four and got completely outclassed.

When the brutal bludgeoning was complete, John Calipari’s team had captured a 78-63 win as a two-point favorite. As this space indicated beforehand, Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts were the premier players on the court.

CDR produced a game-high 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor. Rose scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists. And he dominated UCLA point guard Darren Collison on both ends of the court (more on Collison below).

Joey Dorsey didn’t score a point, but he was the baddest man in the paint, owning the glass with a game-high 15 rebounds. He also had a pair of assists, two blocked shots and one steal. Most importantly, he was the lead defender on UCLA freshman sensation Kevin Love, who finished with just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.

Memphis, one of the nation’s worst free-throw shooting team entering the Tournament, drained 20-of-23 attempts from the charity stripe for an 87 percent ratio.

Kansas (36-3 SU, 22-15 ATS) exploded on North Carolina in the early going, holding the Tar Heels without a basket for more than nine minutes while building a 40-12 lead. If Brandon Rush (25 points, seven rebounds) wasn’t slicing and dicing his way through UNC’s defense for easy looks at the basket, then Mario Chalmers or Sherron Collins was penetrating into the lane and either finishing or finding an open teammate.

Trailing 40-12, UNC answered with 10 consecutive points and the deficit was down to 44-27 by intermission. This created an enticing situation for bettors. With the Tar Heels down by 17, they were tabbed as eight-point favorites in the second half at most spots.

This equated to North Carolina as a nine-point underdog, providing gamblers with 12 points of value from the original line since UNC closed as a three-point ‘chalk.’ You just knew Carolina was going to make its run, but I cautioned clients that “a second-half run might take too much out of UNC.” I had no doubt that the Heels would surge ahead of the second-half number, but was worried that KU would then answer and win by double digits (thus covering second-half wagers).

That’s exactly what happened, leaving me happy that I abstained from a halftime bet. Kansas played tight early in the second half, allowing UNC to pull within five with nine minutes left.

Roy Williams’s team seemed to have the momentum and the UNC faithful were going nuts, thinking its team was en route to the most stirring comeback in NCAA Tournament history. But it wasn’t to be.

This wasn’t about North Carolina. This game was all about Kansas, all about putting Ol’ Roy’s 15-year tenure in the rearview mirror, all about the KU faithful accepting Bill Self as its man to lead them into the future.

It was all about forgetting Bucknell and Bradley and choosing not to worry about T. Boone Pickens and the job vacancy at Self’s alma mater. This was about KU getting one step away from a national title.

When the horn sounded, the Jayhawks had an 84-66 win as three-point underdogs. They hooked up money-line backers with a payout in the plus 140 range.

Moving to tonight’s game, Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened the line at a pick ‘em with a total of 146. As of early this morning, most spots had Memphis listed as a two-point favorite with a total of 146½. Gamblers can take KU on the money line for plus 110 return (risk $100 to win $110).

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Eastern on CBS.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--The ‘over’ is 22-17 overall for Memphis, while the ‘under’ is 20-17 overall for KU. The Jayhawks have seen the ‘under’ cash in all five of their games during the Tournament. On the flip side, the Tigers have watched the ‘over’ hit in all five of their contests during the Big Dance.

--UCLA’s Darren Collison played like the ultimate GOAT against Memphis. His fifth foul with 2:53 left (at halfcourt, reaching in for no reason) was his lame way of saying “uncle.” He was telling America that I want NOTHING to do with Derrick Rose or any of this Memphis squad that has pushed me around all day and made me look like a chump (sort of similar to the way Corey Brewer dealt with Aaron Afflalo in the Final Four the two previous years). Collison’s final stat line looked like this: two points on 1-of-9 shooting, four assists and five turnovers.

--Rose missed Sunday’s media sessions with a stomach ailment, but he’s expected to be fine for tonight. CDR laughed about it, telling the press that Rose “eats too many gummy bears.”

--Memphis is gunning for its first national championship in school history, while Kansas is hoping to cut the nets down for the first time in 20 years, when Danny Manning led the Jayhawks over Oklahoma (think Mookie Blaylock, Stacey King and head coach Billy Tubbs) in the 1988 title game.

--Before Saturday's underdog spot against North Carolina, Kansas had been favored in its 38 previous games. In fact, the Jayhawks were double-digit favorites in 32 of their first 38 games. Meanwhile, Memphis owns a 7-4 spread record as a single-digit 'chalk.'

--I have the side and total in my pick pack tonight. My play on the side is a pay-if-it-wins-only selection. I'm 3-0 in the last three title games with cashers on Florida (twice) and North Carolina. I also had Syracuse on the money line as an underdog in the 2003 title game.

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