April 8, 2008

Yawn... it was an exciting couple of minutes at the end, but one of the least memorable finals I can remember as far as hype/ pre-game buzz goes. I just really didn't care when it came right down to it.

posted by everett at 1:53 AM CDT on April 8

I was pulling for memphis. They were the most impressive team I saw during the tournament. That said, it's hard to feel sorry for them. Hit a couple of free throws, they win. It was in their hands. Not much more they could ask for.

Memphis looked crushed after the three. They had no chance in over time. They had blown it, and they knew it.

posted by justgary at 2:14 AM CDT on April 8

You know everyone keeps talking about Memphis blowing it and Memphis giving it away. Yea they needed to hit the free throws and all but what about Kansas never giving up. They could have easily said at 2:12 that it is over we can't come back. Instead they did exactly what they needed to do to win.

Collins steal on the in bounds pass was the turning point. They did a great job of getting the ball in and bringing it down in the last 10 seconds. Collins did a tremendous job of avoiding the foul and getting into Chalmers hands. Mario did what every Kansas fan has watched him do for 3 years. Hit the pressure shot.

The game was nothing less than what everyone expected. Two evenly matched teams playing a close, well fought game.

Please don't take anything away from the Jayhawks.

posted by scottypup at 7:38 AM CDT on April 8

It's funny how the talk before the tournament about Memphis was that they didn't shoot free throws well, but when they were still around come the Final Four, that all went away. The thing was, they weren't really in close games (except Mississippi State), so they weren't shooting a lot of free throws to salt away early games. Finally, in the championship game, they came up against a team that could hang with them, and their free throw shooting allowed the comeback they had been avoiding but everyone knew could happen all along.

Great game. I, too, thought it was over for Kansas was over when the Tigers pushed the lead to 9 with 3 minutes left, but the Jayhawks came up with the plays they needed to pull it out. I love how Collins is flying out of bounds after making the handoff while Chalmers is nailing the game-tying 3.

posted by bender at 8:05 AM CDT on April 8

How anyone could think that game was boring is beyond me. Is it really possible that any game that goes to overtime could be considered ho-hum?

That said, I watched the game on the jumbotron at Allen Field House last night. There were more than 10,000 people there, and it was amazing. When Chalmers hit the three, I was afraid there was going to be a riot. With 10 seconds left, all ten thousand tried to rush the floor, then we all walked down the hill to Massachusetts Street. Downtown Lawrence looks like a tornado went through it this morning.

posted by hawkguy at 8:55 AM CDT on April 8

Free throws are one facet of the game. They aren't separate from the rest of it, so the fact that they missed crucial ones doesn't mean they "gave the game away," instead it means that they didn't play well enough to win. Psychologically they may feel that they gave it away, but in reality they didn't play forty minutes.

posted by brainofdtrain at 10:12 AM CDT on April 8

I don't think anyone is taking anything away from Kansas, scottypup...
The comments have been directed at the dramatic collapse on the half of the Tigers. Dorsey fouling out, the missed free throws, the almost-three-pointer... all these mistakes ultimately cost Memphis the title. Kansas had the skill and the determination to take advantage of the miscues, but that's what a good team is supposed to do.

Congratulations to Kansas for a very enjoyable final, and I wish Rush luck in the NBA.

posted by Goyoucolts at 11:37 AM CDT on April 8

Congrats to both Memphis and Kansas. Great job Kansas for making it all the way to the finish line. Of course, I hadn't picked either of these teams to win in the Final Four, so it should have seemed inevitable. I can understand the feelings some people have about waning interest in the game. If you don't have a horse in the race or if your bracket is completely ruined (as mine was) some of the excitement starts to erode a bit. I know for myself, I sort of deflated a bit after Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I watched and enjoyed the Championship, by it was from the viewpoint of casual observer with no rooting interest. I guess I'm just one of those sports fans who need to feel strongly one way or the other for the game to grab me.

posted by THX-1138 at 12:04 PM CDT on April 8

Cut me and I bleed Crimson and Blue.

The game came down to poise and I give that credit to Bill Self. Calipari lost control of the game and lost control of his team. Forget sitting on two times-out with ten seconds to go. Forget not getting the foul on Sharron Collins.

Memphis was whupped at the end of regulation. You could see it in their eyes. Both teams had five minutes to win it in OT. Calipari lost it before the overtime tip-off.

posted by Monkeyhawk at 1:14 PM CDT on April 8

It is awfully hard to win without hitting your free throws. Memphis had the game within their grasp and they blew it. That said, props to Kansas for the great tournament run.

Does anyone else find it absurd that the game didn't start until around 9:20 EST? Is the NCAA trying to prevent people from watching the second half?

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 2:29 PM CDT on April 8

In order to do that, they had to schedule it at a time when everyone on the west coast was settled in front of their 60" plasma with a plate of iced lime prawns and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Really?

Really? I'm gonna have to assume that's a joke because that cliche is so tired and worn out it's embarrassing.

Believe it or not, there are over 53 million people in the Pacific Time zone, most of who have jobs and some of whom like to watch basketball AFTER their job ends.

posted by cjets at 3:09 PM CDT on April 8

Yeah, how you can call it *boring* is beyond me. I mean, though, you did say you didn't care about either of the teams, so that might be why.

Yes. Freethrows. That was the UMem bugbear all season and ,even though it ran off to the shadows during the dance, it came back to strike when I expected it to. (I'm sorry to say)

I think, honestly, the gamechanger was Dorsey's fouling out with 2 mins left, and his absence was especially felt in overtime.

A fantastic game, but it didn't keep me from being sad all day. Kansas will be there and get it again. Memphis? I might not live to see it.

posted by Adept at 4:55 PM CDT on April 8

Howard, it was amazing. I was 18 and down town after the 1988 championship, and maybe it's because it was 20 years ago, but this seems more special to me.

I think it's because of the fact that it's not "Danny and the Miracles." I don't want to take anything away from that season, but this time it's a bunch of guys who all shared the spotlight and are forgoing the star role for the sake of the team. There were at least five players in double figures all throughout the tourney.

As corney as it sounds, I am still getting chills watching coverage of the stuff that happened today.

posted by hawkguy at 6:39 PM CDT on April 8

for the record: I didn't say the game itself was boring, I said the hype around the game was less than it could have been, and I had failed to be interested in the winner.

I even added that the end of the game added some excitement.

posted by everett at 8:59 PM CDT on April 8

It's been said all year by many different people that free throws would come back to haunt Memphis and they were all right, but that is not the whole story. How many D1 coaches(Calipari) seem to have no game ending strategy, time -outs, fouls etc......... Granted Memphis had a good percentage when there was zero pressure, but choked at crunch time. Could it be that maybe the Memphis team puts more emphasis on practicing the 3 point shot, than they do shooting free throws at the end of every practice, or maybe they have dunk competitons.
I saw Calipari on Sports Center about 1 month ago say that free throws would not be a factor with this team, WRONG! Let's face it, Self is flat out a better coach. I also heard Calipari say on a sports show that he was going to put this game in the hands of the players and let them do their thing. As I have said many times before that is AAU team coaching mentality that seems to prevail in basketball coaching today, wether it be a the D1 level or grade school level. You can go to a local park in your city and see this type of basketball any day of the week, it's alley ball!
I have no dog in this fight but I think a fundamentally solid basketball team will beat a group of superior athletes that have basketball ability any day of the week.
Congrats to both teams they certainly deserved to be there, but the best COACHED BASKETBALL team won.

posted by sportnut at 8:02 AM CDT on April 9

Putting Memphis on the free throw line was, as Coach Self mentioned, strategic. I think that makes it more of a Kansas doing a positive thing than Memphis doing a negative thing.

Putting a team with weak free throw shooting at the line to try and get back into a game with time running out is a strategy a bad high school coach would employ. Nothing special about it. Basketball 101.

I'm always surprised at the defensiveness that comes out when missed free throws are brought up. If I said "memphis could have won if they weren't out rebounded so badly" no one would bat an eye. I'm guessing because in that example the other team would have something to do with it. But with missed free throws it falls only on the losing team. The other team had nothing to do with it.

If memphis hits their free throws, they win. That doesn't mean they gave it away. It's a facet of the game they failed at. It could have been rebounding, or 3-point shooting, but in this case it was free throws. Kansas did what it took to win the game. The missed free throws wouldn't have meant anything if they hadn't been almost perfect at the end. It doesn't take away from the kansas victory to admit the truth. There's no need to try and spin the missed free throws into something positive for kansas. It was a negative for memphis. Taking advantage of it is what was positive for kansas.

I think a fundamentally solid basketball team will beat a group of superior athletes that have basketball ability any day of the week.

If that were the case the best coached team would win every year. The team that wins usually consists of fundamentally solid superior athletes.

the Kansas players just had more heart and guts to win that game.

Did their heart and guts cause memphis to miss free throws?

The game was decided on a 3 pointer that probably wouldn't go in 50 percent of the time. If it clangs off the rim does that mean they lacked heart? Complete BS.

posted by justgary at 1:07 AM CDT on April 10

My point about coaching is painted with a broad brush.
All I'm saying is that alot of what is mentioned in the thread in regard to winning and losing the game came down to what a player is doing or learning in the weekly practice.
- " All the right plays down the stretch" End of game strategy is or should be a daily drill in practice.
- " No foul shows lack of game winning strategy" Same as above.
- " Kansas being perfect at the end" Apparently something that was taught in practice by Self and staff or they would not have been perfect down the stretch.
- "Memphis foul trouble". This is something taught in practice also. How and when to use your fouls.
I hear week after week that the team is a reflection of the coach, so heart and guts, and how the players play in a game are 2 catagories where I think coaching plays a major part of the success of a team.
I thought it was a great game and both teams were very talented and could have won the game. I also think that fate / or luck has alot to do with the out come of the game. Maybe good coaching puts a team on the more positive side of luck or fate when the game is on the line.

posted by sportnut at 10:20 AM CDT on April 10

Kansas beat Memphis.

posted by irunfromclones at 2:35 PM CDT on April 10