Patrick Reusse: Title game wasn't artistic, but it was fantastic

SAN ANTONIO — This did not turn out to be the artistic matchup of rapid-moving, efficient basketball that many people anticipated. This was not 50-50 at halftime, as were Kansas and Oklahoma when they decided the 1988 national championship, but rather Kansas 33, Memphis 28 when the intermission was reached Monday night at the Alamodome.

"I think that our length bothered them, and I know their length bothered us," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Both teams take great pride in not giving up any easy baskets. Regardless of what anybody thought, I knew it would not be one of those [high-scoring] games.

"I felt our guys were in tune of understanding if you let Memphis get out in the open court and run, their execution goes to a different level. So, we were hoping it would be a grind-it-out game."

It was grind-it-out, not high-octaine, but that didn't prevent Kansas and Memphis from providing one of the greatest title games in the 70 years the NCAA has been deciding a champion.

There haven't been title games played where you could find this many ultra-talented, extra-competitive players on the court. And it was a couple of those players that combined in remarkable fashion to get Kansas to overtime -- and thus the chance to escape with a 75-68 victory.

Memphis had allowed a nine-point lead with 2:12 remaining to fritter down to 63-60 with 10 seconds left. The Tigers did this when their two superstars, Derrick Rose (1-for-2) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (0-for-3, including the front of a 1-and-1) missed four of five free throws in the final 75 seconds.

"All along people have been talking about how bad a free-throw shooting team they are," Kansas hero Mario Chalmers said. "Coach [Bill] Self told us to foul a couple of their worst shooters. We got lucky. Chris missed his free throws. Derrick Rose missed a free throw."

The Jayhawks got lucky, because Rose and Douglas-Roberts were the shooters who had gone 20-for-23 at the line in the Tigers' very impressive semifinal victory over UCLA.

There's no way to sugar-coat it. Douglas-Roberts choked on his two free throws with 16 seconds left. He badly short-armed both tries.

"I really can't explain why," the 6-7 junior known as CDR said. "I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, when you play basketball, you can't describe things like that. You really can't. I missed 'em."

Rose missed his chance to seal the game with 10 seconds left, when his free throw spun out. He made the second, putting the score at 63-60, and Kansas came down the court -- pushing the ball, but not frantic at first.

Sherron Collins wound up on the right side and almost lost the ball in traffic. This sent everyone scrambling, and Collins, amazingly, pushed the ball back toward Chalmers.

He's a junior from Anchorage, Alaska, a wonderful player who had not received much national attention.

Chalmers had some space above the circle. He had to fire in a hurry, because Rose was flying at him with a raised arm. Chalmers was quickly in the air, leaning a bit left, and drained it with 2.1 seconds remaining.

"I just dropped to my knees," said Memphis' Joey Dorsey, who had fouled out later. "I just dropped to my knees. I was like, Man, I can't believe he hit that shot, 'cause I just knew we was ready to cut the nets down."

Douglas-Roberts was in the area of Chalmers' shot and said: "It was tough because you're looking at the ball, you're looking at the rotation. But I saw it was going in.

"I saw it was going in."

Self stated the obvious in saying: "It will probably be the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history. [Mario] has no memory. The next thing that happens is the only thing that he's ever thinking about. It's just remarkable that a guy can have that much poise when the pressure's on like that."

What happens next with these two teams now becomes the issue. Rose, the wondrous freshman, is headed for the NBA, perhaps as the No. 1 overall choice. Douglas-Roberts also will leave as a junior.

Kansas will lose junior Brandon Rush, and perhaps Darrell Arthur, the sophomore who was the best big man on the floor Monday night by a considerable margin.

And then there's Self, who might be receiving a huge offer to go to Oklahoma State, his alma mater. Again Tuesday morning, Self wouldn't rule out OSU, while insisting that he has not talked with anyone from the school -- or with billion T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire behind the pending offer.