Blog of KU's first championship in 20 years years ago
Editor's note: My column this week will be a blog taking place during the men's NCAA college basketball championship game between the Kansas Jayhawks (36-3) and the Memphis Tigers (38-1). Considering I'm a KU grad you might know who I will be rooting for, however I will run this if the Jayhawks win or lose.
8:06 p.m. CST — We are 15 minutes away from the Kansas Jayhawks' first NCAA championship game appearance since 2003.
Will they win their first title in 20 years, or will Memphis join the ranks of Syracuse, North Carolina, and Duke in the group of hated teams who beat down the Jayhawks in the championship game?
We will find out in about two and a half hours.
8:12 p.m. — Bill Self is giving his locker room pre-game speech. I never thought I would want to be in a room that small with 15 other guys, but in this case it would have been pretty neat.
8:14 p.m. — All the experts on ESPN and CBS are picking Memphis except Jay Bilas — a Duke grad. He is now my favorite Blue Devil.
And I say let them pick Memphis, everybody picked UNC in the semi-final game, and we all know how that worked out.
8:24 p.m. — Tip off, three minutes late. I'm predicting that one of these teams will win. There is no way for anyone to know who it will be, even the "experts."
8:31 p.m. — It's 9-5 Memphis and the 'Hawks seem like they are out of their game. They are playing a little ragged so far.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact they are playing what I have thought since halfway through the regular season was the best team in the nation.
Oh well, it's early. (See UNC's near comeback against KU in the semi-finals).
8:32 p.m. — Commercial time. We'll see if the game will start again before nine. I know the sponsors need some air time, but at the expense of keeping up everyone on the East Coast past midnight?
8:35 p.m. — Only a three-minute break, I'm impressed.
8:48 p.m. — KU is on a 15-6 run and leads 18-15. They are starting to play their game.
Oh, a Cole Aldrich sighting. What a game the Minnesota freshman had against UNC Saturday. His four blocks were the most impressive of all.
8:55 p.m. — They just showed former KU and current UNC coach Roy Williams in the crowd — with a Jayhawk on his shirt!
I don't know if I am supposed to boo him, or just sit back and smile, knowing the 'Hawks knocked his Tar Heels out of the tourney.
8:58 p.m. — They just showed a close up of Memphis coach John Calipari.
My wife Jamie said she likes him because his name reminds her of calamari. And this from someone who won't even eat fish. I guess it's along the lines of liking a team for their uniform colors.
9:05 p.m. — With 1:43 left in the first half KU leads a back-and-forth game 31-28. Can they hold the halftime lead or will Memphis make a run before the break?
9:11 p.m. — KU scores two more before the half, and leads by five.
It's been a low-scoring game according to the experts. Also, according to the experts, KU should be losing. You know, a sports analyst is kind of like a weatherman — only right half the time.
9:15 p.m. — They just aired a commercial where former Indiana head basketball coach Bobby Knight threw a chair after a talking car insulted him.
He also said something about possibly coming out of retirement. I guess it was pretty funny, but Knight won't be winning an Oscar anytime soon.
9:24 p.m. — They are interviewing Williams during halftime, and he said there is a part of him that will never leave KU.
I'm just trying to find out which part, because last time I checked he was in the stands and Bill Self was pacing the sidelines during the championship game.
9:32 p.m. — Second half, here we go.
Jim Nantz just told us KU's last tournament championship in 1988 against Oklahoma was 20 years ago to the day.
So, if you are one of those people who try to make a connection between numbers, that stat is for you. If you are realistic, you realize coincidences happen.
9:38 p.m. — Memphis now leads 38-37 and the last few minutes have been hectic.
The 'Hawks look tired, but Memphis also is getting into some foul trouble. This should be a great finish.
9:48 p.m. — Less than 12 minutes left in the game, and KU leads by one. The pace is picking up, and although trailing, the Tigers look to be a step quicker and a little less tired than the Jayhawks.
We will find out if that is true in the next 11:35, which in real time is about an hour.
9:55 p.m. — We just found out both head coaches met their wives in Lawrence.
I wonder if CBS is trying to attract the female viewers or turn off the male viewers. I mean, we could have tuned into "A Wedding Story," or some other similar reality show, but we wanted, oh wait, I guess a sporting event is kind of reality TV as well.
10:00 p.m. — With 7:52 left we head to a TV timeout.
Just in case you didn't know before, all televised games go to a "TV" time out after the first dead ball every four minutes.
So, the first whistle after the 16, 12, eight, and four-minute mark of each half calls for a timeout so CBS can get richer.
It helps to know though so you can plan bathroom breaks.
10:07 p.m. — The Jayhawks have gone cold, and Memphis point guard Derrick Rose is starting to take over.
The Tigers lead by six and the freshman phenom is heading to the line to give his team a seven-point lead
10:09 p.m. — Rose just banked in a fall-away three-pointer with four minutes to go, and the lead is eight — if KU doesn't do something quick it's over.
I wonder if the thought of possibly being offered the Oklahoma State head coaching job is creeping into Bill Self's head right about now.
He said he didn't want to talk about it, but he actually never said "no" either.
Maybe Knight would come out of retirement to replace him.
Remember, he told that car he wouldn't rule out a comeback .
Rose's "three-pointer" was just changed to a two via instant replay. So the lead is just 56-49.
10:17 p.m. — The knock on Memphis all year has been its poor free-throw shooting, and many thought that would come back to haunt them.
The Tigers are now up nine with 2:12 left, and trying to prove that theory wrong.
10:19 p.m. — I watched the semi-final game on a brand new 42-inch plasma TV with HD.
Now I'm in my living room watching it on a 27-inch TV about 10 years old.
Maybe that extra $20 bucks a month is worth it.
10:21 p.m. — Memphis big man Joey Dorsey just fouled out.
His career is now over, and whether he will have a ring to wear the rest of his life will rely on the free-throw shooting of his teammates.
His mom can't watch, as she covers her face with a pom-pom.
But her son's team is 4-4 from the charity stripe its last two trips.
10:24 p.m. — Darrell Arthur just nailed a shot to cut the lead to 62-60 after Chris Douglas-Roberts missed a one-and-one for Memphis.
Now, with just 42 seconds left it has officially become the most exciting title game since freshman Carmelo Anthony single-handily beat the Jayhawks in 2003.
Oh wait, that wasn't exciting, it was, let's just say frustrating.
10:27 p.m. — Two misses in a row from the foul line for CDR, this time with 16.8 seconds left, but Memphis gets the rebound. Wow!
The freshman Rose will be at the line with his team up two with 12 seconds left.
Will the poor free-throw shooting cost the Tigers the title?
10:30 p.m. — Overtime after Rose missed a free throw and Mario Chalmers hit one of the biggest shots in championship history — a three-pointer to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left.
I'm already over my word limit, we'll see what happens.
10:38 p.m. — With 2:29 to go KU has a six-point lead, the momentum, and all its players on the court, unlike Memphis who is without Dorsey.
It's looking good for the championship trophy to make its way to Lawrence.
10:42 p.m. — CDR just nailed a three for Memphis, and it's a three-point KU lead with 56 seconds left.
Neither team is giving up, and it could come down to the last possession.
10:47 p.m. — Eighteen seconds left, KU up five and heading to the free-throw line.
I'm calling it — it's over.
10:49 p.m. — 75-68 in overtime. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
