Memphis to face Kansas in NCAA finale
Updated: 2008-04-07 12:53
SAN ANTONIO, Texas: Kansas and Memphis will meet in the NCAA championship game on Monday after using superior guard play to overwhelm their semifinal opponents on Saturday.
The Jayhawks hit 13 of their first 17 shots and beat overall No 1 seed North Carolina 84-66, while Memphis guards Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose combined to score 53 points in a 78-63 victory over UCLA.
North Carolina (36-3) trailed by 19 points in the second half but whittled the Jayhawks' lead to 54-50 with just over 11 minutes to go.
Kansas (36-3), however, seeking its first title since 1988, broke the game open by scoring 13 straight points to turn a 67-61 lead into a 80-61 rout with just under two minutes left.
"Our guys were in attack mode right from the outset and I thought we did a really good job of being the aggressor early, which set the tone for the game," said Kansas coach Bill Self.
Brandon Rush led Kansas with 25 points, while the Tar Heels were led by Wayne Ellington and Tyler Hansbrough, who scored 18 and 17 points, respectively.
North Carolina dug itself in a deep first-half hole, trailing 40-12 with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
"It was like that wasn't North Carolina out there," said Tar Heels guard Quentin Thomas. "It looked like the first time we had ever walked on a basketball court."
Douglas-Roberts scored 28 points and Rose added 25 for Memphis, which has never won the title and will be making its first championship-game appearance in 35 years.
Memphis (38-1) used a 10-2 scoring streak to open the second half and turn a three-point lead into a 48-37 advantage with just over 16 minutes remaining.
UCLA (35-4) was led by guard Russell Westbrook, who scored 22 points.
Despite losing just once all year, pundits did not expect the Conference USA champion Memphis to beat Pacific-10 power UCLA, something that was noticed by the Memphis players.
"I feel the negativity was silly the whole year," Douglas-Roberts told reporters. "We believe in ourselves. So that's really all that matters to us."
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