Only two remain.  Neither of the two National Semifinal games turned out to be all that close as Memphis and Kansas each won by double-figures on Saturday night to punch their ticket to Monday night’s title game.  Be sure to stay tuned to Hatfield Sports – www.matthewhatfield.com – for a preview of the National Championship.  For now, let’s review what happened in Saturday’s Final Four games……

Memphis 78, UCLA 63:  Sometimes there’s just no substitute for great guard play.  Memphis has been blessed with it throughout the entire NCAA Tournament as freshman phenom Derrick Rose finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and four assists while connecting on 11-of-12 free-throws, and All-American selection Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field to bounce the Bruins from the Final Four.  By picking up their 38^th win, John Calipari’s team set a new NCAA record for most wins in a single season, and simultaneously avenging the school’s loss to then Bill Walton-led UCLA in the Final Four 35 years ago {when the big red head poured in 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting}. 

After falling behind 5-0 in the early going, Memphis went on a 30-18 run to get the pace in their favor, unlike two years ago in the regional final when they missed 14 three-pointers in a row at one point against the Bruins.  This time it was UCLA that got in the shooting slump, misfiring on 11 consecutive shots in a row at one point in the second half.  Conversely, Memphis made 11 free-throws without a miss to finish things off, stretching their lead to as much as 13 by the 2:53 mark. 

For the game, the Tigers committed nine turnovers – only three in the first half – and made 20-of-23 foul shots.  It marked the third straight game that Memphis shot 74% or better from the charity stripe and had single digit turnovers.  On the inside, Joey Dorsey was a beast without even scoring a single point, grabbing 15 rebounds.  He helped neutralize Kevin Love, the Bruins’ talented freshman that came in averaging 21.8 points per game for the tournament.  Love scored a measly two points in the second half.  Defensively, Antonio Anderson helped shut down UCLA floor general Darren Collison, who was held in check to 1-for-9 shooting, two points, five turnovers and fouled out late in the second half.  Russell Westbrook often carried the Bruins’ offense at times with both Collison and Love out of sync.  Westbrook scored 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting and made a couple steals.

Kansas 84, North Carolina 66:  Facing his former team, North Carolina Head Coach Roy Williams watched his current squad go nine minutes and 14 possessions without a field goal to dig a 40-12 hole on Saturday night.  A seemingly insurmountable deficit was nearly erased when Williams’ Tar Heels took that nightmarish start and scored 38 of the game’s next 52 points to close within four, giving them hope with a little more than ten minutes to play.  However, as much as that run spoke volumes about UNC’s offensive prowess, their defensive deficiencies – not to mention fatigue – proved costly down the stretch.

Kansas came out as the aggressor, hustling more than their opponent after loose balls, crashing the boards and extremely active defensively to tally a bunch of blocks and steals (five and seven respectively by half-time).  North Carolina’s National Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough, who shot below 50% from the field (6-of-13), even got out-hustled.  Struggling to both shoot and dribble, North Carolina was the nation’s best in rebounding margin this season, but saw their opposition make that strength invisible, grabbing 16 of the game’s first 21 rebounds.  By the time intermission rolled around, UNC was shooting 29% from the field (9-for-31) and minus nine in the rebounding category.  It translated into the Tar Heels’ season-low total for points in a first half.  UNC died with the three-point shot, going 5-for-24 (20.8%) from beyond the arc.  While Wayne Ellington was the Tar Heels’ high scorer with 18 points, he went 1-for-9 from long distance as he and Danny Green literally helped shoot their team back in the game, but didn’t make enough in the end.

Meanwhile, Kansas had six players with five or more points and shot 13-of-18 to begin the game.  As a team they finished with nine blocks.  Brandon Rush led the way for the Jayhawks, scoring a game-high 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.  Cole Aldrich gave the Jayhawks an unexpected spark off the bench, notching eight points, making all four of his free-throws, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking four shots.  Guards Sherron Collins, Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers gave UNC point guard Ty Lawson fits as he finished with less than ten points and 2-of-8 shooting.  Collins was especially clutch again, scoring a key basket at the end of the first half to push the lead to 17 when UNC was making a mini charge, and in the second half drilled a huge three-pointer to extend the lead to eight with about 5:20 to play.

As strong as the Jayhawks were to start, they almost self-destructed in the second half with numerous mental mistakes and playing tight like they did for a chunk of their game vs. Davidson.  The 19 turnovers – including eight in an 8:30 period – are a bit of a concern for Head Coach Bill Self going into Monday night’s Natl. Championship bought with Memphis.  Another concern is they’ve played very shaky in the second half of two straight games, which if they do against the Tigers, will mark the end of their season without cutting down the nets.