When it is all said and done, we most likely have the two best teams in NCAA Division 1 Basketball battling it out for the National Championship with the Memphis Tigers of Conference USA and the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 Conference.
Personally, I cannot remember a time when there was a more evenly matched National Championship game. These teams are almost mirror images of each other.
Athleticism. Good defense. Shooters. Good point guards. Great coaches.
Looking at Memphis, they are led by 1st team All-American Chris Douglas-Roberts, who went off for 28 points in their Semi-final win over UCLA. CDR is joined by standout freshman point guard Derrick Rose, who finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists against UCLA.
While they don`t rely on scoring in the paint, the Tigers still have 3 solid big men with starting forwards Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier and reserve forward Shawn Taggert. Against UCLA, this trio was able t neutralize UCLA All-American center Kevin Love and pull down 25 rebounds combined in the game.
On the other side with the Kansas Jayhawks, any one man on any given night can come up big. In last night`s Semi-final win over North Carolina, guard Brandon Rush stepped it up with 25 points while reserve point Sherron Collins had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and ran the Jayhawk offense beautifully. Starting guard Mario Chalmers had a somewhat quiet night, scoring only 12 points, but he has the ability to get up in the 20`s on any given night as well.
The frontcourt of Kansas is just as deep as Memphis, and may even be better overall. In the starting lineup, future NBA Lottery Draft Pick Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson can score in the post and shoot in the 15`-18` range. Off the bench, Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich can give quality minutes when Arthur and Jackson need a breather or are in foul trouble.
So who has the advantage in this game? Well I feel that each team has their strengths. Overall, I feel Kansas is the better team as they are more balanced and play better defense. But Memphis is certainly the more athletic team with players like Rose and Douglas-Roberts and their transition game is deadly, as proven in their win over UCLA last night.
In my bracket, I have Kansas winning the whole thing and I am going to stick to my guns on this one. I think they will come out with a good game plan to slow down the Tigers and Rush and Chalmers will have good nights. However, Memphis is playing terrific basketball, both offensively and defensively. And perhaps more importantly, the Tigers are making their free throws.
Key matchups will be all over the court. It will be interesting to see who Kansas head coach Bill Self will assign to cover both Douglas-Roberts and Rose. For Memphis, Dorsey and Dozier did a solid job shutting down Kevin Love. But can they do the same with TWO good frontcourt players with the Kansas duo of Arthur and Jackson?
This should be a National Championship game tomorrow with plenty of great plays, big shots and a finish to remember.
SFB Prediction: Kansas 82, Memphis 80
Original Story:
http://www.sportsfanbase.com/blogs.asp.
Personally, I cannot remember a time when there was a more evenly matched National Championship game. These teams are almost mirror images of each other.
Athleticism. Good defense. Shooters. Good point guards. Great coaches.
Looking at Memphis, they are led by 1st team All-American Chris Douglas-Roberts, who went off for 28 points in their Semi-final win over UCLA. CDR is joined by standout freshman point guard Derrick Rose, who finished with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists against UCLA.
While they don`t rely on scoring in the paint, the Tigers still have 3 solid big men with starting forwards Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier and reserve forward Shawn Taggert. Against UCLA, this trio was able t neutralize UCLA All-American center Kevin Love and pull down 25 rebounds combined in the game.
On the other side with the Kansas Jayhawks, any one man on any given night can come up big. In last night`s Semi-final win over North Carolina, guard Brandon Rush stepped it up with 25 points while reserve point Sherron Collins had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and ran the Jayhawk offense beautifully. Starting guard Mario Chalmers had a somewhat quiet night, scoring only 12 points, but he has the ability to get up in the 20`s on any given night as well.
The frontcourt of Kansas is just as deep as Memphis, and may even be better overall. In the starting lineup, future NBA Lottery Draft Pick Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson can score in the post and shoot in the 15`-18` range. Off the bench, Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich can give quality minutes when Arthur and Jackson need a breather or are in foul trouble.
So who has the advantage in this game? Well I feel that each team has their strengths. Overall, I feel Kansas is the better team as they are more balanced and play better defense. But Memphis is certainly the more athletic team with players like Rose and Douglas-Roberts and their transition game is deadly, as proven in their win over UCLA last night.
In my bracket, I have Kansas winning the whole thing and I am going to stick to my guns on this one. I think they will come out with a good game plan to slow down the Tigers and Rush and Chalmers will have good nights. However, Memphis is playing terrific basketball, both offensively and defensively. And perhaps more importantly, the Tigers are making their free throws.
Key matchups will be all over the court. It will be interesting to see who Kansas head coach Bill Self will assign to cover both Douglas-Roberts and Rose. For Memphis, Dorsey and Dozier did a solid job shutting down Kevin Love. But can they do the same with TWO good frontcourt players with the Kansas duo of Arthur and Jackson?
This should be a National Championship game tomorrow with plenty of great plays, big shots and a finish to remember.
SFB Prediction: Kansas 82, Memphis 80
Original Story:
http://www.sportsfanbase.com/blogs.asp.
