"The Greene Room Live: Day Three in San Antonio" by The Greene Room

April 5, 2008

11:49 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Well, not all that much celebrating in the postgame locker room. A team that was so dialed in Saturday night in opening a cavernous early lead on North Carolina was the same way after sustaining it en route to an 84-66 win.Lets get to some numbers first ...-Brandon Rush finished with a game-high 25 points, going 11-of-17 from the floor, and just 2-of-7 from three. That means he was 9-of-10 from two-point range. Rush also had seven rebounds.-Cole Aldrich may have been the MVP of the night for the Jayhawks simply because of the value given in his 13 first half minutes. On the night, Aldrich had eight points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. He swatted three shots, hit a couple of key shots and at one point ripped a rebound from the grip of Tyler Hansbrough - everybody's All-American. His parents were asked after the game when was the last time they'd seen their son play that way. They looked at each other and laughed.-Mario Chalmers probably had the best stat line all across for KU: 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals. As always, a little of everything. Plus, he was key defensively on Wayne Ellington, who Bill Self said the junior wanted badly to go against.-KU scored 84 points, but hit only five three-point shots on 15 attempts. Carolina also hit five treys, but needed 24 looks to do so.-Tyler Hansbrough finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, both of which were below his season averages (roughly 23 and 11).-The Jayhawks proved again that post depth is better than one great post talent, outrebounding UNC 42-33, which Cole Aldrich said was one of the main goals in this game.-Carolina was forced to play a lot of one-on-one in transition, which the Heels obviously felt a bit uncomfortable with, racking up only seven assists to 18 turnovers. KU assisted half of its buckets (17 dimes on 34 hoops).And note worth passing along ...-Rodrick Stewart said the fans chanting his name late got to him, and was a large part of the reason he was in tears, sitting behind the KU bench with his leg propped up. He said his knee was in pretty significant pain, too.So, now we shift to Monday night. Memphis again proved tonight how strong it is when it's hitting free throws (Rose and CD-R were the only Tigers to shoot charities, going 20-of-23). I don't see how you don't like KU's chances at this point, though. Not only has Kansas now knocked off the Tournament's top team, but Bill Self's club did it in relatively clean fashion (I know, 19 turnovers doesn't necessarily indicate that). The Tigers overwhelmed UCLA with their uptempo style, and Self said he expects much more of the same Monday, joking that KU and Memphis are probably the nation's top two teams in lobs thrown. As an early prediction, I'll take KU by seven, because overall I think the Jayhawks just play a more efficient brand of ball. Memphis' athleticism helped overshadow some sloppy decisions in the night's first semifinal, and KU has the athleticism to not only combat that, but to take better advantage of those mistakes. In tonight's game, Russell Westbrook was the only Bruin who looked like he could play for either side. KU will have six or seven of those guys. I think KU's depth again overshadows star power. We shall see.We'll be talking to you tomorrow afternoon from the Alamodome again, as both teams meet the press between noon and 2 p.m. G'night. Enjoy it.9:57 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Brandon Rush's up-and-under layup, giving him 23 points, just inside of three minutes off Mario Chalmers' third dish of the night should all but seal this one up. We'll see you Monday night, when KU and Memphis play a game which will be very much like this one.Be back with postgame quotes and notes from the locker room in a bit.Most touching moment of the night ... Rodrick Stewart broke into tears before exiting the floor on crutches, with the KU fans chanting his name.9:49 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Brandon's got 20 points now, and you've got to be continually encouraged by the fact that he won't stop taking his shots. He missed two big three-point attempts during Carolina's run in which the Heels cut down to within four points, but after a brief puff on the bench, he's come in to grab a big defensive board and answer two awkward UNC layups with a swooping finger roll of his own.His teammates talked all day yesterday about how he 'snapped' in practice this week and you could tell he was dialed in, and he's had the look continuously to this point with 4:47 left.9:30 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Wayne Ellington just pulled a sweet spin move and hit a tear-drop jumper in traffic on the other end to pull UNC to within eight, forcing Bill Self into his second called timeout of the half. You've got to wonder what could be going through Self's head at the moment, as a one-time seemingly insurmountable 28-point lead has now been shaved down to eight. KU is getting open looks, but now, everything under the sun won't fall.And just as I typed that, Hansbrough hit the putback two off the glass to make it a six-point game.UNC has outscored KU 21-10 this half through eight minutes and 21 seconds. The positive for KU is that visibly, the body language doesn't seem to have taken a toll with this frantic comeback. Someone is going to have to step up and give the energy Cole Aldrich supplied off the pine in the first half. The best candidate is probably Sherron Collins, who is built for these situations.8:51 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Despite a 17-4 run by North Carolina to close the half, plenty of people here in the Alamodome are still scratching their heads at the KU team that showed up for the first 20 minutes.The highlight was a 25-2 run which had KU up by as many as 28 points at 40-12.Cole Aldrich is easily the MVP of the first half. He was needed to play 13 minutes with Sasha Kaun picking up two early fouls. That's the most he's played since racking up 17 minutes against Texas Tech on March 3 in the Senior Night bloodbath.He had six points and six rebounds in the first half, at one point even taking one away from Tyler Hansbrough. Literally.Here's some other first half numbers ...-Brandon Rush led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He's flat-out intense tonight, having also grabbed four rebounds.-KU has turned the ball over 10 times, but it hasn't mattered since UNC has just as many in this fast-paced affair. KU has seven steals, while Carolina has registered just two.-Tyler Hansbrough has 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes. Again, he's on pace to match his averages (roughly 23 and 10), but it hasn't mattered, since the Jayhawks did the one thing they desperately had to - matched his intensity. It's as solid as Darrell Arthur's looked all around in quite awhile (six points and four rebounds).-Carolina is just 2-of-9 from three-point range.-KU is outrebounding UNC 23-15.-Ty Lawson has just two points and one assist.The Jayhawks aren't in the clear just yet, but they're close. An energetic opening eight minutes to the second half could be the final nail. If UNC keeps its run going, though, panic might set in a tad. My money would be on the Jayhawks to finish it off at this juncture.8:35 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - The Carolina band is tooting 'Sweet Caroline' right now, just like Davidson's did a week ago. The only difference is that Carolina's team is against the ropes during the rendition.This is easily the most energy KU has shown all year. Hands down. No question. This is starting to feel like the US and Russia on the ice in 1980 in the sense that you forget that should this win happen, there's still another game on the horizon.Cole Aldrich just hit a turnaround jumper. He has six points and six rebounds in five minutes of run. Just mind-blowing.8:24 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - This is easily the most stunned I've been at a KU basketball game. Ever. Media members are now even looking at each other shrugging shoulders. So much for this being a game, huh?Darrell Arthur's juiced. Cole Aldrich is taking rebounds away from Psycho-T. Hansbrough can't get open looks. Carolina's not even close on its three-point attempts.If this holds up, Bill Self will solidify himself as a legend in Lawrence. But, still lots to play in this one. Though on the other hand, I'd be curious to know the last time a 23-point lead was lost in an NCAA Tournament game. Honestly, though? I just don't see it happening here.8:08 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Who's that guy who stole Darrell Arthur's uniform? This is not the Arthur we've seen the past couple of weeks. The points are to be expected (he has four early on), but he's resisted the urge to get too touchy on Tyler Hansbrough, not picking up a foul yet. He also has a huge block. The energy on the KU side (to use a Self-ism) is at a high right now. No question.7:59 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Yep, Roy just got booed wildly by the KU fans. Classy, guys.7:57 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Everything seems so funny and weird about this setting. The KU intro video was just playing on the jumbotrons up top, and Roy Williams stood and watched the whole thing. Not that that's a big deal. Just so weird. He and Bill Self just jollied at midcourt for a bit. All looked civil.7:44 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - More awkward Roy tradition connections ...You know that little floor-diving thingy the players do at the end of warmups before going back to the locker rooms, where they shuffle their feet in between? Both teams just did it back-to-back. It was semi-surreal.Last-second prediction: UNC 84, KU 80I've gone back and forth the last few days. I ultimately played eenie-meenie-miney-mo just now from my seat. Nothing strategic behind that pick.7:19 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Some final numbers from the Memphis bloodbath...-CD-R finished with a game-high 28 points. Derrick Rose was solid late from the free throw line, finishing with 25. UCLA's leading scorer was Russell Westbrook, who was the only player in baby blue who looked comfortable with the way that game was played. He might have played his way into the NBA Draft, too.-Speaking of the free throw line, Memphis was a combined 20-of-23 from the stripe. That said, all of those attempts were taken by Douglas-Roberts and Rose. All of them. No joke.-Joey Dorsey was scoreless, continuing his late-tournament offensive struggles that have plagued him for much of his career. Though he had a game-high 15 rebounds in just 27 minutes of run.-Kevin Love, who looked completely out of place all night, had 12 points and nine rebounds, not really doing anything memorable. If he ended his college career on that performance, it'd be a shame.-Luc Richard Mbah A Moute (had to type that name once) had 12 points and 12 rebounds.KU and Carolina just took the floor for warmups. KU is in its road blues.Wish I could think of more to say about the game that's about to start, but Memphis was so impressive that the Tigers are still on my mind. Maybe after tip-off that'll change. Everyone is in attendance, including Rodrick Stewart, who is on crutches, but in uniform.A few more instances of 'spotted': Billy Gillispie was spotted chatting in the KU section with Sonny Vaccaro. Also just saw Spurs greats Sean Elliott and David Robinson.7:01 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - U-C-L-A = D-O-N-E.Chris Douglas-Roberts is about the coolest customer I've seen all year in terms of making scoring 24 points just look so damn easy. Mike Beasley didn't even make it look so smooth. CD-R has 24 points with 2:53 to play, and UCLA looks numbered. Kevin Love at the moment has 12 points and nine rebounds, but if you told that to any fan in the stands who's been watching this one start to finish, it might make their eyes bug out of their head.CD-R has firmly placed himself in the lottery tonight. Not sure how you could dispute that.As for Memphis alums in the stands, Penny Hardaway was just shown on the jumbotron and drew rave reviews. He still doesn't hold a candle to A.C. Slater, though, in my book.6:27 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - The only player on the UCLA roster who is playing consistently in this style of a game so far is Russell Westbrook. Darren Collison is nowhere to be found offensively, and Kevin Love is flat-out confused/gassed. CD-R has full control of this game. We were watching the Michigan-Kentucky national semi from 1993 earlier this afternoon on ESPN Classic, and CD-R in this game looks just like Jalen Rose did in that one. It's scary.Oh yeah, and the first celebrity sighting of the night ... Mario Lopez (or A.C. Slater for all you 20-somethings) is two rows behind us. Still looks like he would own the mats at Bayside ... sans gerry curl.5:53 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - So this guy just checked in for Memphis, Pierre Niles. He's No. 4 on your screen, and impossible to miss. He's a 6-foot-8 sophomore who weighs 310 pounds. Even though he's about eight inches shorter than Niles, picture James McClinton in hoops garb, and this is what you get. Whoops, he just checked out. Still glad that guy made a cameo, though.5:44 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Kevin Love = Completely out of place in this kind of a game. The Memphis big men are not only owning the paint, but they're giving him no shot at rebounds of any kind. He's got just six points and three boards so far, while Joey Dorsey already has eight and Shawn Taggart five.Love isn't the most athletic-looking guy. Tonight, he's playing the part.5:18 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - The opening five-plus minutes of this game are quite reminiscent of what we saw a few weeks ago in Kansas City when KU and Texas slugged it out for a league tourney crown.Memphis looks unfazed and apparently wants to run UCLA out of the tym. After the first 10 or so possessions of this game, the odds ahve to be with Memphis, because while the Bruins are scoring in the fast-paced environment, how long can they keep up? The UCLA players are huffing and puffing a little more than Memphis'.Also, my yearning for Chris Douglas-Roberts to be the Bulls' first round draft pick this June has only grown through six minutes of gameplay. Dude's game is just slick.4:19 p.m.: SAN ANTONIO - Now I can honestly say I have a firmer grasp on what it's like to go to the Super Bowl. The scenes outside of both the media hotel on the Riverwalk and the Alamodome are flat-out nuts. It's gorgeous outside weather-wise, but I can't say I'm wishing I was fighting the crowds outside still.Memphis and UCLA are on the floor warming up as we speak, and Memphis is the most intimidating basketball team I've ever seen in person. If I were picking this game based on the Chuck Woodling Airport Test (they look good in an airport ... get it?), I'd take Memphis.But not just that, I'm taking the Tigers based on how they dismantled two pretty legit squads last weekend in Houston in Michigan State (well, 'legit' is a pretty loose term) and Texas (again, keeping me from picking the national champ correctly).That said, I take Memphis by a count of 88-81.I'm going to wait a bit on my final KU prognostication, seeing as I've already set up shop on both sides of the fences in the past couple of days. How about you guys?Predictions go below. Closest to each final wins a KUSports.com T-Shirt, again.I'll be doing some updates during Memphis-UCLA and trying to find some other pregame stuff before KU-UNC gets going. Have at it.[NCAA Home Page][1] [1]: http://www.ncaasports.com

38 comments

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missKU (anonymous) says...

ku 87unc 83ucla 81Memphis 79

April 5, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

BannerforKirk (anonymous) says...

Any word on who the refs are going to be for our game Ryan?

April 5, 2008 at 5:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

chuckberry32 (anonymous) says...

Memphis 86ucla 78ku 89unc 82what are the odds the refs will let our boys play like these refs are doing for the first game?

April 5, 2008 at 5:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

westsidenady (anonymous) says...

KU 71UNC 69Psycho T w/ 24pts.

April 5, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jsmith725 (anonymous) says...

Ryan - help! I'm on the top row of the lower level and we can't see the scoreboard from here. There are monitors with the scoreboard video feed, but that never has the score on it. Use your influence to help us!

April 5, 2008 at 6:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

lance1jhawk (anonymous) says...

Again-Lets all just say a little prayer...Our Father, who art in Lawrence,Hallowed be thy game.Thy tourney come,Thy championship will be done,in San Antonio as it is in Allen Fildhouse.Give us this day our deserved victories.And forgive us our turnovers,As we forgive Roy who double-crossed against us.And lead us not into defeat,But deliver us from East Coast bias,For KANSAS is the basketball kingdom,And the tradition,And the glory,For ever and ever.Amen!I figure alittle prayer couldn't hurt before this one!Rock Chalk JayhawkGo ku!!!ku 88unc 81Roy crys like a little baby after the game (again)

April 5, 2008 at 6:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

lance1jhawk (anonymous) says...

Ryan- In case I forget to say it... Thanks for all your hard work this season, I really enjoy your work.Cheer 'em on from press row.Rock Chalk Jayhawk GO KU!

April 5, 2008 at 7:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

cwag (anonymous) says...

KU 67UNC 64

April 5, 2008 at 7:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )