Kansas and Memphis meet in NCAA Championship game

After defeating University of North Carolina and UCLA, respectively, Kansas and Memphis will meet for the NCAA Tournament National Championship game.

It is the first time Memphis received a berth in the final game. The Tigers also became the winningest team ever in a single season with a record of 38-1 following last night's win over UCLA.

"Going into the game, we knew that we was going to win. Ain't too much to say," Derrick Rose of Memphis said. "We're just a great team. With the team that we have, it's hard beating us."

The final score was 78-63, with the Tigers leading the UCLA Bruins much of the way.

It was a different sort of game for the UNC Tarheels and the Kansas Jayhawks, as the Jayhawks won 84-66.

The Tarheels, coached by former Kansas coach Roy Williams, were behind 40-12 late in the first half. They rallied, though, getting within five points with nine minutes left in the game.

They couldn't go all the way, though, in their effort to pull off the biggest Final Four comeback ever.

"We sort of came out a little more casual than we would've liked and they hit us right between the eyes," Roy Williams said.

Expect a fierce game when the Jayhawks and the Tigers meet Monday.

"We know we've got another step to take Monday night," Sherron Collins of Kansas said. "It's going to be a great matchup. They play fast, we play fast." Kansas will have to get around Memphis super-freshman Derrick Rose to win the game, though.

1 seeds sweep Final Four

In a disappointing turn for fans of Cinderella teams like this year's tenth-seeded Davidson, all four of the number one seeds in the NCAA men's basketball tournament made the Final Four.

Prior to the start of the season, pollsters selected North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas as the top teams in the nation. Then the tournament selection committee also chose those teams as the best, rewarding each with a number one seed. Lo and behold, the four teams who have made it to the Final Four are the aforementioned.

Never before have all four number one seeds made it to the Final Four.

North Carolina made it by defeating third-seeded Louisville, Memphis beat two-seeded Texas, UCLA knocked out third-seeded Xavier, and in a near upset and the Cinderella story of the tournament, number ten Davidson couldn't hang on against the Kansas Jayhawks.

It will be a tough battle as the four best teams in the country face off to determine who is the lone number one. North Carolina (36-2) will play Kansas (35-3) and Memphis (37-1) will take on UCLA (35-3) Saturday.

March Madness Begins! UCLA, Kansas roll, Duke escapes scare

March Madness is officially underway. Sixteen games are in the books with forty-seven more to go. The two top seeds in the Midwest and West regions, Kansas and UCLA were both in action as well as the popular/hated Duke Blue Devils. Only two out of the sixteen games played yesterday featured upsets as number nine seed Texas A&M defeated number eight seed BYU 67-62 and number eleven seed Kansas State led be freshman sensation Michael Beasley defeated number six seed USC 80-67.

Both number one seeds dominated their weaker sixteenth seeded opponents as Kansas rolled to a 85-61 victory over the vikings of Portland State and UCLA toppled Mississippi Valley State 70-29. Number two seed Duke barely escaped the fifteenth seeded Bruins of Belmont as the Blue Devils blew a ten point second half lead to barely escape with a 71-70 victory. Duke guard Gerald Henderson scored the game winner as he drove down the length of the court and scored on a lay-up with six seconds to go.

Other teams advancing included Xavier, who came back after being down eleven to defeat the SEC champs Georgia Bulldogs. Michigan State, Stanford, Marquette, UNLV, Pitt, Purdue, Washington State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and West Virginia advanced as well. All of these teams will play their second round games on Saturday.

Highlighting the teams in action today is the number one overall seed North Carolina lead by Player of the Year Tyler Hansborough. Teams also playing their first round game today include Tennessee, Texas, Georgetown, and the Memphis Tigers, the number one seed in the South region. For more information, go to ncaasports.com for all the scores and schedule of play.