Memphis vs Kansas

I should have known better than picking two teams whose best players were blue-chip white boys over two of the most athletic and talented college teams we've seen in recent years. Memphis and Kansas both took care of business rather easily against UCLA and UNC to set up what should be a very exciting and well-fought title match. I've been giving Memphis alot of shit during the tournament, mostly for their free-throw shooting, but other than a near miss against Mississippi State when they shot under 47%, it hasn't been a factor. They've gone from a season average of under 60% to a tourney average of over 70%. That average jumps to over 80% for the last three games against UCLA, Texas, and Michigan State. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts have been impressive and Joey Dorsey has been an absolute beast on defense, and by keeping Kevin Love in check was a huge factor against UCLA.

Kansas has also been doing an exceptional job of proving the doubters(myself included) wrong. Despite doing their best to give up a 28 point 1st half lead, the Jayhawks were able to outlast the Tarheels and pulled away after the North Carolina managed to close the gap to 4. Like Memphis, Kansas has been getting it done mostly with stellar guard play from Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers. They've also got a big man inside in Sasha Kaun, who is nearly singlehandedly responsible for Kansas escaping Davidson in the Elite 8.

In the end, this should be a great match-up. Kansas has a slight size advantage, and has more depth off the bench than Memphis. That depth could be even more of a factor after Saturday's games. Memphis guards Rose, Douglas-Roberts, and Antonio Anderson all played more than 35 minutes against UCLA, while Kansas had 8 guys play double-digit minutes. Both teams suffered a near-loss against underdog opponents, but other than those games have been winning by healthy margins. I like the way Memphis bounced back after their game against Mississippi State by beating two tough teams in Michigan State and Texas. Kansas had to only get through UNLV and Villanova before nearly falling to Davidson. They looked to be bouncing back nicely in the first half against UNC, before struggling and nearly letting the game slip away in the second half. They won't be able to slack off like that against a motivated and athletic Memphis team.

Over/under 147: Take the over. Both these teams have multiple scoring options and this should be a fairly high scoring affair.

Memphis -2 over Kansas: Always bet on blue. Shit, never mind, they're both wearing blue. Even with Saturday's exhausting game against UCLA, I think the Tigers are too dialed in right now. Try and get the Kansas big boys in foul trouble and then make sure and keep hitting those free throws.