The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Memphis Tigers Monday in the men's college basketball championship game in San Antonio, Texas. As VOA's David Byrd reports, the game features one team that has not won the title since 1988 against a school that has come close, but has never won the crown.
The Memphis Tigers dismantled UCLA in their semifinal game Saturday, 78-63. Chris Douglas Roberts led Memphis with 28 points while Derrick Rose added 25.
last made it to the final four when he coached Marcus Camby and the University of Massachusetts to the semifinals. Calipari says he hopes his players at Memphis will enjoy the game by playing their best.
"We've got a ball game Monday we are going to try to play and win," said Calipari. "At the end
of the day I keep saying this I want anyone who watches the game to say 'Memphis had more fun than any team in that tournament.' And that's what I am trying to get through to the guys. there's one way to have fun, and that's just to compete at a really high level."
Calipari's 38-1 Tigers take on the Kansas Jayhawks, who blasted North Carolina off the courts 84-66 Saturday.
Brandon Rush led Kansas with 25 points. Rush - the brother of former UCLA guard JaRon Rush and former Missouri and Indiana Pacers NBA guard Kareem Rush - says that Monday's night could come down to defense.
"I think it is going to come down to who makes the key stops at the end," said Rush. "Because we both are great on the offensive end, but we have a defensive edge to us. Because we like the pressure a lot while they like to contain a little bit. But it is going to be to the one who makes the key stops at the end."
Kansas last played in the title game in 2003, when it lost to Syracuse. The Jayhawks have not won the national title since 1988. Memphis has not been this far since 1973, when it lost in the championship game to UCLA.
