Bill Self was supposed to be the coach who can't win the big game.
At least one of those characterizations will be proven wrong on Monday night, as Calipari's Tigers and Self's Jayhawks will play for the national championship.
(1) Memphis 78, (1) UCLA 63: For the third year running, the UCLA Bruins have been knocked out of the Final Four by a team that was superior, athletically. On Monday we'll find out of the Bruins lost to the eventual champions again.
The Memphis Tigers beat the Bruins in every phase of the game, with their outstanding back court of Chris Douglas-Roberts (28) and Derrick Rose (25) combining for 53 points; big man Joey Dorsey was held scoreless, but grabbed 15 rebounds and generally kept UCLA's Kevin Love in check. Love scored just 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor.
The win was the Tigers' 38th of the season, which sets a new all-time NCAA Division I single-season record. Three other teams won 37 games in a season: Illinois in 2005, Duke in 1999 and 1986, and UNLV in 1987 -- but none of those teams ended their seasons with a national championship. A win on Monday night, and Memphis' season has to be considered one of the best ever.
(1) Kansas 84, (1) North Carolina 66: The North Carolina Tar Heels -- easily the most dominant team of this tournament to date -- came out flat, and the Jayhawks made them pay.
The Tar Heels looked absolutely lost in the first half, allowing Kansas to build a 40-12 lead. The game was such a rout that CBS' Billy Packer -- a notorious ACC homer -- declared the game over with seven minutes to go before the half.
Carolina did show some life after that point. They closed out the half on a 15-4 run, and in the second actually got the Kansas lead down to five points -- but that was as close as they'd come.
Roy Williams never found a way to free up Tyler Hansbrough, who was smothered all game by Kansas' big men ever time he touched the ball. Hansbrough scored 17 points, but had to work much harder than usual to get them. The 'Heels were also unable to stop Kansas' Brandon Rush, who led all scorers with 25 points.
The Jayhawks will be playing for the national title for the first time since 2003, when they lost to Carmelo Anthony and Syracuse in the finals -- just before Roy Williams left to coach a team wearing a lighter shade of blue.
