I didn't watch the Twins game last night. I came home and got started immediately on some projects in the garage and the front entryway, which desperately needed a fresh coat of paint.

Instead, I switched gears for a bit and took in the battle between Kansas and Memphis. I found it rather refreshing to see a Final Four filled with #1 seeds. I felt in a way it gave the proceedings an air of legitimacy - no Cinderellas making mad runs to a title that will seem like a blip on the screen in retrospect. Everyone there competing for the championship truly seemed like one of the 4 best teams in the land, and that, to me, added excitement.

I think it's good in sports to reward dominance. Granted, it's up to the players to play like dominant teams, but when the teams who lead all year make it to the end, it feels right somehow. Last night, that game felt very right.

All the headlines will go to Mario Chalmers for nailing that huge three to send the game into overtime and Memphis choking at the free throw line in the last couple of minutes of regulation, which allowed Kansas to stay alive and give Chalmers that chance at the end. But that does not tell the whole story of every minute of this great championship ballgame. To me, the game really came down to which team owned the paint.

In this contest, Kansas clearly had the advantage. Note that over their first 34 games this season, Kansas averaged attempted approx. 17 three point attempts per game and cashed in on 39.8% of those attempts. Against Memphis, however, they only attempted 12 three pointers and made only 3. In watching the game it seemed clear that Kansas' players simply were not comfortable taking the three point shot. Some of it may have been due to Memphis' defense, but sometimes they clearly were flat out off. That Kansas eventually eschewed the three may have been part of the game plan all along and became even more important once Memphis' big men got into foul trouble - a situation I believe was the entire key to the game, missed free throws and all.

Long before Chris Douglas-Roberts even had a chance at salting the game away at the free throw line, the big three of the Memphis front line was in foul trouble to close the first half, with each of their major minute guys up front carrying at least 2 fouls into the locker room. Eventually, the much talked about Joey Dorsey would foul out of the ballgame, with just 6 points and 2 rebounds to his credit, leaving him unavailable for the overtime period. His final foul was particularly frustrating, as he was over-aggressive in trying to hedge on a pick and roll situation above the three point line. This was a perfect example of the sometimes poor decision making Dorsey exhibits, one of the reasons NBA scouts may think twice about using a first round pick on the obviously talented big man.

For all the showboating and borderline taunting Dorsey engaged in throughout the course of the game, his performance certainly didn't warrant the cockiness. His seemingly quieter frontcourt teammate, Robert Dozier, was the one saving grace for the Tigers down low, with 11 points and 10 rebounds on the night. But the Tigers got killed inside by Kansas Forward Darrell Arthur, a player not nearly as hyped as his adversaries. Arthur grabbed 10 rebounds and dropped in a team leading 20 points. All told, Kansas' big men combined for 32 points and 20 rebounds while Memphis' put together a 19 point, 15 rebound effort. On the whole, Kansas as a team took the rebounding battle by +11.

That Memphis lead late in regulation was due in large part to point guard Derrick Rose getting aggressive in the second half - creating his own shot, attacking the basket and knocking in one improbable, long 2 that somehow dropped in off the backboard. That the original ruling that the shot was a 3 was overturned was a key call in the ballgame, and kudos to the refs for taking the time during a break to get that right.

(Granted, that's their job, but I digress...)

This weakness inside allowed Kansas to attack the rim instead of trying to live and die from outside, which was fortuitous, since the threes they did attempt weren't falling (unless they were in key situations late in the ballgame, of course). Even in the final minutes, during Kansas' big comeback, the story of the game held true. What really hurt Memphis was the fact that it couldn't even come away with ANY points at the line on a couple of those trips Kansas gave them, allowing Kansas to attack the rim for a two instead of trying to go for the three every time down.

But this game may simply have come down to which team was more mentally tough. In spite of everything Memphis threw at Kansas - Derrick Rose's game-changing dynamics, Anthony Anderson's solid perimeter defense and the old school style of CDR (sans the old school style of making a damn free throw) - Kansas won because they were simply the more mentally tough ballclub.

Fundamentals of basketball displayed by Kansas:
Creating foul trouble on Memphis' big men 

Attacking the rim to take advantage of that weakness 

Leading the rebounding total 

Not letting up regardless of the score

In all these areas and more, Kansas proved the superior ballclub.

On the other end, Memphis missed key free throws down the stretch, had major foul problems in their frontcourt and folded it in after the regulation period ended. It was clear that Memphis lost a lot of wind in their sails after Mario Chalmers hit that three to send the game into OT, and it showed as Kansas won the extra frame by a score of 12-5. This win for the Jayhawks was not a miracle. It was more about the grind. For Chalmers to even have a chance at that three, so many things had to go in their favor, and Kansas acted like a team that expected those things to happen and thus was ready to take advantage when they did. Could experience have been a factor? Perhaps. Could Derrick Rose's game day illness have been a factor? It may have been, especially early in the game when Rose clearly was unable to get himself going offensively. But the big factor was their relentlessness. Derrick Rose might want to take that lesson with him to the next level.

Speaking of the next level, things could be changing quickly on the Jayhawk horizon. This Kansas team relied heavily on experienced players, several of them seniors and a couple of them players good enough to test the NBA waters this summer. But a bigger loss might be looming.

Over the next couple of days, amidst all the celebration, Kansas fans will hold their breath until Oklahoma State calls head coach Bill Self and offers him all the money Bedlam can buy. In turn, Kansas AD Lew Perkins will probably offer Self a Coach K-like "lifetime deal" and if Bill Self is as smart as he seems, he'll stay. But it'll take even more toughness to ensure they give themselves a chance to be back here in 2009. Here's hoping Bill Self is in Lawrence to take that challenge.

It's good for college basketball for the storied programs to be the ones standing at the top. Because of the nature of the sport, the way kids leave school after just a few years, the name on the front of the jersey is what matters, and it moves the needle more when the "great" programs are cutting down the nets and it brings more tradition to the proceedings. College basketball is just better when the Dukes, North Carolinas and Kansases of the world are leading the way. It gives the rest of college basketball the big targets to gun for.

Now, bring on the NBA!!