National Semifinals: Memphis’ athleticism and depth proved to be too much for UCLA, which struggled to score at times with Kevin Love and Daren Collison limited by the Tigers’ defense. The two Bruins combined for 14 points and 13 rebounds. On offense, Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose dominated, combining for 53 points. They fueled an early phrenetic pace that forced UCLA to play faster than the Bruins prefer. They seemed to run out of steam midway through the first half, and Memphis gradually pulled away. Douglas-Roberts finished with 28 points, and Rose had 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
The Tigers will play Kansas in the championship game after the Jayhawks blitzed the Tar Heels 84-66. Kansas played flawlessly for the first 15 minutes of the game, building a 40-12 lead with five minutes remaining. The Jayhawks shot better than 70 percent for much of the first half and clearly had more energy than North Carolina did. They collected most of the loose balls and built what proved to be an insurmountable lead. However, the Tar Heels made it interesting by trimming the deficit to five with about 10 minutes remaining. Sophomore Wayne Ellington led North Carolina with 18 points, and he, Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green scored all but 16 of the Tar Heels’ 66 points. Kansas had a more balanced offensive attack, led by junior Brandon Rush’s 25 points and seven rebounds. [4/05/08]
