It's getting interesting


Since my NCAA national championship game pairing of UCLA and North Carolina was ground up into mulch Saturday, I can watch the Memphis-Kansas game as a dispassionate observer.

It's obvious to me now after watching the first half why these two teams made it this far. The assortment of quick, long-limbed athletes on the court is beyond impressive.

I mentioned on a radio show earlier Monday that I liked Memphis to win with ease because of players like Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, who can beat defenders off the dribble and hit mid-range shots or put the defense in foul-me-or-give-up-the-layup situations.

Even after seeing the Tigers go five minutes without a field goal during the first half, I'm still feeling good about them. They just pulled ahead 38-37 a moment ago because Rose has started to attack the basket, which he didn't do in the first half. When Rose gets into the lane, it leads to easy dunks by guys like Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier.

So far, Kansas has done a pretty nice job of keeping Rose in front of them and daring him to take perimeter shots. We'll see what happens. Right now, Douglas-Roberts looks like the best player on the court.