1 Memphis 1 Kansas

36-3

How Jayhawks got here

Kansas won the Midwest Regional as the No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks defeated No. 16 Portland State 85-61, No. 8 UNLV 75-56, No. 12 Villanova 72-57 and No. 10 Davidson 59-57 to win the regional, then beat East Regional winner North Carolina 84-66 in the semifinals.

The buzz

Expect KU to use three guards – each 6-foot-1 or shorter – in an attempt to wear down 6-3 Derrick Rose of the Tigers. Kansas simply cannot let Rose control the game; the Jayhawks must cut down on his penetration and cannot give him – or any other Memphis guard – many easy layups in transition.

What Kansas wants to do, actually, is slow the tempo and force Memphis into a halfcourt game.

When Brandon Rush’s three-point stroke is working, he’s an extremely difficult matchup because he also can put the ball on the floor and blow by opposing guards.

38-1

How Tigers got here

Memphis won the South Regional as the No. 1 seed; the Tigers defeated No. 16 UT Arlington 87-63, No. 8 Mississippi State 77-74, No. 5 Michigan State 92-74 and No. 2 Texas 85-67 to win the regional, then beat West Regional winner UCLA 78-63 in the semifinals.

The buzz

Memphis freshman point guard Derrick Rose, who is 6-3, has been a matchup nightmare in the tournament, and he dominated a UCLA backcourt known for its defense.

Memphis center Joey Dorsey needs to stay out of foul trouble because Kansas has more depth up front.

Guard Chris Douglas-Roberts has been on fire. He can score in so many ways, and what might appear to be a bad shot usually ends up going in.

Antonio Anderson does all the little things for Memphis – scoring, rebounding, passing, defending. It’s likely he’ll have a 5-inch height advantage when KU goes man-to-man.