Kansas rolls past UNC, will face Memphis in title

by Rick Plumlee McClatchy Newspapers

SAN ANTONIO (MCT) – If beating Roy Williams… by Rick Plumlee McClatchy Newspapers

SAN ANTONIO (MCT) – If beating Roy Williams purges the anger so many Kansas fans feel for the former Jayhawks coach, then an exorcism the size of Texas took place Saturday night at the Alamodome.

KU scared the dickens out of anyone favoring crimson and blue in the process.

That’s what happens when your favorite team allows a 28-point lead to fade to four before taking out Williams and North Carolina, 84-66, to advance to tonight’s national championship game against Memphis.

It was that kind of emotional rollercoaster ride in a game that had more buildup about personalities than the players on the court.

Big mistake.

“This was about what we do, how we play and nothing more,” Kansas guard Brandon Rush said after hanging 25 points on the Tar Heels.

And because it was, the Jayhawks are in the title game for the first time since Williams was their coach and they lost to Syracuse in 2003. But any pregame talk from their current mentor had nothing to do with the past.

“All we talked about was playing a No. 1 seed and having a chance to play for a national championship,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “What other motivation do you need?”

Apparently none, because Kansas had the Tar Heels down and buried, 40-12, with 6:40 remaining in the half.

“I was shocked,” Williams said. “We didn’t have the energy level we needed. They were attacking and hitting us between the eyes, and we were just taking it.”

Kansas’s defense had national player-of-the year Tyler Hansbrough tied up in knots and anything else wearing Carolina blue. Everything was clicking. Three-pointers were falling, especially Rush’s.

Even some early foul trouble couldn’t slow down Kansas, because freshman center Cole Aldrich came off the bench and played beyond his years.

“That was the best 15 minutes I’ve ever had a team play,” Self said. “It was a pleasure to watch. Instead of having 10 hands out there, it felt like we had 14 or 16. Guys were after every ball.

“But as good as we played early, we were just as bad there for a stretch. Momentum changed uniforms.”

You knew the Tar Heels would show up eventually.

Kansas went from leading by 28 to leading 54-50 with 11:16 remaining. That’s a 38-14 run by Carolina, the sort of offensive explosion you would expect from a team that averages nearly 90 points.

You could almost hear the anguished cries of the Kansas fans, who dominated the crowd and had booed Williams during pregame introductions.

“We started making stupid turnovers and taking stupid shots,” Rush said.

And the Tar Heels started playing like the Tar Heels. Danny Green hit a couple of 3-pointers, Hansbrough finally wiggled loose for some of his 17 points.

“During a timeout, I told the guys to forget what they were down by and just think of being down only four,” Williams said.

But then it was the Jayhawks’ turn to respond, and that they did, outscoring Carolina, 30-16, over the final 11 minutes.

“We fought and we fought,” said North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington, who led Carolina with 18 points. “We had it right there, and then they started attacking again.”

Darnell Jackson’s back-to-back baskets were particularly key in stretching the Kansas lead to 73-61.

“We knew we could do this,” Jackson said. “I know there are a lot of people out there that doubted we could beat those guys. But they’re just some guys in North Carolina jerseys.”

The key to it all was what Kansas did on defense.

The Jayhawks took Carolina’s vaunted transition game and threw up a brick wall. While Kansas’s big men kept launching one body after another at Hansbrough, its guards took out Ty Lawson.

Lawson had nine points on 2-of-8 shooting with three turnovers and no assists.

“We knew if we came to play, this could happen,” Kansas guard Russell Robinson said.

The defensive plan wasn’t all that complicated.

“Our whole game plan for them – and this is so simplistic – was four passes, one shot,” Self said. “If we could make them make four passes, that means we’ve taken them out of transition.”

As always, the trick was getting his players to carry it out.

“We paid attention and did what we were told,” Kansas forward Darrell Arthur said. “If we keep playing like we’ve been playing, if we come out like that [Monday], I don’t think anyone can beat us.”