2008 National Championship Odds

Written by Lucky Lester on April, 7th 2008 | 0 Comments

Kansas Jayhawks, Memphis Tigers Betting

As I said earlier, I ranked Kansas ahead of both Memphis and UCLA, but that doesn’t mean they have the advantage over the Tigers in a head to head match-up. Quite the contrary, actually, as Memphis has enough athleticism to mix it up with Kansas. All season long, the Jayhawks have had the upper hand in that aspect of the game, but in the last game of the year, the might be number two in that category. Look for one heck of a game on Monday Night.

Kansas Jayhawks (1) vs. Memphis Tigers (1)
9:21 PM ET, Monday, April 7th

Storylines:

While John Calapari has been trying to play the “underdog” card for much of the season, but that little game is now lost on the rest of the country, as it was lost on me from the get go. The Memphis Tigers have at least 3 NBA players on their team, something that rarely fails to equal success at the college level. Chris Douglas Roberts and Derrick Rose are both stars in college, and at least Rose will be a star in the NBA. Joey Dorsey has the energy, strength and athleticism to be a professional player. And Robert Dozier has super long arms, just like the rest of the Memphis Tigers. If anyone can give the Jayhawks trouble athletically, it’s the starting five in Memphis. They have the height and athleticism to cause Kansas problems they haven’t seen all season. 

The Jayhawks just have to keep doing what they’re doing and attack from each position during the entire game. There wasn’t a more balanced team in the Nation, and Kansas truly can beat you a million different ways. If they are hitting the 3, they aren’t beatable. The Jayhawks can’t rely on that shot, though, because they will have such an advantage with good size and numbers on the post. If they can attack the basket, Memphis will have to play very good basketball to win this game. Just like Kansas did to Carolina, the Jayhawks need to be patient and feed the post - from there, anything and everything is possible.

Best Player Left: Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose is going to be an NBA star. He’s dominant. He’s super quick, jumps out of the gym, has a sweet jumper, uses his creativity to get to the rim, and he makes his teammates better. Douglas Roberts is huge for the Tigers, but Rose is the best player in this game.

Betting Numbers in the Tournament:
Kansas has covered in all but one game during the NCAA tournament, going 5-1 ATS. Their only loss against the spread came against Davidson in the Elite Eight. Each Kansas game has finished under the total. No Kansas opponent has scored more than 66 points during the Big Dance. The Tigers are 3-2 ATS, winning each of their last 3 games after going 0-2 ATS to start the tournament. The Tigers have been over the total in each of their 5 tournament games. The Tigers have scored 77+ in each of their games.

Best Run Thus Far: Memphis
Kansas just smacked around the Tar Heels, a team that didn’t struggle with anyone the entire way - but the Tigers gave it to UCLA like it was their job, plus, they did it with style and grace - I know Kansas does everything right and they have great balance, and that’s while I’ll give them the nod here - obviously, both teams have been brilliant.

Key(s) to the Game:
Turnovers are the key, that and rebounding. I know, that’s the key to all basketball games, but realistically, if Kansas turns the ball over a lot, they’re done. Memphis dominates the game when you give them free baskets, and they way they were running against UCLA only shows me how much they can dominate when given the chance.

Rebounding will be key, because even though the Tigers have great athletes, most aren’t guys that like to mix it up down low and try to dominate the game doing the little things on the glass. Joey Dorsey is that guy. If he can own the defensive glass, his Tigers will be well on their way to a championship. If Kansas uses their size to their advantage, this game will be tight, and they could pull it out at the line.

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