Missed free throws hamstring Memphis as Kansas wins title in OT

By Noah Shepardson
Edited By: Dan Schultz and Alexis Kowaleski

The Kansas Jayhawks came back from nine points down, sent the game into overtime and won their first national championship in 20 years.

The comeback was made possible by the Memphis Tigers lousy free throw shooting down the stretch.

The Tigers missed four of their last five from the charity stripe allowing Kansas guard Mario Chalmers to hit a game tying three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left. The Jayhawks then went on to outscore the Tigers 12-5 in the extra frame to give them a 75-68 win.

“It will probably hit me like a ton of bricks tomorrow, that we had it in our grasp,” said John Calipari, Head Coach of the Memphis Tigers, in a post game interview with ESPN.

Memphis can however, take some solace in having the most wins by any other Division-1 college basketball team with a 38-2 record.

The Tigers are also going to return 11 out of 13 players from this year’s campaign unless players choose to leave early for the NBA draft. All starters except for one, Joey Dorsey, have the option to return next season for another championship run.

“I was rooting for Memphis the whole tournament,” said Harrison resident Dustin Vaughn after watching the game at Buffalo Wild Wings. “Next year, if all their players come back, they will be unstoppable.”