Poor free throw shooting finally plagued the Memphis Tigers, creeping up at the most inopportune of times. The Tigers missed much-needed free throws as Kansas went on a 12-3 run to force overtime, then the Jayhawks scored the first 6 points of the extra frame en route to a 75-68 Kansas victory over Memphis.

With the game on the line it was Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose who both missed free throws, CDR missing the front end of a 1-and-1 as well as missing two more free throws inside the final minute of regulation, opening the door for Brandon Rush’s tying 3-point shot to send the game into overtime. Kansas then took over in OT and held on with strong defense, preventing Memphis from having a breath of hope in the final seconds of overtime.

The final minutes of the National Championship game could not have gone much worse for the Memphis Tigers. All year long we have heard about Memphis’ free throw shooting problems, and the difference in a National Championship and overtime came down to free throws. After hitting his first 4 FT attempts of the game, Chris Douglas-Roberts missed the front end of a 1-and-1 then followed that by missing 2 more free throws inside the final minute of the game. Derrick Rose then hit 1-2 FTs as a Kansas 3-pointer tied the game, sending the Jayhawks and Tiggers to overtime. Kansas overcame a Memphis 9-point lead in the final 2 minutes of regulation.

Foul trouble for Memphis and hot-shooting for Kansas has been the story of the first half of tonight’s National Championship game as the Kansas Jayhakws lead the Memphis Tigers 33-28 at the half. Chris Douglas-Roberts leads the Tigers with 13 points, but the story is Memphis’ foul trouble. Joey Dorsey, Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier each have 2 fouls making 6 of the Tigers’ 7 first half fouls. While Kansas also has two players with 2 fouls, the Jayhawks are a consistently deeper team, regularly going 7-8 deep for significant minutes.

Forwards Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier are both in early foul trouble as the Memphis Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks are squaring off in the National Championship game on CBS. We’re at the 11:33 mark left in the first half and neither team has connected on a 3-point field goal as the defenses have held both teams in check.

From the beginning of the season experts and fans alike have said Memphis was one of the best teams in the nation. With their win today over UCLA in the first of two Final Four match-ups, the Memphis Tigers have proven they are one of the top two teams in the nation, and on Monday night they have a chance to play for the NCAA National Championship.

The Tigers (38-1) outscored UCLA (35-4) 38-35 in the first half before pulling away in the second half for a 78-63 win. Memphis was led by freshman Derrick Rose (25 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) who looked a step quicker than anyone UCLA could put on him and Chris Douglas-Roberts (28 points) and as a team shot 87% (20-23) from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Joey Dorsey played the role of clean-up man picking up 15 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play.

With the win there’s no doubt that Memphis Tigers tickets and Memphis basketball apparel & clothing will be more popular than ever as the Tigers advance to the National Championship game. The Tigers will face the winner of Kansas & North Carolina on Monday night, April 7th @ 9:21 pm ET.

After being ranked in the top 3 all season and being the undefeated, #1 team in the nation for several weeks, the Memphis Tigers have finally lived up to expectations. The Memphis Tigers defeated the Texas Longhorns, in Houston, by a score of 85-67 on Sunday to advance to the Final Four. While Memphis Tigers apparel & merchandise is a hot item in stores and online, John Calipari’s team is not done just yet. The Tigers have unfinished business and hope to get two more wins and a National Championship to add to the 2008 season’s success.

With the Final Four on the line the Memphis Tigers came to play in the first half of their Regional Final against #2 Texas, leading the Longhorns 39-28 at the half. After two consecutive losses at this same point in the past two years, John Calipari has his team poised for a Final Four run. Memphis is led by Chris Douglas-Roberts with 11 points and Derrick Rose with 10 points.

Get your Memphis Tigers clothing online and celebrate Memphis’ basketball success!

The Memphis Tigers should be mad. First, the Tigers get placed as the #1 seed in the South Regional of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a bracket that could potentially have them matched up with #2 Texas in Houston, TX, with the Final Four on the line. Then, to top that off, 49% of ESPN SportsNation and the vast majority of college basketball “experts” have Memphis picked as the first #1 seed to be eliminated. So yes, the Memphis Tigers have plenty to motivate them. Oh, and throw in the fact that they have one of the best college basketball coaches in the nation in John Calipari.

In tonight’s action, the Tigers look like a team on a mission, and I can’t balme any fan who runs to the store to pick upsome new Memphis Tigers clothing. Memphis leads Michigan State 50-20 at halftime as 8 players have scored so far for Memphis and 6 Tigers have 6 points or more. Assuming the Tigers can hold on in the final 20 minutes, #1 Memphis would again advance to the Elite 8 where they would face the aforementioned #2 Texas Longhorns with the Fina Four on the line.

While the Memphis Tigers were the lone Conference USA basketball team named to the 2008 NCAA Tournament, four other C-USA basketball programs also get the opportunity to continue playing in 2008. The NIT Tournament selected UAB as a #5 seed then passed on Houston. Lucky for the Cougars, they were selected for the new CBI Tournament along with Tulsa & UTEP to represent Conference USA.

Another year and another Conference USA Basketball tournament championship for the Memphis Tigers. The #1-seeded Tigers topped #7 seed Tulsa 77-51 on CBS on Saturday, and will likely earn a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

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