The 2008 Final Two Title Game Preview

Just over a week ago, Bill Self was the conscious choice as "Best coach to have never made a Final Four." He proceeded to get off that list after Kansas held off that Steph Curry led, ridiculously underrated Davidson team last Sunday in Detroit.

Now Self has a chance to get off two notorious lists in just eight days. And he will do that on Monday night, when the Jayhawks give him his first national championship and their school's third title aganist a Memphis team that is playing tremendous basketball themselves.

If the first two games between the number one seeds of the tournament didn't live up to the hype (which to me, they did because the better two teams won), then this title matchup will certainly do that. Guaranteed (of couse, without me giving you my money).

The NBA star power is off the charts in this game. Though Derek Rose is the only one who is a number one pick candidate come this June's draft, Kansas has more early round talent on their squad. Brandon Rush has re-emerged from his injury woes from last year to become a potent force again, while Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers has proven deadly from beyound the arc and in penetration. And not to be lost in the fray is the unsung Russell Robinson, whose Bronx mentality coupled with tough defense and secure ballhanding is another great element of an elite team. Add in a foursome combo downlow of Sashan Kaun, Darnell Jackson, and talented duo Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich and it is a squad flocked with future NBA ballers.

The same could be said of the Tigers, who along with Rose and backcourt tandem Chris Douglas-Roberts bost a few other pros with Joey Dosey, Robert Dozier, and Alan Anderson. But they haven't faced a team like Kansas since Tennessee, and Kansas is a little bigger and much better defensively than the Volunteers. And also, the Vols gave John Caplipari's side their lone lost this year, in Memphis at that. Though that is all apples and oranges, Kansas has proven that they can match up with any team in the tournament (tho so has Memphis). With their size, Kansas is surly better than not only Tennessee but also Mississppi State, who gave Memphis a real scare two weeks ago.

Caplipari, whose also trying to get himself off that "Best coaches to have never won a title" list, has dubbed his team the "Dream Team." But this maybe the "Dream Team 2" installment of it, because the Dream Team on Monday night will be the Kansas Jayhwaks.

Still, this should be a thriller that goes down here in San Antonio.