Kansas Escapes To Overtime, Pulls Out Win

It was an ugly game all around, and Memphis choked at the end. I had predicted a 10 pt KU win, but the final margin turned out to be 7. I say that only to rub it in to the guys over at Nosebleed Radio http://www.nosebleedradio.com/ who unanimously picked Memphis.

The overall tone of the game seemed to be sloppy play. Kansas had 17 turnovers and often appeared that they just couldn’t hold onto the ball.

In the first half the Kansas defense was tough inside but Memphis was having success with their perimeter shooting. Memphis was tough on defense in spots, but allowed KU to make some runs.

As the second half wore on, the Memphis defense stepped up and the Kansas offense became downright anemic. Memphis was starting to look strong and was giving the impression that the game was being put away. With 3:49 to play Memphis was up by 8.

When it came down to the end, Memphis was still looking strong, holding onto the lead . Eventually Kansas started to foul and things got ugly.

Joey Dorsey fouled out on a dumb play with 1:23 left and Memphis up 6. This was not a good move. Memphis started missing free throws and Kansas started coming alive making points on the other end.

With the clock ticking down, Memphis continues to miss free throws (12-19 for the game, with most misses coming at the end) and finally Chalmers sinks a clutch 3 pt to send the game to overtime.

In overtime Kansas went out to a quick lead over the now demoralized Memphis team and held on for the win.

The big story was missed free throws in the clutch. There were several opportunities to put the game away, make it a two possession game with time running out, but Memphis couldn’t handle the pressure.