Entering the tournament the conventional wisdom said that Memphis would be done in by free throw shooting. Through five games, they just got better and better from the line. But with the pressure of the lead in the national title game bearing down on them, the charity stripe did indeed prove fatal. The free throws were just symptomatic though. Memphis looked like a team unfamiliar with playing in big, close games, and free throws were just one of the mistakes they made down the stretch.

Congratulations to Kansas for not packing it in down by nine and fighting back to force overtime. A classic game all around, and the outcome shouldn’t make us overlook great performances on both sides.