2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

Kansas entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional. In the 1st round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas dominated Portland State with an 85-61 victory.[1] In the 2nd round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas beat UNLV 75-56 to advance to the Sweet 16.[2] In the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas beat Villanova 72-57 to advance to the Elite Eight.[3] In the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Kansas was able to overcome Stephen Curry's 25 points to beat Davidson 59-57 and advance to the 2008 Final Four.[4] In the 2008 Final Four, Brandon Rush scored 25 points to beat North Carolina 84-66 to advance to the 2008 national title game.[5] North Carolina was coached by former Kansas head coach Roy Williams, it was the first time Williams had coached against Kansas since leaving after the 2002-03 season.

Memphis entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the #1 seed in the South Regional. In the 1st round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Memphis had a 15-2 run that eventually led to an 87-63 victory over Texas-Arlington.[6] In the 2nd round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Joey Dorsey had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead Memphis to a 77-74 victory over Mississippi State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 3rd consecutive year.[7] In the Sweet 16 of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Memphis finally proved that they were the top seed in their region by routing Michigan State with a 92-74 victory.[8] Memphis' 85-67 victory over Texas advanced the Tigers to the 2008 Final Four, sending coach John Calipari to the Final Four for the first time since 1996 with UMass.[9] In the 2008 Final Four, Derrick Rose scored 25 points to beat UCLA 78-63 and advance to the 2008 National Title Game.[10]

Memphis was the first team in NCAA history to have 38 wins in a season, though those wins were later vacated.

Darrell Arthur's 8 points and Mario Chalmers's five points in the 1st 11-and-a-half minutes gave Kansas a 22-15 lead with 8:30 remaining in the 1st half. Then, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 7 points in 4 minutes to tie the game at 28-28. A Brandon Rush 3-point play and a Darrell Arthur 2-point jumper gave Kansas a 33-28 lead at halftime.

Antonio Anderson got off to a hot start in the 2nd half to give Memphis a 36-35 lead. Then, with 13:35 remaining, Darnell Jackson scored 4 points in the next 30 seconds to give Kansas a 43-40 lead. Then, Derrick Rose would score 4 points in the next 2 minutes to cut the Kansas lead to 45-44. With 8:30 remaining with a 47-46 deficit, Derrick Rose got the show going with 10 points in the next 4 minutes to take a 56-49 lead. After Robert Dozier made a pair of free throws to give Memphis a 60-51 lead with 2 minutes remaining, Kansas began a furious comeback. It started with Darrell Arthur making a 2-point jumper and Sherron Collins making a 3-pointer to cut the Memphis lead to 60-56. A pair of Mario Chalmers free throws and a Darrell Arthur basket cut the Memphis lead to 62-60. With 10 seconds left, Derrick Rose made 1 of 2 free throws to give Memphis a 63-60 lead. With 2.1 seconds left, Mario Chalmers made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 63-63 and send the game to overtime for the seventh-ever overtime game in the national title game's history, and the first overtime national championship game since the 1997 National Title Game, when Arizona beat Kentucky 84-79 in overtime.

In the first 2-and-a-half minutes of overtime, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, and Darnell Jackson each made a basket to give Kansas a 69-63 lead. In the next 1-and-a-half minutes of overtime, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 5 points to cut the Kansas lead to 71-68 with 1 minute remaining. Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins each made a pair of free throws to give Kansas a 75-68 overtime victory over Memphis and Kansas' first national championship since 1988.[11]