Tigers Come Up Just Short in Championship Game

SAN ANTONIO --- It was just not meant to be.

Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hit a 3-point field goal with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, and the Jayhawks scored the first six points of the extra period to claim a 75-68 victory over the University of Memphis in the NCAA title game Monday night at the Alamodome.

“Devastating,” said Tiger fan Rose Wahlberg, one of many U of M supporters who sat in the stands long after the loss. “I can’t put it into words. It came down to mere seconds.”

Mere seconds it was. With 2:12 left in the contest, Memphis had built a 60-51 cushion and looked to be on cruise control. But the U of M found a bump in the road in the form of four missed free throws down the stretch to allow the Jayhawks to sneak back into the contest.

“It came back to bite us,” Chris Douglas-Roberts said of the misfires.

Super freshman Derrick Rose had scored 10 straight Memphis points to take the Tigers from a 47-46 deficit to a 56-51 lead with 4:14 left. A turnaround jumper by Shawn Taggart and two free throws by Robert Dozier put Memphis up 60-51. A few Jayhawk fans even headed for the exits, but who would have blamed them? But then it slipped away in a most stunning fashion.

“When he (Chalmers) hit the 3, I dropped to my knees. I just knew we were about to cut down the nets,” said senior center Joey Dorsey of the bucket that forced overtime.

Memphis, which was led by Douglas-Roberts 22 points and Rose’s 18, finishes one of the finer seasons in college basketball history despite the loss. But much like the New England Patriots’ remarkable run that ended in defeat at the Super Bowl, Memphis couldn’t add the icing on the cake. The Tigers’ 38 victories are the most-ever recorded in one season by a team.

U of M alumnus David Merritt (’73) said the loss shouldn’t take away from the team’s accomplishments.

“We still have the best record for most wins in a season,” said Merritt, standing on a street corner in the shadow of the Alamodome,  “This is the best we’ve done in school history. We have had a phenomenal season.”

Merritt had “piled into a van at 4 a.m.” to make the trip to San Antonio early Monday. 

Merritt’s wife, Carole, remained upbeat after the loss.

“We’ll be back,” she said. “That’s a promise.”

Odds and Ends

Most Tiger fans won’t be resting comfortably after the loss, but some might find a good night’s sleep even harder to come by. U of M alumnus Mike O’Kelly (’03) had a free bedroom suite riding on the win courtesy of a local furniture store promotion that promised free furniture if the Tigers won the national championship. But even O’Kelly’s lucky Memphis tie, which he wore all day Monday at his job as publications coordinator at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, didn’t have enough mojo to pull out the win.

T.J. (’68) and Diane Donnelly of Dallas got an unexpected 40th wedding anniversary present Sunday.

“We were at our anniversary dinner and our daughter gave us an envelope,” said T.J. “It had a note inside that said we are going to the Final Four. Our daughter had purchased tickets for us as a present. It came as a complete surprise.”

Donnelly, who has lived in Dallas since 1980, is also a football season ticket-holder, flying in from Dallas for all Tiger home games.

Fans across the country and the world watched the championship game. U of M graduate Adam Didyk, a former star distance runner on the Tigers’ cross country and track teams, cheered the Tigers on from Australia. “If we win, I just want someone to send me a championship t-shirt,” said Didyk, who resides in Adelaide. 

Jim (‘55) and Betty Clayton said the hardest part of Monday was “having to wait all day for tip-off.” Jim played on the Tigers’ basketball team during the 1951-52 season. He has had season tickets for 40 years, “since we moved to the Coliseum,” he said.

Monday’s pre-game pep rally, hosted by the U of M Alumni Association, drew approximately 3,000 fans, including U of M President Shirley Raines and U of M Provost Ralph Faudree.