2008 NCAA Tournament

(Newser) - In possibly the biggest celebration in the city's history, a crowd estimated at more than 100,000 lined Lawrence's streets Sunday to honor the national basketball champion Kansas Jayhawks. Fans from as far away as Colorado and Minnesota, some in trees and on rooftops, came to get a glimpse of the team that beat Memphis to win the NCAA championship. More »

(Newser) - Kansas Jayhawks coach Bill Self has a lot of leverage now that he's taken his team to the national championship, but he's being uncharacteristically vague in answering rumors of an obscenely generous job offer from his alma mater Oklahoma State. Joe Posnanski speculates in the Kansas City Star as to why the usually direct Self isn't simply saying "no" to OSU. More »

(Newser) - Pat Summitt's feud with Geno Auriemma won't be settled on the basketball court this year, now that his Huskies are out of the NCAA Women's Tournament. And unless both UConn and Summitt's Lady Vols make it to the Final Four next year, the quarrelling coaches won't be meeting any time soon. Which is just how Summitt wants it, Times columnist Harvey Araton reports. More »

(Newser) - Memphis coach John Calipari had told his team's fans to "Expect good things to happen," and they did. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose knew their Tigers had the chance to snatch the NCAA crown away from Kansas, and for a while it looked like they would. Instead, the Commercial Appeal finds itself writing an elegy to a team that could have. More »

(Newser) - Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to push the game into overtime and the Jayhawk defense shut down Memphis throughout the extra period to clinch the NCAA men's basketball championship, 75-68. "We got the ball in our most clutch player's hands, and he delivered," Kansas coach Bill Self said. It was KU's third national title, reports AP. More »

(Newser) - Luther Vandross's performance of "One Shining Moment" is played at the end of the NCAA finals to make viewers teary-eyed, and the world has songwriter David Barrett to thank, reports the Fayetteville Observer. Barrett wrote the song after attempting to win over a waitress by discussing the greatness of Larry Bird. She was not impressed. More »

(Newser) - The Tennessee Lady Vols are on their way to yet another NCAA national championship game, this time as defending champions. Alexis Hornbuckle made just one basket the entire game, but it couldn’t have come at a better time as she hit the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left on the clock to lift the Lady Vols over the LSU Lady Tigers, 47-46. More »

(Newser) - Stanford is on its way to the women’s national title game after knocking off No. 1 UConn tonight, 82-73. Senior Candice Wiggins had a game-high 25 points and led in rebounds, as well, with 13. Kayla Pederson did her part and tacked on another 17 for the Cardinal. The win is the 23rd in a row for Stanford, reports the AP. More »

(Newser) - Kansas took to the underdog role just fine last night, reports the Kansas City Star . The Jayhawks jumped all over favored North Carolina early, building a 40-12 lead in the first half, and cruised to an 84-66 Final Four win last night. The Jayhawks will face Memphis, which beat UCLA in other semifinal, in the NCAA championship game Monday. Brandon Rush led the Jayhawks with 25 points. More »

(Newser) - Thanks to Joey Dorsey’s domination of the boards and of UCLA’s Kevin Love, Memphis is headed to the NCAA championship game for the first time since 1973, reports the Commercial Appeal . Dorsey had 15 rebounds and held Love to 12 points and nine rebounds as the Tigers beat the Bruins 78-63 last night. Guards Derrick Rose scored 28 points and Chris-Douglas Roberts added 25 for the Tigers. More »

(Newser) - Candice Wiggins scored 41 points as the Stanford Cardinal beat the top-seeded Maryland Terrapins 98-87 to advance to the Women's Final Four for the first time in 11 years. The three-time Pac-10 player of the year went 10-for-22 from the field, including 5-of-11 on 3-pointers, and made 16-of-19 free throw attempts, according to the Associated Press. More »

(Newser) - Texas A&M is headed to its first regional finals after a 77-63 defeat of Duke, despite losing its star after the first half, AP reports. Danielle Gant scored eight points before dehydration sidelined her, and Patrice Reado took up her mantle, scoring 17 in the second half. The Blue Devils' costliest stat: 19 turnovers. The Aggies will next face: More »

(Newser) - Rutgers advanced to the round of eight in the NCAA women's tournament with a 53-42 victory over George Washington, reports AP. Essence Carson scored 25 points to lead the Scarlet Knights and set up a rubber match with Big East rival Connecticut, with whom Rutgers split two games earlier this season. The winner gets a trip to the Final Four. More »

(Newser) - Davidson battled Goliath again and this time Goliath won, as Kansas' big men controlled the middle in a 59-57 victory to advance to Final Four for the first time ever under coach Bill Self. It marked it a clean sweep for the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, another first. Davidson's Stephen Curry scored 25 points but couldn't get off a potential winning shot in the final seconds. More »

(Newser) - No. 1 Connecticut moved within one win of its first Final Four appearance since 2004 with a 78-63 victory over Old Dominion, thanks to rising star Maya Moore, who scored 25 points and set the Big East's freshman season scoring record. The Huskies have won 14 straight since their lone loss on Feb. 5 to Rutgers - their next opponent, reports the Courant . More »

(Newser) - Derrick Rose had 21 points and nine assists, and Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 25 points, as Memphis handled Texas with ease, 85-67, to advance to the Final Four. The third time was a charm for John Calipari and the Tigers as they finally reached the national semifinals after losing in the Elite Eight the past two seasons, the Commercial Appeal reports . More »

(Newser) - The Maryland Terrapins are on their way to the Spokane Regional finals after a decisive 80-66 defeat of Vanderbilt, reports the Washington Post. The top-seeded Terps followed the lead of Crystal Langhorne, who put up 28 points and nine boards and helped keep the Commodores from ever truly threatening a victory. Next up for Maryland is Stanford, who also had a good night: More »

(Newser) - North Carolina reached its second Final Four in four years with an 83-73 win over Louisville last night, reports the Raleigh News & Observer . The Tar Heels, who blew an 11-point lead to lose to Georgetown in last season's Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, had flashbacks in the second half against the Cardinals. UNC led by 12 at halftime only to have the Cardinals fight back to tie at 59. More »