Memphis Can Rejoice With Rose-Colored Win

Memphis 85, Texas 67

HOUSTON, March 30 -- Derrick Rose didn't say anything as he strolled softly from the court and toward the Memphis locker room, a piece of net tucked into his backward hat. Rose's eyes darted around, watching his teammates celebrate a watershed victory three years in the making.

Andre Allen had snipped more net off the rim, and his teammates swarmed him for a piece of it. The Tigers danced while the Memphis band blared the hip-hop song "Knuck if you Buck." Senior Joey Dorsey bear-hugged the South Region championship trophy as he walked into the tunnel.

For the past two years, the Tigers listened to similar celebrations from their sullen locker room, one win short of the Final Four. But those teams didn't have Rose, and he delivered the missing piece in top-seeded Memphis's overwhelming 85-67 victory over second-seeded Texas, sending the Tigers to San Antonio for their first national semifinal since 1985.

"How about this basketball team!" Coach John Calipari bellowed after accepting the trophy, and there was little else to say. The Tigers had mowed down every challenge in their path. They validated Calipari's unconventional offense, proved a championship-caliber team could emerge from Conference USA and even made 30 of 36 free throws.

"I keep saying it: I believe in these guys," Calipari said. "They are performing and they want this, but they don't feel like they have to have it. This has been a wonderful year, and we want to win a couple more if we can."

The Tigers (37-1) said all week the experience gained in their failed trips to the region final would provide the difference Sunday. But the more significant improvement in this season's edition of the Tigers is Rose, the 6-foot-3 freshman point guard who plays with ruthless composure and lethal speed. Rose's 21 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds set up a rematch with UCLA, which eliminated Memphis from the region final two years ago.

Rose received help from a cast nearly identical to the team that fell short for two straight years. Junior Chris Douglas-Roberts netted a game-high 25 points, making 14 of 17 free throws. Dorsey grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 11 points, most on violent slams. Shawn Taggart blew up Texas's 2-3 zone defense by scoring 12 points in the lane.

But none of the Tigers dropped jaws or devastated the Longhorns like Rose, who encapsulated his performance with two plays in the first half. Memphis' offensive game plan hinged on exploiting its size advantage in the back court, and on the Tigers' first possession, Rose backed down the Longhorns' 6-foot D.J. Augustin, a first-team all-American. Rose spun and shot over Augustin, setting a fitting tone in a game Memphis led wire-to-wire.

"I was trying to show them my height was going to be a problem," Rose said. "You could tell they were kind of stunned with their facial expressions."

Shortly after his first points, Rose snared a rebound over power forwards and centers on both teams, his eyes level with the rim. Then he zipped down the court, racing past everyone until, in a flash, he found himself laying in the ball.

"He's a super-athlete," former Memphis and NBA guard Penny Hardaway said, standing outside the Tigers' locker room. "He's as good as me. Easily."

The Tigers stormed to a 29-13 lead behind Rose, but Texas (31-7) nearly had Memphis for a moment, and not when a six-point run on each side of halftime cut the Tigers' lead, briefly, to five. The Longhorns' best chance at victory came earlier, and they might not have even realized it.