Ken Davis

SAN ANTONIO - The task at this Final Four may come down to one basic challenge: Can anyone slow down the Memphis Tigers?

The answer rests with the defense.

Memphis feels a bit overlooked in this record-setting field of four No. 1 seeds. UCLA, Kansas and North Carolina enter the Alamodome with 17 national championships and 47 Final Four appearances between them. Memphis, back in the Final Four for the for the first time since 1985, may not be able to match those numbers but the Tigers have the best record (37-1) this season, are averaging over 85 points in tournament play, and have defeated their four NCAA opponents by an average of almost 16 points a game.

Junior guard Antonio Anderson issued a warning of sorts on Friday. If UCLA wants today’s national semifinal game to crawl along, Anderson says to bring it on. Memphis can play any pace the Bruins desire and still survive, he said.

“We were playing against teams all year, outside the conference and inside the conference, who tried to hold the ball against us,” Anderson said. “We still go out and play our game. We try to pressure the ball on defense and don't let them set up their plays. We try to get into their clock on offense so that when we get the ball, we're gone. That's how coach wants us to play and that's how we've been doing it.”

Memphis coach John Calipari must have been thrilled to hear his defensive stopper talking that way. Calipari’s new dribble-drive motion offense has attracted a lot of publicity this season, but the defense remains the foundation of the Memphis program. Calipari stresses it above all else and screams from the bench until he gets what he wants.

Michigan State tried to slow it down by running set offensive plays in the halfcourt. Memphis won 92-74. The talented Texas backcourt of D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams missed 24 of the 34 shots they took against the Tigers. Memphis won 85-67.

Aggressive. Tough. Impenetrable. That’s the type of defense Calipari demands.

The Tigers aren’t alone at this Final Four. Defense will be a common theme this weekend along the San Antonio Riverwalk. The team that sticks closest to its defensive principles could walk away with the trophy Monday night.

In this One-And-Done Age of college basketball, the common perception is that players don’t want to defend. Give them a ball, show them the 3-point line and watch them arrange their own shooting contests. Run a set offense? Forget about it. Play 35 seconds of tough defense? Give me a break.

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But Memphis, Kansas and UCLA break that mold, and North Carolina coach Roy Williams has implored his team to play better defense all season long. The Tar Heels have gotten the hang of things lately.

With so many players focused on their offensive skills and intent on impressing the NBA scouts with their dunking and scoring ability, how do these Final Four coaches get their players to defend?

Kansas coach Bill Self says it’s no big deal.

“To me, it hasn’t been as hard as what outside people would think it would be,” Self said. “It’s lot easier to teach guys how to guard than it is how to score. Players want to shoot the ball. They want to play fast. They want to do a lot of things. But you know what they really want more than anything else? They want to win.

“I really believe that in my heart. The kids who care, and obviously all the players do, they want to win. It’s a known fact that guarding gives you the best chance to do that. I don’t think it’s near as hard as what a lot of people think it is, if in fact that’s what you demand.”

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