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Coach Bill Self told his Kansas Jayhawks before the game to have as much fun playing the game as he was having coaching them.

Perhaps the most important thing for Kansas was to establish its inside game, and the KU bigs did exactly that. Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson combined to score 11 of the first 13 points by the Jayhawks. The other basket came on a fastbreak dunk by Rush that was initiated by Arthur’s emphatic block of a Hansbrough shot. The big men also clogged the lane defensively, preventing Ty Lawson from getting his usual penetration.

Williams, who was booed by Kansas fans who haven’t forgiven him for leaving, said he apologized to his team if playing his former employer served as a distraction of any type. Self said that had nothing to do with the outcome.

“I really believe that if you’re in the eye of the storm, you don’t know what’s going on around you,” Self said. “Our players don’t know how our fans feel, to the extent that they feel. That was not motivation for our guys. The motivation was playing against the No. 1 seed and playing against an unbelievable program. In order to be the best, you’ve got to beat programs like Carolina.”

And now, to become national champions, the Jayhawks must win Monday night against a Memphis team that seems to get better with each outing. Saturday’s semifinals might not have lived up to expectations, but it’s clear the two teams playing the best have made it to the title bout.

“Memphis is going to be a tough team to beat Monday night,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland, who lost for a third consecutive season in the Final Four.

The Tigers led 38-35 at halftime, but it felt as if UCLA was trailing by 10 or more. Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, who finished with 25 points, four assists and one turnover in 37 minutes, controlled the pace of the game. His backcourt mate, Chris Douglas-Roberts, scored 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting. And forward Joey Dorsey was a beast in the paint. Dorsey didn’t score a point and only took three shots, but his 15-rebound performance was a statement of power and experience against UCLA freshman Kevin Love.

“The reality is I’ve got a good team,” Memphis coach John Calipari said.

The Tigers want everyone to know that. It wasn’t enough that they played well. They had to pat themselves on the back.

“Going into the game, we knew that we was going to win. Ain’t too much to say,” Rose said. “We’re just a great team.”

Asked if UCLA made a mistake trying to run with the Tigers, Douglas-Roberts said, “ A lot of teams come out and tend to run with us because they can’t prepare for our athleticism in practice. And our depth helps us out a lot because we can bring three or four off the bench, and they’re running, too.”

Calipari interrupted his star guard at that point and tried to bring some humility to the press conference.

“I think there are a couple of teams left that can do that,” Calipari said, speaking before Kansas dispatched the Tar Heels.

Kansas made believers out of North Carolina. Now there’s only one other opponent left to convince.

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