Memphis will take its lumps with better days in past, future

ST. LOUIS -- Josh Pastner was in Scottsdale, Ariz., still an assistant for the Arizona Wildcats, when he watched Robert Dozier sink two free throws to give Memphis a nine-point lead over Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks with two minutes remaining in the 2008 NCAA tournament title game. If you're wondering, yes, Pastner thought exactly what you thought, and then some.

"I thought Memphis had won it," Pastner said. "And I thought Coach Self was going to Oklahoma State."

Um, no.

A turnover here, a missed free throw there and before anybody really grasped what was happening, Mario Chalmers was launching a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that would change not only that game and that season, but two programs forever. If Chalmers misses, there's at least a decent chance Self would've returned to his alma mater to escape what might've been endless questions from the Kansas faithful. And it's reasonable to think John Calipari might've remained at Memphis and tried to stack championships at an unlikely campus, or at least been more hesitant to ruin his legacy at Memphis by bolting for Rupp Arena.

(Another thing to consider: Would the NCAA have pursued the Derrick Rose/SAT matter if Memphis won? Remember, a national championship has never been stripped in men's basketball. So I'm not certain the NCAA would've come down so hard on Memphis if the Tigers were national champions.)

Either way, none of that matters now (although it is fun to think about) because Chalmers' shot fell through, Kansas won in overtime, Self signed an extension and immediately got to rebuilding his roster in a way that has the Jayhawks favored to win a second championship in three years. Meantime, Memphis is on probation, being led by a first-year coach (Pastner) and trying to recover from Calipari's move to Kentucky or, more specifically, the loss of a recruiting class that would've likely featured John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Darnell Dodson and Xavier Henry.

Had that class materialized, Tuesday night's game here at the Scottrade Center would be No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 2 Memphis or No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 2 Kansas. Instead, it's No. 1 Kansas vs. unranked Memphis, and Henry -- who a year ago this week committed to the Tigers -- will actually be playing for the Jayhawks.

He scored 27 points in his college debut.

DraftExpress.com projects him as a first-round pick.

Just like Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor.

"Kansas is the 31st NBA team with all the pros they've got," Pastner said. "They're loaded. But we'll compete and give it our best shot."

Kansas fans will love the flashbacks to 2008. Memphis faithful? Not so much. (Getty Images)

With just eight scholarship players, it should be noted.

So the Tigers might give it their best shot.

But they don't have many bullets.

Yes, Pastner has secured what is widely considered to be the nation's top 2010 recruiting class featuring four prospects ranked in the top 35 at MaxPreps.com -- No. 3 Will Barton, No. 11 Joe Jackson, No. 16 Jelan Kendrick and No. 35 Tarik Black -- but it won't help in this game. Come Tuesday night, Pastner will have a numbers problem and a talent problem. The arena being filled predominantly with Kansas fans won't help, either.

"To play in front of a full house in St. Louis is going to be great for our fans and program," Self said.

He's right, because this should be a special situation for Kansas. It's an excuse for its fans to reminisce about their last win against Memphis, a reason for ESPN to show the famous "Chalmers for the tie ..." clip over and over again.

For KU supporters, this is great. But Memphis fans will experience it from the other end of the spectrum. They'll tire of the Chalmers clip, cringe at the sight of their former signee (Henry) slashing to the basket and likely be reduced to reminding themselves that better days are coming because that recruiting class set to enroll next year really is special.

The line: Kansas, minus-13.

So barring a huge surprise, Tuesday won't end well for Pastner; he will probably go to sleep, assuming he sleeps at all, 1-1 as a head coach.

The good news? It seems unlikely the Tigers will blow another nine-point lead in the final two minutes because it seems improbable that the Tigers could take a nine-point lead into the final two minutes. There's solace in that, right?

"Forget about the last two minutes of the game," Pastner said with a laugh. "Let's just get to the first media timeout and see where we're at."