Final 4 Are Top 4, a First

The commercial advertising Michael Jordan’s line of shoes and apparel, which has been playing in an endless loop during this NCAA tournament, had it right all along: There are no Cinderellas.After two weeks of madness, no liberal arts colleges offering free bus rides and hotel rooms to their students remain. All teams with the same names as the sons of your yuppie friends are gone. For the first time since the start of the 64-team field, we have an all-chalk tournament, with all four no. 1 seeds remaining: Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA, and Memphis.In the Final Four, don’t underestimate the Jayhawks because they had to go to the buzzer to knock off 10th-seed Davidson yesterday. The Wildcats were a very good team, and Kansas showed once again they can gut out close wins with big stops. Kansas may be the only team in the country with more talent than the Tar Heels. The Jayhawks are also the no. 3 defensive team in the nation (according to kenpom.com), with the depth up front to limit Tyler Hansbrough’s contributions and turn the Heels into a jump-shooting team. Carolina will get some fast break chances, and Hansbrough’s never going to get shut down completely. Still, the Heels won’t have an answer for the combination of Kansas’s defense and its legion of top players — Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson, Sherron Collins, and Sasha Kaun.On the other side of the bracket, look for UCLA to take Memphis out of its usual up-tempo attack and prevail. Darren Collison gives up a few inches to Derrick Rose, but he’s also one of the rare players who’s quick enough and smart enough to take the potential no. 1 overall NBA draft pick out of his game, preventing drives to the hoop. Kevin Love’s versatility as a scorer, rebounder, passer, and shot blocker will be huge in this game too. Joey Dorsey’s been much improved in the tournament, finally living up to his talent. But Love’s crafty enough to get Dorsey in foul trouble, which will hurt the Tigers. A now healthy Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and a surging Russell Westbrook (17 points, three steals. And tons of energy against Xavier) give the Bruins the balance they need to complement Love and Collison. Two X-factors to watch for: Can the Bruins neutralize swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, whether by matching Westbrook against him or in a zone? And can Josh Shipp regain his lost shooting touch? If the answers to those two questions are no, Memphis should prevail. As is, look for one of those variables to go in UCLA’s favor, giving the Bruins just enough to play for the big prize.However, picking against Memphis in the semifinals might prove to be a mistake after what the Tigers did to an athletic and able Texas team yesterday. The Tigers dominated the Longhorns physically, rolling to an 85–67 win. Rose was nearly unstoppable. In one sequence, he jumped a foot above the rim to pull a rebound out of midair; then he raced the length of the court, attacked the rim, and scored on a lay-in. All told, his performance was nearly flawless: 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, six rebounds, nine assists, and just two turnovers, despite constantly handling the ball. Douglas-Roberts added 25 (14 for 17 from the free throw line).Texas floor leader D.J. Augustin underscored the Longhorns’ frustrations, shooting a miserable 4-for-18 from the field. Kansas dispatched upstart Davidson, though just barely. The Wildcats’ defense did a number on Kansas’s big scorers, frustrating them into contested shots a bit beyond their comfort zone for most of the game. On the flip side, Davidson came into yesterday’s game riding red-hot shooting by Stephen Curry and, more broadly, a motion offense that sprang an array of scorers open for good shots. But the Jayhawks’ defense clamped down on Davidson all game. Curry still scored 25 points, but he needed 25 shots and a ton of effort to do it, with Kansas forcing the ball out of his hands in the final, deciding possession.On offense, Kansas found a different top performer for the fourth straight game. Against Portland State, Arthur took over inside, scoring 17 points while going 8-for-10 from the field. Chalmers’s 17 points led Kansas in their second-round blowout of UNLV, while Robinson’s 13 points in the first eight-plus minutes of their tilt with Villanova sent the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight. Against Davidson, Kaun did the damage, scoring 13 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in just 20 minutes, as Kansas eked out a 59–57 win.UCLA was the first team to punch its ticket to the Final Four, and the Bruins did so in impressive fashion. Facing a Xavier team loaded with talent, depth, and experience, the Bruins relied on the two strengths that set them apart from nearly any other team still dancing in this tournament: Love, and a choke-hold defense. Xavier threw several defenders at Love, only to have UCLA’s big freshman pin opponents under the hoop, score inside, and lead the Bruins to a 76–57 win. All told, he counted 19 points to go with 10 rebounds and his usual array of dazzling outlet passes. While the Bruins shot an efficient 54% from the field, they held Xavier to just 36%, a typical performance for their stellar defense. Drew Lavender, the 5-foot-7-inch point guard who normally triggers the Musketeers’ offense, was completely shut down, held to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting. Fellow senior Josh Duncan, the team’s leading scorer this season, managed 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Love and Mbah a Moute (a huge contributor with 13 points and 13 rebounds) dominated the boards, and that was that for Xavier.Carolina relied on its own star big man in its 83–73 victory over Louisville. Hansbrough potted 28 points (12 of 17 from the field) and snared 13 rebounds in a showcase performance. He made his usual share of twisting halfhooks, put-backs, and muscle-up lay-ins. But the eye-opener was Hansbrough’s outside shooting, as the Player of the Year frontrunner took his man outside and drained an array of 17-footers in the second half. The Tar Heels showed resilience in this one. After building a 12-point lead, Carolina watched Louisville nail a string of three-pointers and other hoops, tying the game with just over 10 minutes left. Hansbrough scored seven straight points from there (11 of their next 16) in putting the Heels back in front for good.Mr. Keri (jonahkeri@gmail.com) is a writer for ESPN.com’s Page 2.

Final 4 Are Top 4, a First

Final 4 Are Top 4, a First

More from the New York Sun

A Return Ticket to New Jersey’s Cape May

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice

More from the New York Sun

A Return Ticket to New Jersey’s Cape May

Hunt Resumes for Missing Salvadoreans in Haiti After Identities of Returned Bodies Are Unconfirmed

Privilege Meets Its Reckoning in ‘Aftermath’

Netanyahu Attempts To Douse Crypto Firestorm

Trump Denies Plan To Bring Back White House Swimming Pool Amid Raging Press Access Battle

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

The Hunger for Hope and a Positive Future

Sinatra Sang Bacharach — but Only Twice