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Well, today marks the beginning of the Spring Signing Period, and many fans are awaiting the decision of guard Tyreke Evans. The explosive prerimeter player is said to be leaning in the direction of Memphis, and that's who I'd expect him to sign with due to the departure of Derrick Rose. But the school with the most going on in recent days has to be Marist, who will any day be gaining a head coach, but they've already lost two players.

- Memphis assistant Jose "Chucky" Martin to be named Marist head coach.

We're only one day beyond the 2008 National Championship Game.. but its never too early to start thinking about next year's Tournament. Here's an early projection of the 2009 NCAA Tournament field:

Well, it's all over and the Kansas Jayhawks are the national champions, defeating Memphis 75-68 in overtime. And the miraculous end to regulation couldn't have been more fitting, coming twenty years after "Danny and the Miracles" won KU's last national crown.

Mario Chalmers, named MOP of the Tournament, nailed a game-tying three pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining. The shot had the effect of a sharp right cross on the Tigers, who even though they staggered around to stay alive in the extra session had the wind knocked out of them by that shot.

We're halfway to knowing who our national champion will be, and Kansas heads into the break with a five-point lead after scoring the half's final five points. Sherron Collins, thought by some to be headed to a fate similar to that experienced by other undersized guards who have encountered Memphis in the Tournament, has been a spark on both ends of the floor. For Memphis, Derrick Rose needs to be much more assertive on offense. One made field goal, and he's giving up his dribble much too quickly thus far.

Well.. I missed most of the game tonight (damn work got in the way!). I listened to a chunk of the last 8 minutes in the car on the radio. I about gave up when Memphis was up 9 and seemed poised. And yet... Did the missed free throws contribute? Of course. What about the point taken away from Memphis? Probably will be talked about. You have to admire the guts of the Jayhawks. Was it a Memphis choke or a Kansas rally?

Well, we certainly didn't expect this. Kansas, thanks to an 18-0 run in which Carolina went 9:03 without a field goal, raced out to a 40-12 lead before the Heels used a 15-4 run to close within 44-27 at the half. Here are a few observations in regards to the first half.

1. North Carolina has not seen a team this good on the defensive end of the floor.

Once Memphis took the lead after 5 minutes.. they never looked back, rolling to a 78-63 win over UCLA.

With one half in the books, here are a few observations on the action.

1. UCLA does not have a defensive answer for Derrick Rose.

While it was CDR who got off to the hot start early on (4-4, 10 pts early; 13 total), he eventually cooled off thanks to the defense of Russell Westbrook. But Darren Collison hasn't had as much success in dealing with Rose (11 points), who has made his way to the rim whenever he wanted to in the first stanza. If the Bruins are to win this game, this has to change.

Wow...Memphis. I had a bad feeling as early as about six or seven minutes in. UCLA seemed out of sync after a couple of minutes. Memphis set an NCAA record for wins in a season with their 38th today. I wonder if UCLA set a record with three consecutive Final Fours without a championship?

Check out this song; maybe this could be the theme song for Memphis: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S43IFW/ref=dm_dp_trk8

For college basketball junkies, this weekend is the final fling in what has been a very exciting basketball season. Not since the NCAA started seeding close to thirty years ago, and certainly not since there was the expansion to 64 teams nearly twenty-five years ago, have we seen four #1 seeded teams in the Final Four. Is this the best Final Four ever?