11:23 44 seconds for a champion, and until we hear Nantz’s proclamation. My money’s on “These Tigers have earned their stripes!” if Memphis holds on.

11:06 Yea, this game is pretty good. And so is Derrick Rose. He’s taking over the second half, and Kansas doesn’t know who to go to when they need to score. That’s their biggest weakness…and it’s haunting them at the worst time.

10:39 So the worst thing for a LiveBlog is a really good game. Expect more sporadic updates this half. It’s 2-1 on alley-oops in favor of the Jayhawks, and Roy Williams looks like he’s priming for the Kansas job once it’s vacated by Bill Self.

10:10 Do you think the UPS Whiteboard guy feels betrayed that they added computer animation to those commercials?

And Derrick Rose? Good call, Tim. Chalk this one up to one of my trademark poor first impressions.

At halftime, Douglas-Roberts is the best player on the floor, but it’s like he’s going one-on-five right now. Kansas is hitting shots, but the turnovers have left the door open for Memphis. I think Rose starts doing something in the second half.

10:00 Dorsey had some hideous body language when he didn’t get a pair of calls. He’s just tired. The officials have done a pretty good job so far, letting them play for the most part and not making any ludicrous block/charge calls (of course, the opportunity for one has yet to present itself).

CDR is taking over for Memphis from Taggart, which is a brilliant coaching move by John Calipari (whom I still resent for feuding with Stephon Marbury while with the Nets…how can you not get along with Marbury? [And seriously, if there's any coach that can get along with Marbury, it's probably Calipari].)

9:51 The wrong people are taking the shots for Memphis right now, and “wrong people” is code for Shawn Taggart. The Tigers are settling for jump shots instead of penetrating, and they haven’t been able to hit shots (like someone studiously predicted). It took each team about 10 minutes to hit their first 3-pointers, and now they’re both heating up.

“No one’s gonna mess with that.” Yea, Joey Dorsey is like Ray Lewis on a basketball court…only scarier.

Kansas 2, Memphis 0 in alley-oops, although the number of turnovers by the Jayhawks is still disconcerting.

9:40 Other plotlines tonight include:

Which team throws more alley-oops? Over/under for the game is 8, and Kansas currently leads 1-0.

Which player boosts his draft status the most? (We know Rose will probably be the No. 2 pick, but CDR, Rush, and Darrell Arthur can hop into the lottery with a strong performance.

Which team wusses out and goes zone first?

9:30 Memphis is off to a quick start with four different guys scoring. Kansas has been sloppy with the ball, which doesn’t bode well long-term. And if I had money on Memphis in this game, I really like the way Derrick Rose looks early.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have already set two records: 1) most wins in a season with 38  2) ugliest uniforms ever worn in the title game (breaking a record previously held by the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats).

9:18 Jim Nantz does the starting lineups? Isn’t Ray Clay available?

Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers are only 6-foot-1? Glad I went with Memphis. The only guard to give the Tigers trouble in this Tournament is Mississippi State’s Jamon Gordon, who’s like 6-foot-4, 280 pounds.

The biggest question of the night: what will Nantz say when each team wins? My choices:

MEMPHIS: “Memphis is looking through Rose-colored glasses! The Tigers take the title!”

KANSAS: “Twenty years after their last title, the Jayhawks have a championship to their Self! Kansas captures the crown!”

9:08 When do they film the intro and these “We Are” snippets? Do they do it for all Final Four teams before the semis? Or is it in-between games? Can’t we get Armen Keteyian on this? (Whatever happened to Armen? We should get Armen Keteyian on his mysterious disappearance from the CBS sidelines.) My guess is that they film them during the week before the semis because Derrick Rose was in it for Memphis [insert Gummi Bears joke].

What Bill Self forgot to say during his pregame speech in-between “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain”: “Me personally? Tonight doesn’t matter. I got $10 million waiting for me at Oklahoma State. So, you know, try hard, and I’ll see you on the other sideline next year.”

Seth and Clark both pick Memphis? Way to go out on a limb, guys. So typical.