SAN ANTONIO — You knew Memphis wasn’t going to win in overtime Monday. All you had to see was Chris Douglas-Roberts, its leading scorer, drag himself down the court way too late to stop Brandon Rush from rebounding his own miss off the break for a 71-65 Kansas lead in overtime.
Douglas-Roberts led all scorers with 22 points but had nothing left in the end. Memphis coach John Calipari never substituted for him or freshman point guard Derrick Rose in the second half. Six Tigers played at least 24 minutes. Three others made cameos.
Rose was shut out in overtime and Douglas-Roberts scored all five of the team’s OT points in the 75-68 loss for the national title.
“I didn’t do a lot of subbing the last eight minutes,” Calipari said. “I rolled the dice. I thought we’d better get out of here in regulation.”
You couldn’t blame him for keeping in his starters, with Rose scoring 16 points during an eight-minute stretch that produced a 60-51 lead with 2:12 left. But fatigue may have played a role in Douglas-Roberts and Rose missing four straight free throws down the stretch to let Kansas back in.
“I hadn’t played like that all year,” Calipari said. “But we’re playing for the national championship. I said, ‘Let’s get outta here.’ ”
They didn’t get out in time. Without hulking center Joey Dorsey, who fouled out, four different Jayhawks scored inside in overtime.
“It wasn’t the overtime,” Calipari said. “I take full responsibility. When you’re up seven . . . you’re supposed to win that game.”
