March Madness: 10 shining moments from historic Final Fours

March Madness: 10 shining moments in Final Four history

Michigan State guard Earvin Johnson and Indiana State forward Larry Bird answer questions for reporters during a press conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tomorrow, the two players will face off when their teams meet in the NCAA Final Four Championship, a game many feel will be a classic matchup of two collegiate superstars. /

6 of 11

07 APR 2008: Mario Chalmers (15) of the University of Kansas hits a three point basket to send the game into overtime during the Division I Men’s Final Four Basketball Championship Game held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Kansas defeated Memphis 75-68 to claim the championship title. Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images /

6. Mario Chalmers saves the Jayhawks in 2008

The 2008 NCAA Tournament was a strange one for college basketball fans. After the previous edition of March Madness was turned upside down by upsets, resulting in no No. 1 seeds reaching the Final Four for the first time, the bracket was heavy with chalk.

All four top seeds reached the Final Four for the (to date) only time in history, setting up an epic clash between Kansas and Memphis in the championship game. John Calipari’s Tigers had a loaded roster headlined by future NBA MVP Derrick Rose, and they ran roughshod over Conference USA, going 33-1 to earn the top seed in the South Region.

The Jayhawks had put up a dominant year in the Big 12 to earn their top seed, but their road to the Final Four wasn’t quite as smooth, with Kansas needing to outlast a Stephen Curry-led Davidson team to get to San Antonio. The two Final Four matchups were blowouts, setting up an elite showdown at the Alamodome for all the marbles.

The Tigers built a big nine-point lead with 2:12 left, but Kansas started fouling them early and often to take advantage of Memphis’ poor free throw shooting. That left the Jayhawks down three with seconds to go before point guard Mario Chalmers drilled a three as time expired to tie the game.

The overtime period was all Kansas as they outscored Memphis 12-5 to claim their first national championship in 20 years. The year would go down in infamy for Memphis, which had to vacate all its wins due to eligibility violations involving Rose, but the memory of that collapse is more haunting for Tigers fans.