Kansas capitalized on some poor free-throw shooting by Memphis late in the game to grind out a 75-68 overtime victory and seal a first national title in 20 years on Monday.
Memphis (38-2) missed four of five attempts from the foul line in the final 1:15 of regulation before Kansas guard Mario Chalmers nailed a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to send the game into an extra period.
Kansas (37-3) registered the first six points of overtime and was never threatened thereafter.
The Jayhawks were led by sophomore forward Darrell Arthur, who hit nine-of-13 shots from floor to score 20 points along with 10 rebounds.
Chalmers, who finished with 18 points, was named the most outstanding player.
With the Jayhawks trailing by three in regulation with 10 seconds on the clock, Sherron Collins passed to Chalmers at the top of the key and the junior guard calmly sank the shot.
"I got a good look," he told reporters.
"They gave me a good pass. When it left my hand, it felt good and I was just glad it went in."
Junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts had 22 points for Memphis, while his freshman backcourt teammate Derrick Rose finished with 18.
"We made so many plays down the stretch and got the ball into our most clutch player's hands and he delivered," Kansas coach Bill Self said of Chalmers' heroics.
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)