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“It will probably hit me like a ton of bricks tomorrow, that we had it in our grasp.”-Memphis coach John Calipari 

It’s been a few hours and I’m still not believing what I saw with my own eyes. There was John Calipari’s 38-win Memphis Tigers a couple of minutes away from the school’s first ever national championship. They led Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks by nine with 2:12 left.

Then came one of the worst final couple of minutes you’ll ever witness from a No.1 seed which had looked invincible to that point. For most of the night, freshman sensation Derrick Rose had been kept in check but when he went off for 15 of his 18 including what looked like a dagger in a fadeaway jumper (replays helped change it to a two), the Jayhawks surely were done.

Apparently, somebody forgot to tell Mario Chalmers. Instead of the Tigers icing the game, Rose and teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts misfired on five of six free throws to open the door for a miraculous comeback.

Following one of two at the line by Rose and 10.8 seconds left with no timeouts, Kansas guard Sherron Collins hustled the ball up court and then handed it to a cutting Chalmers, who stepped into a desperation three. Even with Rose’s hands extended, the clutch shot hit nothing but the bottom of the net to tie the game at 63 with 2.1 seconds left.

“I had a good look at it,” the Final Four Most Outstanding Player later indicated after finishing with 18 including the memorable shot which gave Kansas their first national title in 20 years when current assistant Danny Manning led them to an upset of Oklahoma.

“When it left my hands it felt like it was good, and it just went in.”

“Ten seconds to go, we’re thinking we’re national champs, all of a sudden a kid makes a shot and we’re not,” a very disappointed Calipari said after watching his team give up the first six points in overtime losing the title it should’ve won 75-68 instead.

“We got the ball in our most clutch player’s hands, and he delivered,” a still floored Self said.

It was the first national championship men’s Div.I basketball game which required OT in 11 years when Arizona got the better of Kentucky 84-79 for all the marbles.

Truth be told, Kansas controlled much of the action dominating the paint with Darrell Arthur netting 20 points and 10 rebounds. They controlled the pace slowing down the Tigers with Collins blanketing Rose most of the night. When the Jayhawks led by five, it seemed like they’d march on without a problem but then Rose got hot scoring 14 of 16 to ignite a Memphis run which saw a 14-point swing.

Even after a rare Kansas trey sliced the deficit to three, the Tigers still looked like they’d win their record 39th game of the season against only a close home loss to Tennessee when they were ranked No.1. They even got a couple of key offensive rebounds to extend possessions. However, all season Memphis’ wasn’t the best free throw shooting team finishing 59 percent.

Calipari always told doubters his team would hit them when it counted most. During their run to a second championship game, they’d stepped up. This time, Douglas-Roberts and Rose cracked under the pressure.

For much of the night, Douglas-Roberts had picked up the scoring slack when running mate Rose struggled, pacing the Tigers with 22. He usually is pretty cool at the charity stripe. If not for three misses late, he would’ve been a flawless six-for-six.

The missed free throws added up this time as Memphis clanged seven of 19. At least six came in the second half. So, they definitely left the jar open while their opponents converted an efficient 14-of-15.

It allowed Kansas to stay afloat. Self’s team never gave up and did what they had to do scoring quickly while fouling and watching the Tigers choke away the championship in historic fashion.

This was like watching the Knicks get done in by Reggie Miller that time when he scored nine points in a row to Spike Lee’s dismay.

When Chalmers lined up that three even with stellar D played by Rose, I knew Memphis was done. Especially when Roger Dozier’s desperation heave was way off. Besides, their one physical player Joey Dorsey had fouled out. He might not have done much but his presence was sorely missed in OT when the Jayhawks got essentially dunks and lay-ups including one from a gutsy Brandon Rush, who also played tenacious D on Douglas-Roberts.

By then, the Tigers were a beaten up team both mentally and physically probably replaying in their heads those missed free throws.

How did they let this one get away? Especially after Rose sprung to life and took over the game finishing with 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds. He earned every single one against a solid defensive team which played him extremely tough doubling sometimes.

To Calipari’s credit, he took the blame afterwards. There was no excuse for letting it slip away. Ultimately though, if his best players had knocked down their shots from 15 feet out uncontested, the former UMass coach would be a championship coach instead of a goat.

It’s a bitter pill. Sports can be heartbreaking sometimes. Especially when you have it within your grasp and then collapse a la the 2004 Yankees and last year’s Mets. But it’s even tougher when you’re that close to winning a championship.

I still can’t fully grasp what happened last night in San Antonio. Just imagine how Calipari and his players feel.

The winning coach summed up the improbable 1986 Mets-like Game Six victory perfectly:

“It’ll probably be the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history.”

The special kind which shall be remembered for a long time by college basketball fans.