The Edge

Coach: Bill Self, five years at school, five years in NCAA Tournament.

How they got here: Automatic bid (Big 12 tournament champions); Midwest first round: def. No. 16 seed Portland State 85-61; Midwest second round: def. No. 8 seed UNLV 75-56; Midwest semifinals: def. No. 12 seed Villanova 72-57; Midwest final: nipped No. 10 seed Davidson 59-57; National semifinals: crushed East No. 1 seed North Carolina 84-66.

They'll win the title if ...: Memphis boasts a bevy of options and lineup choices for John Calipari, but that won't wow the Jayhawks, who are deep and talented. Kansas has seven players averaging more than seven points but none over 13.1 per game. Kansas is capable of disrupting the Tigers with a zone defense. The Jayhawks have enough size and interior depth to cut off penetration from Memphis' Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts and on-ball defenders Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush have the length to make them work to get free. A zone defense also challenges the patience of Calipari's team, which shot 35.1 percent form 3-point range but was prone to extended cold streaks from the outside during the regular season. KU has some familiarity with the strategy of slowing down the 1-2 punch on offense from meetings with rival Texas. But how the Jayhawks respond to the significant pressure they'll face on the perimeter could become KU's key to the game. Memphis won't slow the pace, but it will change defense and make execution in the halfcourt a challenge.

Memorable moment: Darnell Jackson and Rodrick Stewart played against Oklahoma State despite violent deaths of family members in the days leading up to the game. Jackson's cousin died of gunshot wounds, while Stewart's adopted brother and cousin was murdered. Jackson, a starter, responded with a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds). KU finished the regular season with four straight wins, outscoring opponents by an average of 24.5 points.

Mario Chalmers

Go-to guys: No Kansas player scored more than 25 points in a regular-season game but seven players averaged between 7.3 and 13.4. Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers and Darnell Jackson are all candidates to lead the team in scoring on a given night.

Strengths: Athleticism, depth and balance. Kansas has skilled individual players capable of scoring 25, but the offensive system is more likely to yield three 15-point men. Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers are likely to lead the team in scoring. Do-everything wing Brandon Rush stuffs the stat sheet and contributes without taking 15 shots on most nights. KU doesn't start a true center. That doesn't mean the Jayhawks can't deal with size. Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich, who has come on strong since January, give Self the option of attacking teams with great size with this twin-towers approach.

Weaknesses: Rush isn't a prolific scorer, even though he's capable of an explosion if his mid-range shot is falling. But KU has a tendency to go stagnant when the pace slows to a half-court tempo. When Rush is cold, there have been times this season when the Jayhawks stand around and wait for him to create offense. The return of Collins has made the Jayhawks more assertive as a whole, but KU should fret if Rush disappears. Of late -- the NCAA Tournament win over Portland State and in the Big 12 tournament -- Rush has been assertive and the Jayhawks benefit from his confidence. KU relies on a potent perimeter attack and without it, the offense can be stalled. Witness the loss at Oklahoma State, when KU missed 11 of 13 3-point tries. Darrell Arthur has to be guard against being too aggressive on defense. He fouled out in 17 minutes in that OSU loss.

Coach: Jay Wright, seven years at school, four years in NCAA Tournament.

How they got here: At-large berth; Midwest first round: rallied past No. 5 seed Villanova 75-69; Midwest second round: def. No. 13 seed Siena 84-72.

They'll keep winning if: Corey Fisher didn't play like a freshman in the first round and Scottie Reynolds plays nothing like a sophomore. Even when Fisher falters, Corey Stokes is coming on, with double-digit scoring efforts in seven of his last 11 games, including 20 against Siena in the second round. Villanova has played excellent defense of late, including allowing Clemson a paltry 38.3% shooting night in the first round and Siena 35.7%. Over the final nine games of the regular season, the Wildcats held opponents to 28% shooting from beyond the arc. Villanova hasn't faced a team with as many weapons as Kansas, however, so the defense is going to have take it up yet another notch if the Wildcats are to continue their march through the tournament. Against Kansas, coach Jay Wright will encourage 'Nova to make each possession count.

Memorable moment: Villanova's opening-round meeting with Syracuse in the Big East tournament amounted to an elimination game for NCAA Tournament consideration, and the Wildcats left no doubt as to who the more qualified was. After splitting the teams' two regular-season meetings, Villanova rolled past the Orangemen 82-63 to reach the Big East quarterfinals and, as it turns out, seal their spot in the field of 64.

Scottie Reynolds

Go-to guys: If it's a key possession, the ball is going to be in Scottie Reynolds' hands. The sophomore is the clear on-court leader of the young Villanova squad, and leads the team in scoring. Corey Stokes comes off the bench, but when he gets hot from 3-point range he can score from anywhere.

Strengths: Villanova has a lot of weapons in its backcourt, led by sophomore standout Scottie Reynolds. It can rotate a lot of players in the game who can shoot 3-pointers, and seemed to be able to always find the hot hand down the stretch. After struggling with its defense for much of the season, the Wildcats clamped down over the final month to surge into the postseason.

Weaknesses: If Reynolds is out of the game, there's not much leadership or reliable scoring. When he was injured for part of the Georgetown game in the Big East Tournament, the team looked rudderless on the court. There's not much bulk in the paint, so a physical inside opponent creates matchup problems on defense.

From frontcourt to backcourt to depth to style, the two championship game foes are about as evenly matched as two teams can be. So why the slight edge for Kansas? Shooting. Though both teams have played magnificently throughout the tournament, the statline for the season shows the Jayhawks shooting 51 percent to 47 percent for Tigers. From 3-point range the gap widens to 40 percent to 35 percent and from the free-throw line it's 70 percent to 61 percent.