An unprecedented clash of titans gathered at the Men’s Final Four in San Antonio as all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the sport’s most prominent stage for the first time.

Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and North Carolina all were out to prove who would be the one superpower left standing. Anticipation was at a fever pitch as the four teams brought a combined record of 143-9 (.941) to the Alamodome.

When the dust settled, Kansas proved to be the giant among giants by rallying for a 75-68 scintillating overtime victory over Memphis in the championship game April 7.

Mario Chalmers, the most outstanding player of the tournament, tied the game with a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation, and Kansas rode the momentum in the extra session to down Memphis.

The Jayhawks, 37-3, earned their third NCAA men’s basketball title, this one coming on the anniversary of their last championship when now-assistant coach Danny Manning led Kansas to the 1988 crown.

Kansas coach Bill Self, whose team downed North Carolina, 84-66, in the semifinals, felt the final would go down to the wire.

“Memphis played great, and they were very good defensively,” Self said. “They bothered us all night with their length. That’s as good a team, and if we played 10 times it’d probably go five and five. We got fortunate late, but I’m really proud of our guys.”

Kansas trailed, 60-51, with 2:12 left in regulation but was able to take advantage of Memphis miscues down the stretch. Chalmers made the most clutch play by delivering a three-pointer over Memphis freshman Derrick Rose to send the game into overtime.

“I got a good look,” said Chalmers, who finished with 18 points. “They gave me a good pass. When it left my hand, it felt good and I was just glad it went in.”

Memphis, 38-2, set a single-season Division I men’s basketball record for victories in a season and also will take a 104-10 record over the last three seasons as part of its consolation prize.

The defeat was devastating for the Tigers, who were looking for the program’s first NCAA title.

“Ten seconds to go, we’re thinking we’re national champs, and all of a sudden a kid makes a shot and we’re not,” said Memphis coach John Calipari. “Overtime, they kind of beat us down.  I didn’t sub a whole lot, because I was trying to win the game at the end of regulation.”

Memphis reached the final behind the stellar play of Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, who combined for 53 points in the Tigers’ 78-63 semifinal win over UCLA. Rose and Douglas-Roberts finished with 18 and 22 points, respectively, in the championship game, but each had critical misses at the foul line at the end of regulation.

They were both named to the all-tournament team, joining Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur of Kansas.

Semifinals

Memphis 78, UCLA 63

UCLA: Josh Shipp 3-9, 1-3, 2, 9; Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 5-13, 2-2, 13, 12; Kevin Love 4-11, 4-4, 9, 12; Russell Westbrook 10-19, 0-0, 3, 22; Darren Collison 1-9, 0-0, 4, 2; Alfred Aboya 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; James Keefe 0-1, 4-4, 2, 4; Lorenzo Mata-Real 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. Totals: 24-64, 11-13, 36, 63.

Memphis: Robert Dozier 3-7, 0-0, 3, 6; Joey Dorsey 0-3, 0-0, 15, 0; Antonio Anderson 5-11, 0-0, 3, 12; Chris Douglas-Roberts 9-17, 9-11, 4, 28; Derrick Rose 7-16, 11-12, 9, 25; Shawn Taggart 3-7, 0-0, 7, 7; Willie Kemp 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Pierre Niles 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Doneal Mack 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 27-64, 20-23, 43, 78.

Halftime: Memphis 38, UCLA 35. Three-point field goals: UCLA 4-13 (Westbrook 2-3, Shipp 2-6, Collison 0-1, Keefe 0-1); Memphis 4-12 (Anderson 2-5, Taggart 1-2, Douglas-Roberts 1-3, Kemp 0-1, Mack 0-1). Officials: Karl Hess, Curtis Shaw, J.D. Collins.

Kansas 84, North Carolina 66

Kansas: Darrell Arthur 3-9, 0-0, 9, 6; Darnell Jackson 5-6, 2-2, 4, 12; Russell Robinson 2-5, 2-2, 4, 7; Mario Chalmers 5-10, 0-2, 4, 11; Brandon Rush 11-17, 1-2, 7, 25; Conner Teahan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sherron Collins 4-9, 2-2, 4, 11; Jeremy Case 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Tyrell Reed 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sasha Kaun 2-4, 0-0, 0, 4; Cole Aldrich 2-4, 4-4, 7, 8; Matt Kleinmann 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 34-64, 11-14, 42, 84.

North Carolina: Deon Thompson 2-4, 3-4, 4, 7; Tyler Hansbrough 6-13, 5-6, 9, 17; Marcus Ginyard 0-3, 0-0, 3, 0; Ty Lawson 2-8, 4-4, 3, 9; Wayne Ellington 8-21, 1-1, 6, 18; Marc Campbell 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Quentin Thomas 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Will Graves 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Danny Green 6-13, 0-0, 5, 15; J.B. Tanner 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Surry Wood 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jack Wooten 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Alex Stephenson 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Mike Copeland 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 24-67, 13-15, 33, 66.

Halftime: Kansas 44, North Carolina 27. Three-point field goals: Kansas 5-15 (Rush 2-7, Collins 1-1, Chalmers 1-3, Robinson 1-4). North Carolina 5-24 (Green 3-9, Lawson 1-2, Ellington 1-9, Hansbrough 0-1, Graves 0-1, Ginyard 0-2). Officials: Tony Greene, Tom Eades, Verne Harris.

Championship game

Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (ot)

Kansas: Darrell Arthur 9-13, 2-2, 10, 20, Darnell Jackson 3-4, 2-2, 8, 8; Russell Robinson 1-1, 0-0, 4, 2; Mario Chalmers 5-13, 6-6, 3, 18; Brandon Rush 5-9, 2-3, 6, 12; Sherron Collins 4-10, 2-2, 4, 11; Sasha Kaun 2-5, 0-0, 2, 4; Cole Aldrich 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 29-55, 14-15, 39, 75.

Memphis: Robert Dozier 4-11, 2-3, 10, 11; Joey Dorsey 3-3, 0-0, 2, 6; Antonio Anderson 3-9, 1-3, 5, 9; Chris Douglas-Roberts 7-16, 6-9, 1, 22; Derrick Rose 7-17, 3-4, 6, 18; Shawn Taggart 1-5, 0-0, 3, 2; Willie Kemp 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Pierre Niles 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Doneal Mack 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 25-62, 12-19, 28, 68.

Halftime: Kansas 33, Memphis 28; Regulation: Memphis 63, Kansas 63. Three-point field goals: Kansas 3-12 (Chalmers 2-6, Collins 1-4, Rush 0-2); Memphis 6-22 (Douglas-Roberts 2-5, Anderson 2-7, Dozier 1-2, Rose 1-6, Mack 0-1). Officials: Ed Hightower, Ed Corbett, John Cahill. Attendance: 43,257.