San Antonio, TX (Best E Casino) - Darrell Arthur and a sharp-shooting Kansas team has gained a 33-28 lead over Memphis at halftime of the national championship game at the Alamodome.

Memphis was held without a point for close to the final five minutes of the half, and during that time the Jayhawks had the last five points to move into the lead.

Arthur has led the way with 10 points for the Jayhawks, who are shooting close to 52 percent. Chris Douglas-Roberts had 13 points for the Tigers, but Memphis freshman sensation Derrick Rose has been limited to just three points thus far.

The Jayhawks (36-3) have two NCAA crowns to their credit - in 1952 and 1988. Kansas is back in the final for the first time since 2003 when the Jayhawks lost to Syracuse.

Memphis is going after its first men's college basketball NCAA Tournament title. The Tigers (38-1) have already set an NCAA record for most wins in a single season.

The Tigers have made one trip to the championship game and that was a loss to UCLA in 1973. Memphis beat the Bruins, 78-63 on Saturday in the Final Four, while the Jayhawks ran out to a 28-point first-half lead and downed North Carolina, 84-66.

The Tigers dictated the play early. Joey Dorsey, who was held scoreless on Saturday, immediately used a power move to account for the game's first basket. Rose's three-point play expanded Memphis' lead to 9-3.just 3:21 into the contest.

However, Kansas came right back with the next six. Sherron Collins lofted a long lob to Sasha Kaun for an alley-oop jam to get the Jayhawks within 9-7, and Arthur's jumper from the left side tied the score at the 14 1/2 minute mark.

Kansas then went ahead for the first time at 15-13 on a Brandon Rush basket with nearly 11 minutes left. Mario Chalmers followed with a three-pointer a minute later.

Dorsey then broke the string of seven straight Kansas points with a breakaway jam for an 18-15 margin, but Rush's lob to Arthur for a jam moved the KU lead to 22-15.

Douglas-Roberts drilled a three-pointer to give Memphis the lead back at 26-24, capping an 11-2 spurt.

Arthur's hook in the lane fell through for a 33-28 Kansas lead with nearly 1 1/2 minutes to go.

Memphis was able to hold the ball for nearly the final minute thanks to an offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer, but Kansas played spectacular defense with the Tigers unable to get a shot attempt that completed a scrappy opening half of basketball.