SAN ANTONIO -- If Derrick Rose doesn't miss a free throw with 10.8 seconds left in regulation or if Chris Douglas-Roberts doesn't miss two with 16.8 seconds to go, John Calipari is the king of college basketball. As it is, Calipari must live the rest of his life with Memphis' stunning 75-68 overtime loss to Kansas last night in the national championship game at the Alamodome.

"I'm still kind of numb," Calipari said. "It probably will hit me like a ton of bricks tomorrow that we had it in our grasp."

If Kansas guard Mario Chalmers doesn't make a 3-point shot at the end of regulation to force overtime, Bill Self maybe isn't the new, hottest coach in the game. As it is, he could be leaving Kansas this week and riding T. Boone Pickens' gravy train to his alma mater, Oklahoma State.

"I'm a little overwhelmed right now," Self said. "I don't know if any coach deserves what happened to me tonight."

I'm thinking both coaches are going to be conflicted for wildly divergent reasons in the days ahead.

This was Calipari's best chance to win a title, probably his last chance at Memphis if Rose and Douglas-Roberts leave this summer for NBA riches, as expected. The Tigers blew a 60-51 lead with two minutes left in regulation.

I thought I had seen it all when Pitt came from nine down to beat Syracuse late this season.

This finish trumped that tenfold because of the stakes.

"I thought we won the national championship," Calipari said, shrugging.

"I'll do some soul-searching after this one. When you have the kind of lead that we did, you're supposed to win the game. To see our kids suffering like this, it's devastating for them. I wish I could have done one more thing to have helped them get over the hump."

The end of regulation had to have brought back horrible memories for Calipari. In 1988, he was an assistant to Paul Evans at Pitt when the Panthers didn't foul Vanderbilt's Barry Goheen at the end of regulation, allowing Goheen to throw down a tying 3-point shot that gave Vanderbilt the chance to win in overtime. This time, Memphis didn't foul Chalmers.

"We were going to foul, but they ran away from us," Calipari said. "We pushed Sherron Collins to the ground, but we didn't foul him hard enough. We definitely wanted to foul."

Wouldn't you know that Chalmers made what Self called "maybe the biggest shot in Kansas history?"

An overtime later, the Jayhawks made Self a champion.

Memo to Pickens:

You might have to dig a little deeper to get Self to your beloved Oklahoma State.

His price went way, way up after this win.

His coaching on this night was extraordinary -- not just because of the fabulous comeback, but because it came amid widespread speculation that he could be going back to Oklahoma State, where he played and received two degrees and coached as an assistant.

Clearly, Self didn't allow that to be distraction for him or his players.

"My focus is here and now," Self said before the title game.

Give Self credit: He proved that was more than just cheap words.

Not that you'll ever see his name and cheap in the same sentence again.

You might wonder why Self would consider leaving Kansas -- one of the all-time great basketball schools -- for Oklahoma State. I could give you a bunch of nonsense about his ties to Oklahoma State and how he's from Edmond, Okla. Or I could lay it on about how he has never been thrilled about the constant scrutiny at Kansas, where anything less than a Final Four appearance is considered a failure and NCAA first-round tournament exits after losses to Bucknell and Bradley, as Self's Kansas teams endured in '05 and '06, are inexcusable and nearly grounds for dismissal.

But let's be real.

This will be all about Boone's money.

According to the reports in Oklahoma, the Texas oil billionaire and Oklahoma State graduate is prepared to foot the bill for a $6 million signing bonus for Self, who also would make $3.5 million a year.

Preposterous, you say?

Boone donated $20 million to Oklahoma State in 2003 and $165 million in 2006.

What's another $6 million for a basketball coach that he really, really wants?

Boone has the dough to make Self an offer he can't refuse.

I'm guessing Self will have a big decision to make this week.

They can't be too mad at him in Kansas if he leaves.

He gave 'em a precious national championship, didn't he?

Calipari's national championship, you might say.