SAN ANTONIO — When Memphis played UCLA in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, the Tigers scored 45 points in one of the ugliest regional finals in recent memory.

Yesterday, the Tigers' two best players combined for 53 points and Memphis played one of the prettiest games you'll ever see, a 40-minute highlight show full of tomahawk dunks, circus shots and soaring blocked shots that added up to a 78-63 victory and a chance at a national championship tomorrow night.

"There's a reason they've won 38 games and lost only one," UCLA coach Ben Howland said.

Yesterday, there were two reasons in particular: guards Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

They were unstoppable on offense, a blur on the fast break, tough on defense and calm down the stretch at the free-throw line.

Rose, a 6-3 freshman, displayed a breathtaking game, providing the latest evidence why NBA mock drafts have him as the second player picked, behind Kansas State's Michael Beasley. A week after dismantling Texas' All-American point guard, D.J. Augustin, Rose made a similar mismatch out of his duel with UCLA point guard Darren Collison.

Rose finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists, with just one turnover. Collison, the junior who is also a potential first-round draft pick, made just one basket and finished with two points, four assists and five turnovers before fouling out.

It was a brilliant show Rose put on, and it wasn't even the best one of the night. His backcourt mate, Douglas-Roberts, a 6-7 junior, scored 28 points, time and time again going one-on-one and scoring over a variety of defenders. One of those defenders was 6-3 guard Russell Westbrook, who happens to be the Pacific-10 conference defensive player of the year.

All of which surprised Memphis like not at all.

"The reality is," Memphis coach John Calipari said, "I've got a good team."

And they know it.

"With the team we have, it's hard beating us," Rose said. "We were going to find a way to win somehow, because that's what we do."

Their dribble-penetration offense is all about matchups, and Rose and Douglas-Roberts are a tough matchup for anyone.

"They are two great players," Westbrook said. "It showed tonight."

Their size is a killer to opponents. Rose is a solid 205-pounder who can physically overpower small guards like Collison (6-0, 160) and has been compared by Howland with NBA All-Star Jason Kidd. Douglas-Roberts is tall and rangy yet a good ball-handler who can get by defenders or simply shoot over them.

All that, and they combined to make 20 of 23 free throws.

Rose and Douglas-Roberts had back-to-back signature moments late in the game to pretty much put it out of reach.

First, Douglas-Roberts charged down court on a fast break and, in traffic, threw down a huge left-handed dunk to make it 61-52.

Then, Rose drove into the lane, found it clogged, hung in the air and scooped up a spinning bank shot on the other side of the rim, and it was 63-52.

"Every once in a while I just go 'Oh, my' and kind of sit down," Calipari said of Rose's athleticism.

UCLA came in with a fabulous freshman of its own in 6-10 All-America center Kevin Love. But he was neutralized by double-teams and the physical play of 6-9, 265-pound Joey Dorsey, who didn't score but grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked two shots.

"That's a man out there," said Love, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.