C-USA Men's Basketball Championship Pairings Set
Memphis, UCF, Houston and Tulane Earn First Round Byes
March 3, 2007
Regular season champion Memphis will be the No. 1 seed at the 2007 Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship presented by Aéropostale, March 7-10 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. The Tigers, ranked No. 6 in the nation by the Associated Press, enter the conference tournament as the No.1 seed, riding a 19-game win streak - the longest in Division I this season.
As the top seed, Memphis will have a first-round bye at the tournament. Other teams receiving first-round byes include No. 2 UCF, No. 3 Houston and No. 4 Tulane. Wednesday's first round match-ups feature: No. 7 Rice vs. No. 10 UTEP at Noon, No. 6 Southern Miss vs. No. 11 SMU at 2:30 p.m., No. 8 Marshall vs. No. 9 UAB at 6 p.m., and No. 5 Tulsa vs. No. 12 East Carolina at 8:30 p.m. CT.
In Thursday's quarterfinal round, No. 2 UCF will take on the winner of the Rice-UTEP game at Noon and No. 3 Houston will face the winner of the Southern Miss-SMU match-up beginning at 2:30 p.m. No. 1 seed Memphis will take on the winner of the Marshall-UAB game at 6 p.m., while No. 4 seed Tulane will close out Thursday night against the winner of the Tulsa-East Carolina contest at 8:30 p.m.
The tournament will get underway on Wednesday when Rice and UTEP renew their rivalry. The Owls are led by senior guard Morris Almond, the league's leading scorer, who set a new conference record for points in a season (772). The Miners trip to FedExForum marks the return of former University of Memphis assistant coach Tony Barbee, now leading UTEP in his first season as head coach. The Owls won the regular season meeting between the schools, 73-67, on Jan. 24.
A pair of former National Coaches of the Year square off in the second game on Wednesday as Larry Eustachy leads his resurgent Southern Miss Golden Eagles against Matt Doherty and his SMU Mustangs. Southern Miss has posted its first winning season since the 2000-01 Golden Eagles shared the regular season Conference USA crown. Southern Miss won the regular season meeting between the teams, 57-56, in the conference-opener for both schools on Jan. 10.
Marshall and UAB will be meeting for the third time this season. Both schools won on their home court, with Marshall taking a 61-54 decision in Huntington on Feb. 3, while UAB posted a 70-57 victory on Feb. 24. UAB senior guard Paul Delaney III and Marshall sophomore forward Markel Humphrey both rank among the top 10 scorers in Conference USA.
Under the direction of second-year head coach Doug Wojcik, Tulsa has improved its victory total by seven games from last year as its gets set to face East Carolina in the final opening round game on Wednesday. The Golden Hurricane won the only regular season meeting between the teams, 67-49, on Jan. 10 in the opening C-USA game for both schools.
Memphis is the defending tournament champion and enters the championship on a 29-game home court winning streak, second only to BYU's current 31-game streak at home. UCF will open championship action having assured itself of 20 or more wins for the fourth time in five years. Houston earned an opening round bye for the second year in a row as it seeks a second straight postseason berth. This is Tulane's highest seed since the 2000 C-USA Championship, when the Green Wave was also slotted in at the No. 4 spot.
All games will be played at FedExForum, the state-of-the-art arena in downtown Memphis. Quarterfinal and semifinal games will be televised by CSTV. The championship game on Saturday will be broadcasted on CBS, beginning at 10:35 a.m. (CST). For ticket information, please contact your local Conference USA school's ticket office, the FedExForum box office or Ticketmaster.
2007 C-USA Championship Presented by Aéropostale
FedExForum, Memphis, Tenn.
Wednesday, March 7
(7) Rice vs. (10) UTEP Noon
(6) Southern Miss vs. (11) SMU 2:30p
(8) Marshall vs. (9) UAB 6:00p
(5) Tulsa vs. (12) East Carolina 8:30p
Thursday, March 8
(2) UCF vs. Rice/UTEP (CSTV) Noon
(3) Houston vs. No. Southern Miss/SMU (CSTV) 2:30p
(1) Memphis vs. Marshall/UAB (CSTV) 6:00p
(4) Tulane vs. Tulsa/East Carolina (CSTV) 8:30p
Friday, March 9
*Semifinal # 1 (CSTV) 3:30p
*Semifinal # 2 (CSTV) 6:00p
Saturday, March 10
Championship (CBS) 10:35a
*highest remaining seed entering the semifinals will play at 3:30 p.m.
All Times Central
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Great Article on Former Player, Coach Larry Finch
Larry's journey
Finch coached the Tigers to six NCAA Tournament berths before he resigned under pressure 10 years ago. These days, Finch resides in a rehabilitation center after suffering a heart attack and several strokes.
Ex-Tiger player, coach keeps sense of humor despite woes
By Ron Higgins
March 4, 2007
The fingers of his right hand, the one that flicked that feathery jump shot as a player, the one that gripped a rolled-up game plan as a coach, are clenched shut.
Those sturdy legs, the ones that attracted his future wife's attention the first time she saw him, the ones that used to stomp on the Mid-South Coliseum and The Pyramid courts when he screamed for his team to "D-UP!," can barely raise from his wheelchair.
His once-strong voice is now soft, the words strain to get past his lips. The terrible strokes suffered in September 2002 robbed him of his basic functions.
It is gut-wrenchingly hard to see Larry Finch this way, because you want to remember him when he was knocking down 29 points in then-Memphis State's 1973 NCAA championship game loss to UCLA, or as a coach guiding the Tigers to six NCAA tourneys, including a regional final in 1992.
You want to remember the Larry Finch who won games, graduated players, turned boys into men, refused to cheat in recruiting, made few enemies and made you laugh every conversation that you had with him.
The Larry who could charm the mothers of recruits, the Larry who could guide the team bus in any city on a road trip to a Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Larry who loved to watch "Amos and Andy" tapes with his wife Vickie, the Larry who always had time to be a father to his three children.
That Larry will likely never be fully back.
But on the 10-year anniversary of a forced resignation that ended a 21-year association with the university where he became an icon, there are some things you must know about Finch as he spends his days in room 106 at the Quince Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
He still loves basketball.
"I watch basketball every night (on TV)," he said.
He still adores his old coach.
"I love Gene Bartow, he's a good man," he said.
He still has only one favorite team.
"I will always love Memphis State," he said.
He still has a sense of humor, like when he was asked why he helped UCLA center Bill Walton off the floor after Walton sprained an ankle when he scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting in that '73 national title game.
"Because," Finch said with a huge laugh, "he was kicking our (butt)."
He's still here
It is a moment like that, even if his words tumble out slowly, that after all these years of heartache, you are comforted that the heart and the soul of the old Larry Finch are still there.
"I play film all the time of Larry while he was coaching," said Vickie Finch, Larry's wife of 31 years, who works as a physical education teacher at Ridgeway Middle School, just more than a mile from Larry's nursing home. "I want to see that man when I come to see him. I know he's still there, but it's hard to see him sitting there not being able to do all the things he was so full of life doing.
"That's what I had to get adjusted to. I'm still not. I miss him. I miss my husband. When he has his bad days, that's when I miss him the most. On his good days when I come in and he might say or do something silly, I leave the rehab center feeling so good. I tell him, 'Larry, thank you for a good day.' I just thank God for those good days."
For the longest time, Vickie and the Finch children, including daughter Shanae (30) and sons Larry Jr. (27) and James (24), wondered if they would ever see that side of their husband and father again. Finch's good days come now a bit more often.
Give credit to the almost daily visits by longtime friends Leonard 'Game Ball' Draper and Randy 'Big Daddy' Wade, a former Shelby County deputy who's now deputy district director on recently-elected congressman Steve Cohen's staff, or from a group of Finch's former players headed by Ken Moody and Elliot Perry.
It was Moody three years ago who organized an annual charity summer golf tournament to raise money to help pay Finch's medical bills. This past December, Moody added the Larry Finch Classic, a high school tournament that was played at Melrose, Finch's old high school. The 2007 tournament is slated for the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on the UofM campus.
"Larry did a lot of things for a lot of people, and they still remember that," said John Prince, an assistant on Finch's last staff at the UofM. "He had a big impact on the lives of his players and his coaches. We'll be around him as long as we're able."
Moody, Prince, Wade, Draper and some former players like Rodney Newsom and Anthony Douglas gathered in a private room in the Doubletree Hotel a few weeks ago to celebrate Finch's 56th birthday, which was on Feb. 16.
"You know who your friends are when you really get down," Wade said. "Your true friends come to the plate. His players have showered this man with love."
While the man of the hour sat flanked by two nurses from the rehab center, plenty of tales about Finch and his staffs were being told over lunch. Nearly all of them ended in laughter.
"Every time we came in late at night, the coaches knew," Newsom said. "Finally, we found out that (late assistant) coach (Dorsey) Sims was sitting across the railroad tracks from our dorm looking at us through binoculars."
The conversation turned to Finch's shooting prowess, something that never faded, even as he got older. It was rare that any of his players could beat him in a game of H-O-R-S-E, because he had a trick bag of specialty shots, including one which he laid on the floor, his head on the foul line, shooting the ball backward to the basket.
There was also the last thing he did at every practice on the road. As his players put on their warmups to get on the bus for the ride back to the hotel, Finch would challenge an assistant to a shooting contest.
It was one shot, basically out-of-bounds, in the deep corner. Finch's bet: A three-piece all-white dinner from Kentucky Fried Chicken.
"When I left Larry's staff (to become head coach at Austin Peay University in 1990), I think I owed him 184 three-piece all-white chicken dinners," said Dave Loos, Austin Peay coach and athletic director. "I lost every time, but we had such great times. He kept it fun. The players and the coaches liked that. I learned so much from him that I still use today."
The long, hard, puzzling road
There are many people who thought that the day Loos left was the day that Finch's program began slipping ever so slightly.
"I think the trust that Larry and Dave Loos developed was so strong that he could never replace the trust," said Verties Sails, longtime men's basketball coach at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
Sails should know. He was an assistant at Melrose when he first met a 12-year-old Finch. As the years passed, Sails remained one of Finch's closest confidants. It wasn't unusual for them to talk every day on the phone into the wee hours of the morning.
"We talked about everything," Sails said. "Larry knew I would always tell him the truth. Sometimes, he didn't want to hear it, and a lot of times he had people around him he trusted who countered what I would tell him. But he knew I'd never lie to him."
Like when Finch, after being essentially fired by the UofM at the end of the 1996-97 season, pushed hard for the coaching vacancy at Tennessee State three years later. Sails, already worried about Finch's health, discouraged Finch from pursuing the position that went to Nolan Richardson III.
"I didn't think Larry could handle the situation, because I knew he'd work himself to death," Sails said. "I was told that during the interview process that he had a little seizure, a little spell. That's the only reason why he didn't get the job. It was cut-and-dried he'd get that job until that happened."
Nearly every one of Finch's closest friends, including his attorney Ted Hansom, said Finch never recovered from getting fired by the UofM, especially in the matter-of-fact manner it was done.
The official press conference announcing the resignation came after a regular post-game press conference following a victory over Southern Miss.
"While nobody owes you anything in this business, the way Larry's release was handled showed a great insensitivity," Hansom said. "Perhaps it was because of two outsiders (then-new school president V. Lane Rawlins and athletic director R.C. Johnson), but they had no idea what Larry meant to this city as a player and a coach.
"As a player, he made a big difference pulling the city back together after the Martin Luther King assassination. People didn't look at Larry as a black player. They just looked at him as Larry.
"The way that the university got rid of Larry shocked and hurt both of us. It broke his spirit, it was like getting a divorce. He felt like he had devoted most of his life to his school, and it turned his back on him.
"His world fell apart, he didn't know where to go, what to do or where to turn."
Sails agreed.
"Larry never thought that the University of Memphis would do that to him," Sails said. "He was one of theirs. He was their hero.
"But I had a booster tell me when they were about to get rid of Larry that 'we gave him 11 years and that's nine more than we promised.' Larry was way more successful than they'd thought he'd be. He had his hands tied in a lot of ways, but he did a fantastic job.
"He took over a program on NCAA probation. He didn't make his own schedule, but he still won. He took guys that most people said wouldn't graduate, and those guys did and are doing well with their lives.
"But in the end, there were some boosters who were just tired of him and wanted a change. When the school fired Larry, he was lost right then."
Finch was given a $413,660 buyout. A job as a special assistant to Johnson was discussed, but never pursued.
At the time, Finch was hurt, but put up a public front that he'd have a new job soon. But in the months that followed, he missed out on jobs at Georgia State (who hired former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell) and South Alabama (who hired former Ole Miss and Texas coach Bob Weltlich).
Finch gave politics a shot, losing by 127 votes to Guy Bates in the county register's race in August of 1998. In April of 1999, he applied for Southwest Missouri State's head coaching job. Then in April of 2000, Tennessee State bypassed him.
At the end of that year, Bartow became president of the new ABA 2000 franchise in Southaven called the Memphis Houn'Dawgs. He hired Finch as his vice president of player personnel, but the franchise moved after six months.
"It puzzled me why no one ever hired Larry," Bartow said. "I thought he could get a good mid-major job. I pushed him for the South Alabama job, and I thought he was in good shape with Tennessee State.
"If he would have gotten either of those jobs, he would have been tremendously successful. When I hired him as my assistant at UAB (before Finch went to Memphis as assistant under Dana Kirk prior to becoming head coach in 1986), Larry brought in good players like he was the Pied Piper."
In August 2001, a few months after the Houn'Dawgs folded, Finch had a minor stroke and gall bladder surgery. A little over a year later, he had a massive heart attack and two strokes that left him partially paralyzed and affected his speech.
"Larry always believed he could do whatever he wanted in life," Vickie said. "All life was an obstacle course and all he had to do was run it and it would all work out.
"You have to move on. That's one of the things that I tried to tell Larry all the time. I'd say, 'Larry, it's not your fault.' A lot of times, he'd say, 'What could I have done differently?' Looking back, I don't see anything he could have done differently."
Finch's harshest critics at the time of his firing said he had lost his recruiting touch, because local prep stars Tony Harris, Robert O'Kelley and Cory Bradford decided to sign with Tennessee, Wake Forest and Illinois respectively.
"I'd been with Larry on several recruiting meetings over the years, and the fathers, mothers, uncles usually wanted money to sign their kids," Hansom said. "One player's uncle threw out a number to us and said another Mid-South SEC school was ready to meet it.
"Larry and I talked about that if he ever started buying players, then the process would never stop. If he did buy players like other people were doing, it would give the school reason to dump him."
Rallying the troops
Just the other day, Sails was going through a closet at home when he came across a browned newspaper clipping from The Commercial Appeal.
"It was that big article with the headline, 'So Long, Larry Finch,' the day Larry coached his last home game at the University of Memphis," Sails said.
"I sat down and read it again. It brought tears to my eyes. I remember when all that hullabaloo was going. But a week or two after his last game, people moved on to something else. Everybody forgot about Larry. But he didn't forget. He couldn't forget."
It is the biting reality of sports that when a coach is fired, the public says, "Next." Athletes are taught the same thing. Win or lose, you move on to the next game. And when the games are finally over, you move on in life, you leave your coaches, teammates and memories behind you.
It was at the Grizzlies' first Martin Luther King game in 2002 when Moody saw his old coach for the first time since he became ill. The sight of Finch being wheeled out to midcourt by NBA legend Bill Russell for a halftime ceremony brought Moody to tears.
"Coach saw me, and he couldn't talk," Moody said. "He started crying. I started crying."
A few weeks later, at the urging of Wade, Moody stopped by the nursing home to see his ol' coach, the man as Moody recalled who "never allowed me to deviate from my upbringing."
"As I sat there talking to him I realized he was still coach Finch, he just had a tough time communicating," Moody said.
"Randy said to me, 'Coach wants to tell you something.' I said, 'Coach, what's going on?' He said, 'I ... need ... help.'
"From that, we began The Friends of the Coach Larry Finch Foundation. We've raised money for him, bought him a special van, bought a wheelchair, paid some of his medical bills. The more I was in touch with his family, it made me realize his needs were tremendous."
Thus, through an unimaginably awful situation emerged a revelation. All the self-analyzing questions that Finch asked himself after he left the UofM have now been answered.
Because maybe now, Finch realizes coaching is what he thought it was all along -- about developing boys into young men who maybe 10 to 20 years down the line can become responsible, productive citizens.
"When I talk to Elliot or Kenny or Rodney Douglas or Andre Turner or Bobby Parks, I see and hear Larry in all of them," Vickie Finch said. "They sound just like him. I see so much of Larry in their beliefs."
Larry can see that in all of his former players who haven't forgotten him, such as Moody, who's the city of Memphis deputy director for the division of public services and neighborhoods. Such as Douglas, who's a pharmaceutical rep, and Perry, who's a minority owner of the Grizzlies among other things. The list of success stories go on and on.
On his worst days, they are Larry's light.
"I love all my boys," he said. "I'm proud of every one of them. My boys look after me."
Never give up
After all the Finches have endured, the most remarkable thing is there is no lingering bitterness toward the UofM.
"I wasn't mad at them," Larry said. "I just hate that I lost my job. They never told me why."
If anyone should be resentful or angry, it's Vickie.
The man she loved from almost the first day she saw him when she was a Melrose High cheerleader and he was shooting ball in the school gym -- "He was wearing these tight cutoff jeans and I told him 'Boy, you got some pretty legs,' " she recalled with a nostalgic look -- never recovered from being fired by the university they both graduated from and adored.
She never wallowed in self-pity, though she eventually had to place Larry in the nursing center, because he was physically too much for her to handle at home.
"Larry tried so hard to come back, even after the first stroke," Vickie said. "At one point, he just felt like he wanted to give up. I said, 'You can't do that. You've got too many people who love you. There's some reason you're still around, Larry. It might be your work here isn't over yet.' "
Certainly not. In his struggle, he is still bringing blacks and whites together in a common cause, like he always has.
He makes us reflect on the past, he makes us self-evaluate on the present, he makes us consider the future.
And most of all, he still makes us laugh. Like when he was asked a few days ago who was the hardest team he enjoyed playing every season.
"Louisville," Finch said. "They came to play every night."
Then after a pause, he added, "We beat their (butt), too."
Cue the laughter.
-- Ron Higgins: 529-2525
Commercial Appeal "Tigers Go Sweet 16-0"
Tigers go Sweet 16-0
(6) Tigers 64, SMU 61
By Dan Wolken
March 4, 2007
DALLAS -- The University of Memphis' first perfect Conference USA season is complete. But the Tigers' dominance over this league isn't quite what it seemed a few days ago.
No. 6 Memphis came to Texas this past week unbeaten and largely untested this season against this overmatched collection of teams. But for the second straight game, the Tigers had to survive a scare Saturday to overcome 11th-place SMU, 64-61, at Moody Coliseum.
With the victory, Memphis (27-3) extended its nation-leading win streak to 19 games and became just the second team to go undefeated in C-USA, matching Cincinnati's 16-0 record in 1999-2000.
Memphis will begin the postseason Thursday in a 6 p.m. Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal at FedExForum, playing the winner of a first-round game between No. 8 seed Marshall and No. 9 UAB.
And the Tigers will be happy to return home after a rugged trip on which they struggled to put away UTEP on Thursday night, then fought from behind for most of Saturday's game against SMU (14-16, 3-13), a team Memphis beat by 36 points in the first meeting on Feb. 3.
This time, Memphis had to sweat down to the buzzer after a wild sequence in which sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts missed two free throws with 13 seconds left, then got his own rebound in traffic and made the next two.
SMU's Ike Ofoegbu, who scored 20 points, got a look at a tying 3-pointer as time expired but airballed it, saving Memphis from an embarrassing upset that would have put an end to its faint hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"They played us as well as anybody has played us all year, maybe other than Arizona or Tennessee," coach John Calipari said. "What happened to us was what they did to us, not what we did to ourselves. We were good enough to fight it off and still win the game. I told them, I'm happy after wins. I don't care. We'll learn from this, watch the tape and figure out some things."
After a sluggish start that left Memphis trailing by 12 points early and fighting uphill the rest of the way, the Tigers finally broke through with 3:39 left when Chris Douglas-Roberts made a 3-pointer to give Memphis a 59-57 lead.
Down to five scholarship players after two starters fouled out, SMU gave Memphis opportunities to open the lead. But the Tigers struggled to make shots all night, going 21-for-56 from the field and 5-for-23 from the 3-point line.
"We haven't had a game all year like that where nobody could get going," Douglas-Roberts, who scored 19 points, said. "But we still found a way to win. This felt like a tournament game, I'm telling you. The other team's intensity is going to be real high like this."
With 1:02 left, junior forward Joey Dorsey gave Memphis a huge basket, beating the shot clock with a tip-in off Jeremy Hunt's wild 3-point miss to give the Tigers a 61-58 lead. After an SMU miss, Hunt made 1 of 2 free throws with 22.3 seconds left, but a Devon Pearson 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds left brought SMU back within 62-61.
Many of the Tigers' problems could be traced to Dorsey's foul trouble. Dorsey, who made 5-of-5 free throws on his way to 13 points and seven rebounds, was whistled for two fouls in the first 10 minutes of the first half, relegating him to the bench. Then, he picked up his third unnecessarily 34 seconds into the second half on a rebound attempt.
That put Dorsey back on the bench until 11:10 remained, and by that point, SMU's confidence had already reached a fever pitch with a 44-42 lead.
Memphis, trying to get in the discussion for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, set itself up for trouble right away Saturday by getting out-hustled to rebounds and allowing three early SMU putbacks. And with SMU making three of its first five 3-pointers, Memphis trailed 19-7 after the first 5:35, its largest deficit in any C-USA game this year.
Though the Tigers' defense came to life and held SMU to one field goal in the final 10 minutes of the half -- an Ofoegbu putback to beat the buzzer -- Memphis led just 29-28.
"They got three offensive rebounds in the first two minutes, and that was effort," Calipari said. "They're making plays, they're inspired to play. I'm looking up thinking, we're going to be down 20 here in a minute. I had to sub four guys just to get us back to where we could settle down."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
(6) Tigers 64, SMU 61
By Dan Wolken
March 4, 2007
DALLAS -- The University of Memphis' first perfect Conference USA season is complete. But the Tigers' dominance over this league isn't quite what it seemed a few days ago.
No. 6 Memphis came to Texas this past week unbeaten and largely untested this season against this overmatched collection of teams. But for the second straight game, the Tigers had to survive a scare Saturday to overcome 11th-place SMU, 64-61, at Moody Coliseum.
With the victory, Memphis (27-3) extended its nation-leading win streak to 19 games and became just the second team to go undefeated in C-USA, matching Cincinnati's 16-0 record in 1999-2000.
Memphis will begin the postseason Thursday in a 6 p.m. Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal at FedExForum, playing the winner of a first-round game between No. 8 seed Marshall and No. 9 UAB.
And the Tigers will be happy to return home after a rugged trip on which they struggled to put away UTEP on Thursday night, then fought from behind for most of Saturday's game against SMU (14-16, 3-13), a team Memphis beat by 36 points in the first meeting on Feb. 3.
This time, Memphis had to sweat down to the buzzer after a wild sequence in which sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts missed two free throws with 13 seconds left, then got his own rebound in traffic and made the next two.
SMU's Ike Ofoegbu, who scored 20 points, got a look at a tying 3-pointer as time expired but airballed it, saving Memphis from an embarrassing upset that would have put an end to its faint hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"They played us as well as anybody has played us all year, maybe other than Arizona or Tennessee," coach John Calipari said. "What happened to us was what they did to us, not what we did to ourselves. We were good enough to fight it off and still win the game. I told them, I'm happy after wins. I don't care. We'll learn from this, watch the tape and figure out some things."
After a sluggish start that left Memphis trailing by 12 points early and fighting uphill the rest of the way, the Tigers finally broke through with 3:39 left when Chris Douglas-Roberts made a 3-pointer to give Memphis a 59-57 lead.
Down to five scholarship players after two starters fouled out, SMU gave Memphis opportunities to open the lead. But the Tigers struggled to make shots all night, going 21-for-56 from the field and 5-for-23 from the 3-point line.
"We haven't had a game all year like that where nobody could get going," Douglas-Roberts, who scored 19 points, said. "But we still found a way to win. This felt like a tournament game, I'm telling you. The other team's intensity is going to be real high like this."
With 1:02 left, junior forward Joey Dorsey gave Memphis a huge basket, beating the shot clock with a tip-in off Jeremy Hunt's wild 3-point miss to give the Tigers a 61-58 lead. After an SMU miss, Hunt made 1 of 2 free throws with 22.3 seconds left, but a Devon Pearson 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds left brought SMU back within 62-61.
Many of the Tigers' problems could be traced to Dorsey's foul trouble. Dorsey, who made 5-of-5 free throws on his way to 13 points and seven rebounds, was whistled for two fouls in the first 10 minutes of the first half, relegating him to the bench. Then, he picked up his third unnecessarily 34 seconds into the second half on a rebound attempt.
That put Dorsey back on the bench until 11:10 remained, and by that point, SMU's confidence had already reached a fever pitch with a 44-42 lead.
Memphis, trying to get in the discussion for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, set itself up for trouble right away Saturday by getting out-hustled to rebounds and allowing three early SMU putbacks. And with SMU making three of its first five 3-pointers, Memphis trailed 19-7 after the first 5:35, its largest deficit in any C-USA game this year.
Though the Tigers' defense came to life and held SMU to one field goal in the final 10 minutes of the half -- an Ofoegbu putback to beat the buzzer -- Memphis led just 29-28.
"They got three offensive rebounds in the first two minutes, and that was effort," Calipari said. "They're making plays, they're inspired to play. I'm looking up thinking, we're going to be down 20 here in a minute. I had to sub four guys just to get us back to where we could settle down."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
My Commentary (and Saga) on the SMU Game - Let's Hear It for Effort!!! (From Both the Team and the Fan)
Ok, so I'm out with the wife and kids bowling knowing that the Memphis game starts late tonight. We get home, get the kids fed and bathed and in the bed by 9:00 pm. This is great, I can catch most of the game.
Oh yeah, it isn't being shown on basic cable (CSTV is only on the premium cable offering). Ok, no problem. I ask the wife if she is cool with me driving down the street to catch the game at a bar. Sure. No problem.
And so my adventure begins..........
I get in the car, turn on the radio and quickly learn the Tigers are down by four, 21-25, but have made a nice come back after being down 3-14 early. Dave Woloshin, WREG 600 Radio, informs me that the Tiger defense has brought them back into the game.
I pull into Huey's at Houston Levee Rd and Poplar Ave. in Collerville (TN) and rush into the bar. The bartender tells me they only have basic cable. She says they're too cheap to add premium service, but she says that Chili's probably has the game.
So off I fly. Now Dave Woloshin tells me that Memphis has caught up with SMU and holds a slim one point lead. Joey Dorsey has picked up his 2nd foul and is sitting on the bench. Pierre Niles is getting some extended minutes and even scores a few buckets. Neither team is shoting particularly well. Both teams are 37% from the floor.
Next, I dash into the parking lot of Chili's in Collierville. Nope, only basic cable at Chili's. Now I'm getting frustrated because I now have to back track west toward Memphis to find a t.v. with premium Comcast cable.
I drive west for about 10 minutes. Memphis is still hanging on to a mild lead. They are up three with the ball and we are under one minute remaining in the first half. Dave Woloshin informs me that the Tigers have had some really rotten luck in the game. Nothing seems to being going right for Memphis. The Tigers fail to score and SMU holds that ball for the last shot of the half. SMU shoots and misses, but, oh no, SMU picks up the offensive rebound and scores with a second to go.
Tigers 29, Mustangs 28 at the half.
I pull into the East End Grill at the corner of Winchester Rd. and Hacks Cross Rd. in Memphis (just across the street from the world headquarters of Fed Ex Express). Nope, strike three, they have satelite - no CSTV.
Ok, it is half time so I figure I've got enough time to make it to Hooter's. They surely will have the game. They are a sports bar afterall.
I jump on Bill Morris Parkway heading west. I exit at Ridgeway Rd. and swing over to Mt. Moriah. I know that Hooter's is somewhere on the South side of the street but I don't see it. Finally, I make out the sign, but oddly the sign has no lights. Well, now I know why. It looks like the whole place is shut down.
I can't believe this. I'm 0 for 4. This is like Tiger free throw shooting.
So, I figure I'm down to my last option - The Fox and the Hound on Sanderlin. Right next door to Cal's Champion Steakhouse. If this one doesn't have the game, I decide I'm snake bit and I'll head on home and keep listening to Dave Woloshin.
Now, I'm heading north on White Station Rd. in East Memphis. Forrest Goodman has given me the complete Top 25 scoreboard and the second half is about to begin. Dave Woloshin is hopeing for a more inspired beginning to the second half than what was exhibited by the Tigers opening the game. He notes that the Tigers may have come into this one too relaxed considering they had pounded SMU a month earlier by 36 points.
Oh no, Joey Dorsey picks up his 3rd personal foul on an over the back call on the Tiger's first offensive possession. Kareem Cooper is coming back in.
I finally pull into the parking lot of the Fox and the Hound. Man, where am I going to park? This place is packed. They must have the game.
I race inside and, yes, it is packed. No room to sit and eat. I make it up to the bar and wait for a chance to buy a Bud Light. The big screen t.v. is just over head.
And so my struggle to see the Tigers is not wasted.
But what a display. The Tigers seem to be playing very hard, almost too hard sometimes. Memphis' defense is gambling so much they are picking up fouls trying to steal the ball and they are getting burned on a few SMU drives to the basket.
The game goes back and forth. SMU's Rackauskas makes two shots in a row from the right side of the lane. Suddenly, our defense looks too porous.
But wait, what happened. Yes, Rackauskas has picked up his 5th personal.
While the score doesn't seem to denote it, the Rackauskas
loss seems to provide a confidence boost. And man do the Tigers need something. Lady luck has completely left tonight.
The Tigers get a rebound, wait, no, Dozier falls down and is called for traveling.
Willie Kemp get a pass from Jeremy Hunt in the left corner. No wait, the pass was ankle high and Kemp bobbles it. It rolls through his legs and over the base line. Turnover.
The Tigers steal the inbounds pass and whip it around to the left side where Andre Allen, what are you doing?, shoots a fall away three pointer. The glances off the right iron and SMU snags the rebound.
Man, no luck tonight.
This is getting a bit concerning. Finally, something good happens. CDR nails a three pointer with about 3:47 to go. Memphis regains the lead, up two. Let's go. Play that hard nose defense. Ken Pomeroy says your the 5th best defense in the nation.
We go back and forth with noone scoring, finally SMU scores to make a it a one point game on a free throw by Ofoegbu.
1:37 left, Now Memphis needs a good posession. They spread the floor looking for a seam in the zone. No opening. The shot clock is under 10. Hunt shoots an off-balance 3 point shot. Dorsey rebounds and puts back the follow. Tigers up by 3.
1:00 to go, SMU takes a 3 pointer, it's off, Dorsey rebounds, timeout Tigers.
22 seconds, Jeremy Hunt is fouled. No problem. He is a senior. No, no you can't miss. Ok, he makes the second one. Tigers up by 4.
SMU's Devon Pearson shoots from the left side of the three point line. Antonio Anderson flys by to complicate the shot. Pearson is leaning on the shot. It is a long way out. Are you kidding me? He hit it. The Tiger lead is just one.
14 seconds, Tiger's inbound, CDR is fouled. Come on Chris. You are the clear choice for C-USA Player of the Year. No, you can't miss the free throw. Another miss. Your killing me. Dozier great tip back on the rebound. Right into the CDR's hands.
Ok Chris, enough fooling around. Swish, Swish - ball game.
Now that was fun.
If you think C-USA sucks, you didn't watch the UTEP Miners Thursday or the SMU Mustangs tonight. Very few teams would have beaten either team.
Very good Tigers - 16-0 in conference play. 19 games in a row.
Oh yeah, it isn't being shown on basic cable (CSTV is only on the premium cable offering). Ok, no problem. I ask the wife if she is cool with me driving down the street to catch the game at a bar. Sure. No problem.
And so my adventure begins..........
I get in the car, turn on the radio and quickly learn the Tigers are down by four, 21-25, but have made a nice come back after being down 3-14 early. Dave Woloshin, WREG 600 Radio, informs me that the Tiger defense has brought them back into the game.
I pull into Huey's at Houston Levee Rd and Poplar Ave. in Collerville (TN) and rush into the bar. The bartender tells me they only have basic cable. She says they're too cheap to add premium service, but she says that Chili's probably has the game.
So off I fly. Now Dave Woloshin tells me that Memphis has caught up with SMU and holds a slim one point lead. Joey Dorsey has picked up his 2nd foul and is sitting on the bench. Pierre Niles is getting some extended minutes and even scores a few buckets. Neither team is shoting particularly well. Both teams are 37% from the floor.
Next, I dash into the parking lot of Chili's in Collierville. Nope, only basic cable at Chili's. Now I'm getting frustrated because I now have to back track west toward Memphis to find a t.v. with premium Comcast cable.
I drive west for about 10 minutes. Memphis is still hanging on to a mild lead. They are up three with the ball and we are under one minute remaining in the first half. Dave Woloshin informs me that the Tigers have had some really rotten luck in the game. Nothing seems to being going right for Memphis. The Tigers fail to score and SMU holds that ball for the last shot of the half. SMU shoots and misses, but, oh no, SMU picks up the offensive rebound and scores with a second to go.
Tigers 29, Mustangs 28 at the half.
I pull into the East End Grill at the corner of Winchester Rd. and Hacks Cross Rd. in Memphis (just across the street from the world headquarters of Fed Ex Express). Nope, strike three, they have satelite - no CSTV.
Ok, it is half time so I figure I've got enough time to make it to Hooter's. They surely will have the game. They are a sports bar afterall.
I jump on Bill Morris Parkway heading west. I exit at Ridgeway Rd. and swing over to Mt. Moriah. I know that Hooter's is somewhere on the South side of the street but I don't see it. Finally, I make out the sign, but oddly the sign has no lights. Well, now I know why. It looks like the whole place is shut down.
I can't believe this. I'm 0 for 4. This is like Tiger free throw shooting.
So, I figure I'm down to my last option - The Fox and the Hound on Sanderlin. Right next door to Cal's Champion Steakhouse. If this one doesn't have the game, I decide I'm snake bit and I'll head on home and keep listening to Dave Woloshin.
Now, I'm heading north on White Station Rd. in East Memphis. Forrest Goodman has given me the complete Top 25 scoreboard and the second half is about to begin. Dave Woloshin is hopeing for a more inspired beginning to the second half than what was exhibited by the Tigers opening the game. He notes that the Tigers may have come into this one too relaxed considering they had pounded SMU a month earlier by 36 points.
Oh no, Joey Dorsey picks up his 3rd personal foul on an over the back call on the Tiger's first offensive possession. Kareem Cooper is coming back in.
I finally pull into the parking lot of the Fox and the Hound. Man, where am I going to park? This place is packed. They must have the game.
I race inside and, yes, it is packed. No room to sit and eat. I make it up to the bar and wait for a chance to buy a Bud Light. The big screen t.v. is just over head.
And so my struggle to see the Tigers is not wasted.
But what a display. The Tigers seem to be playing very hard, almost too hard sometimes. Memphis' defense is gambling so much they are picking up fouls trying to steal the ball and they are getting burned on a few SMU drives to the basket.
The game goes back and forth. SMU's Rackauskas makes two shots in a row from the right side of the lane. Suddenly, our defense looks too porous.
But wait, what happened. Yes, Rackauskas has picked up his 5th personal.
While the score doesn't seem to denote it, the Rackauskas
loss seems to provide a confidence boost. And man do the Tigers need something. Lady luck has completely left tonight.
The Tigers get a rebound, wait, no, Dozier falls down and is called for traveling.
Willie Kemp get a pass from Jeremy Hunt in the left corner. No wait, the pass was ankle high and Kemp bobbles it. It rolls through his legs and over the base line. Turnover.
The Tigers steal the inbounds pass and whip it around to the left side where Andre Allen, what are you doing?, shoots a fall away three pointer. The glances off the right iron and SMU snags the rebound.
Man, no luck tonight.
This is getting a bit concerning. Finally, something good happens. CDR nails a three pointer with about 3:47 to go. Memphis regains the lead, up two. Let's go. Play that hard nose defense. Ken Pomeroy says your the 5th best defense in the nation.
We go back and forth with noone scoring, finally SMU scores to make a it a one point game on a free throw by Ofoegbu.
1:37 left, Now Memphis needs a good posession. They spread the floor looking for a seam in the zone. No opening. The shot clock is under 10. Hunt shoots an off-balance 3 point shot. Dorsey rebounds and puts back the follow. Tigers up by 3.
1:00 to go, SMU takes a 3 pointer, it's off, Dorsey rebounds, timeout Tigers.
22 seconds, Jeremy Hunt is fouled. No problem. He is a senior. No, no you can't miss. Ok, he makes the second one. Tigers up by 4.
SMU's Devon Pearson shoots from the left side of the three point line. Antonio Anderson flys by to complicate the shot. Pearson is leaning on the shot. It is a long way out. Are you kidding me? He hit it. The Tiger lead is just one.
14 seconds, Tiger's inbound, CDR is fouled. Come on Chris. You are the clear choice for C-USA Player of the Year. No, you can't miss the free throw. Another miss. Your killing me. Dozier great tip back on the rebound. Right into the CDR's hands.
Ok Chris, enough fooling around. Swish, Swish - ball game.
Now that was fun.
If you think C-USA sucks, you didn't watch the UTEP Miners Thursday or the SMU Mustangs tonight. Very few teams would have beaten either team.
Very good Tigers - 16-0 in conference play. 19 games in a row.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Picture Perfect: Tigers Top SMU to Complete 16-0 C-USA Season
Picture Perfect: Tigers Top SMU to Complete 16-0 C-USA Season
Memphis escaped a strong showing from the host Mustangs to win 64-61.
March 3, 2007
DALLAS (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points with the key basket late and No. 6 Memphis won its 19th straight game to complete a perfect record in Conference USA with an unexpectedly difficult 64-61 victory at SMU on Saturday night.
The Tigers (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) overcame an early 11-point deficit to lead at halftime, but didn't go ahead for good until Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:47 left.
Memphis became the first C-USA team to get through league play without a loss since Cincinnati was the first to do it in 1999-2000. Big South champion Winthrop, which clinched an automatic NCAA berth Saturday, is the only other team to get through conference play undefeated.
SMU (14-16, 3-13) lost for the eighth time in nine games, a stretch that began with a 36-point loss at Memphis on Feb. 3.
Jeremy Hunt missed the rim with a 3-point attempt with 1:02 left for Memphis, but Joey Dorsey grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback to make it 61-58. With 22 seconds left, Hunt made the second of his free throws for a 62-58 lead.
Devon Pearson then made a 3-pointer for SMU, falling down and under the feet of coach Matt Doherty.
Douglas-Roberts was then fouled in the backcourt and missed two free throws with 13.6 seconds left. But he got the long rebound on the second miss and was fouled again, hitting the next two shots.
Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up short for SMU, which hasn't beaten a ranked team at home since 1993.
Memphis escaped a strong showing from the host Mustangs to win 64-61.
March 3, 2007
DALLAS (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points with the key basket late and No. 6 Memphis won its 19th straight game to complete a perfect record in Conference USA with an unexpectedly difficult 64-61 victory at SMU on Saturday night.
The Tigers (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) overcame an early 11-point deficit to lead at halftime, but didn't go ahead for good until Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:47 left.
Memphis became the first C-USA team to get through league play without a loss since Cincinnati was the first to do it in 1999-2000. Big South champion Winthrop, which clinched an automatic NCAA berth Saturday, is the only other team to get through conference play undefeated.
SMU (14-16, 3-13) lost for the eighth time in nine games, a stretch that began with a 36-point loss at Memphis on Feb. 3.
Jeremy Hunt missed the rim with a 3-point attempt with 1:02 left for Memphis, but Joey Dorsey grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback to make it 61-58. With 22 seconds left, Hunt made the second of his free throws for a 62-58 lead.
Devon Pearson then made a 3-pointer for SMU, falling down and under the feet of coach Matt Doherty.
Douglas-Roberts was then fouled in the backcourt and missed two free throws with 13.6 seconds left. But he got the long rebound on the second miss and was fouled again, hitting the next two shots.
Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up short for SMU, which hasn't beaten a ranked team at home since 1993.
Dallas Morning News "SMU Men Can't Pull Off Upset"
SMU men can't pull off upset
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News
khairopoulos@dallasnews.com
UNIVERSITY PARK – Moody Coliseum rocked like it hasn't all season.
And SMU shocked No. 6 Memphis during Saturday night's regular-season finale right up until the final seconds.
The Mustangs gave Memphis – the team that beat SMU by almost 40 points only a month before – everything it could handle before surviving for a 64-61 victory. The Tigers (27-3) and coach John Calipari, in their first-ever visit to Moody, had to work harder and longer than most anyone expected.
More: SMU
But they made just enough plays in the final minutes to stretch the nation's longest winning streak to 19 and wrap up a 16-0 Conference USA record.
It all came shockingly close to not happening.
A beleaguered SMU team (14-16, 3-13) that had lost 33 of its previous 34 games against ranked teams had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer. But senior forward Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt from the left corner fell short of the rim.
SMU played much of the second half with only five available scholarship players because Donatas Rackauskas and Jon Killen had fouled out.
Memphis didn't take the lead for good until Chris Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining to make the score 59-57.
Ofoegbu hit one of two free throws to pull SMU within one with 1:37 left. But Memphis' Joey Dorsey put in a rebound bucket after a wild 3-point attempt by Jeremy Hunt.
SMU's Dez Willingham missed an awkward-looking 3-point attempt.
Hunt made one of two free throws with 22.3 second left to make it 62-58.
Senior Devon Pearson gave SMU one more chance by drilling a 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds remaining to pull within one.
Douglas-Roberts then missed two free throws but got his own long rebound to go back to the line.
This time he made both shots to put Memphis up by three.
Ofoegbu's final shot at the buzzer fell well short.
SMU seniors Ofoegbu ( 21 points), Pearson ( 16 points) and Rackauskas (14 points) led the spirited effort on senior night. Douglas-Roberts led Memphis with 19 points.
Memphis had essentially strolled through league play. It had only one other single-digit win, 67-64 over Southern Mississippi in January.
The Mustangs, the No. 11 seed in next week's C-USA tournament at Memphis' FedExForum, will meet No. 6 seed Southern Miss at 2:30 p.m. in Wednesday's first round.
By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News
khairopoulos@dallasnews.com
UNIVERSITY PARK – Moody Coliseum rocked like it hasn't all season.
And SMU shocked No. 6 Memphis during Saturday night's regular-season finale right up until the final seconds.
The Mustangs gave Memphis – the team that beat SMU by almost 40 points only a month before – everything it could handle before surviving for a 64-61 victory. The Tigers (27-3) and coach John Calipari, in their first-ever visit to Moody, had to work harder and longer than most anyone expected.
More: SMU
But they made just enough plays in the final minutes to stretch the nation's longest winning streak to 19 and wrap up a 16-0 Conference USA record.
It all came shockingly close to not happening.
A beleaguered SMU team (14-16, 3-13) that had lost 33 of its previous 34 games against ranked teams had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer. But senior forward Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt from the left corner fell short of the rim.
SMU played much of the second half with only five available scholarship players because Donatas Rackauskas and Jon Killen had fouled out.
Memphis didn't take the lead for good until Chris Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer with 3:47 remaining to make the score 59-57.
Ofoegbu hit one of two free throws to pull SMU within one with 1:37 left. But Memphis' Joey Dorsey put in a rebound bucket after a wild 3-point attempt by Jeremy Hunt.
SMU's Dez Willingham missed an awkward-looking 3-point attempt.
Hunt made one of two free throws with 22.3 second left to make it 62-58.
Senior Devon Pearson gave SMU one more chance by drilling a 3-pointer with 13.9 seconds remaining to pull within one.
Douglas-Roberts then missed two free throws but got his own long rebound to go back to the line.
This time he made both shots to put Memphis up by three.
Ofoegbu's final shot at the buzzer fell well short.
SMU seniors Ofoegbu ( 21 points), Pearson ( 16 points) and Rackauskas (14 points) led the spirited effort on senior night. Douglas-Roberts led Memphis with 19 points.
Memphis had essentially strolled through league play. It had only one other single-digit win, 67-64 over Southern Mississippi in January.
The Mustangs, the No. 11 seed in next week's C-USA tournament at Memphis' FedExForum, will meet No. 6 seed Southern Miss at 2:30 p.m. in Wednesday's first round.
AP Story - #6 Memphis Extends Win Streak to 19
No. 6 Memphis Extends Win Streak to 19
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP SPORTS WRITER
DALLAS -- Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points with the key basket late and No. 6 Memphis won its 19th straight game to complete a perfect record in Conference USA with an unexpectedly difficult 64-61 victory at SMU on Saturday night.
The Tigers (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) overcame an early 11-point deficit to lead at halftime, but didn't go ahead for good until Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:47 left.
Memphis became the first C-USA team to get through league play without a loss since Cincinnati was the first to do it in 1999-2000. Big South champion Winthrop, which clinched an automatic NCAA berth Saturday, is the only other team to get through conference play undefeated this season.
SMU (14-16, 3-13) lost for the eighth time in nine games, a stretch that began with a 36-point loss at Memphis on Feb. 3.
Jeremy Hunt missed the rim with a 3-point attempt with 1:02 left for Memphis, but Joey Dorsey grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback to make it 61-58. With 22 seconds left, Hunt made the second of his free throws for a 62-58 lead.
Devon Pearson then made a 3-pointer for SMU, falling down and under the feet of coach Matt Doherty as the shot went through the hoop.
Douglas-Roberts was fouled in the backcourt and missed two free throws with 13.6 seconds left. But he got the long rebound on the second miss and was fouled again, hitting the next two shots.
Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up short for SMU, which hasn't beaten a ranked team at home since 1993.
Ofoegbu had 21 points while Pearson had 16 points and nine rebounds. Donatas Rackauskas, one of a trio of seniors playing their last home game, had 14 points before he fouled out with 11 minutes left.
Dorsey had 13 points and seven rebounds for Memphis. Hunt had 11 points despite making 3 of 14 shots.
Douglas-Roberts made a 3-pointer for Memphis on the opening possession before SMU scored 14 straight points.
Pearson and Rackauskas had consecutive putbacks to start the run before Ofoegbu hit a 3-pointer for a 9-3 lead and Memphis coach John Calipari called timeout less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game. That didn't slow down the Mustangs.
Ofoegbu had a tip-in and Pearson made a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 14-3. Another 3-pointer by Pearson pushed SMU ahead 19-7, its largest lead in the game.
Pearson had a breakaway layup on a pass from Dez Willingham with 10:17 left in the first half on what almost was a backcourt turnover. But that was the last SMU basket until Ofoegbu's putback in the final second, as the Mustangs missed 10 consecutive field goals and had five turnovers.
Memphis forced five-second violations on consecutive possessions before Willingham stepped out of bounds trying to get around a defender.
Willingham's miscue came after Hunt made two free throws to get Memphis within a point. The Tigers finally went ahead when Douglas-Roberts made a leaning layup in traffic from under the basket with 4:25 left - and they still led by a point at halftime.
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP SPORTS WRITER
DALLAS -- Chris Douglas-Roberts had 19 points with the key basket late and No. 6 Memphis won its 19th straight game to complete a perfect record in Conference USA with an unexpectedly difficult 64-61 victory at SMU on Saturday night.
The Tigers (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) overcame an early 11-point deficit to lead at halftime, but didn't go ahead for good until Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:47 left.
Memphis became the first C-USA team to get through league play without a loss since Cincinnati was the first to do it in 1999-2000. Big South champion Winthrop, which clinched an automatic NCAA berth Saturday, is the only other team to get through conference play undefeated this season.
SMU (14-16, 3-13) lost for the eighth time in nine games, a stretch that began with a 36-point loss at Memphis on Feb. 3.
Jeremy Hunt missed the rim with a 3-point attempt with 1:02 left for Memphis, but Joey Dorsey grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback to make it 61-58. With 22 seconds left, Hunt made the second of his free throws for a 62-58 lead.
Devon Pearson then made a 3-pointer for SMU, falling down and under the feet of coach Matt Doherty as the shot went through the hoop.
Douglas-Roberts was fouled in the backcourt and missed two free throws with 13.6 seconds left. But he got the long rebound on the second miss and was fouled again, hitting the next two shots.
Ike Ofoegbu's 3-point attempt at the buzzer came up short for SMU, which hasn't beaten a ranked team at home since 1993.
Ofoegbu had 21 points while Pearson had 16 points and nine rebounds. Donatas Rackauskas, one of a trio of seniors playing their last home game, had 14 points before he fouled out with 11 minutes left.
Dorsey had 13 points and seven rebounds for Memphis. Hunt had 11 points despite making 3 of 14 shots.
Douglas-Roberts made a 3-pointer for Memphis on the opening possession before SMU scored 14 straight points.
Pearson and Rackauskas had consecutive putbacks to start the run before Ofoegbu hit a 3-pointer for a 9-3 lead and Memphis coach John Calipari called timeout less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game. That didn't slow down the Mustangs.
Ofoegbu had a tip-in and Pearson made a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 14-3. Another 3-pointer by Pearson pushed SMU ahead 19-7, its largest lead in the game.
Pearson had a breakaway layup on a pass from Dez Willingham with 10:17 left in the first half on what almost was a backcourt turnover. But that was the last SMU basket until Ofoegbu's putback in the final second, as the Mustangs missed 10 consecutive field goals and had five turnovers.
Memphis forced five-second violations on consecutive possessions before Willingham stepped out of bounds trying to get around a defender.
Willingham's miscue came after Hunt made two free throws to get Memphis within a point. The Tigers finally went ahead when Douglas-Roberts made a leaning layup in traffic from under the basket with 4:25 left - and they still led by a point at halftime.
Missed FTs a Concern for Calipari
Missed FTs a concern for Calipari
Tiger coach: Making them in crunch time is what counts
By Dan Wolken
March 3, 2007
DALLAS -- First, John Calipari watched point guard Andre Allen miss two free throws in the first half of Thursday's game at UTEP. Moments later, when Allen was momentarily hurt after a hard foul, freshman Willie Kemp replaced him to shoot his free throws. As Kemp's first and second attempts bounced off the rim -- neither coming close to going in -- Calipari turned to his bench with his arms folded, trying to restrain his reaction.
Tonight, the University of Memphis will take the court at Moody Coliseum as heavy favorites to beat SMU and complete a 16-0 record in Conference USA. But as the No. 6-ranked Tigers transition from the regular season to what they hope will be a long March, there is one obvious issue threatening to undermine their accomplishments.
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Though Memphis has been a poor free-throw shooting team all season at 61.3 percent, it nearly reached a crisis point in El Paso. Though the Tigers won, 78-67, they made 11-of-25 from the line -- and that was an accomplishment, considering they made an inexplicable four of their first 16.
Calipari has tried not to chastise his team too much over free throws, afraid he'll make the situation worse if he turns it into an issue. But Calipari acknowledged after the UTEP game there is some concern about it heading into the NCAA Tournament.
"There is," Calipari said, "but my teams have never been great free-throw shooting teams. What you've got to do is make them when they count."
The Tigers certainly did that against UTEP, making 7-of-9 down the stretch as they tried to protect the lead. But their failures to convert early in the game played a part in the Miners having a chance to win deep into the second half.
Missing 14 free throws (out of 32 attempts) also helped Gonzaga push the Tigers into overtime on Feb. 17.
"We're not a very good free-throw shooting team, but we've maintained making them in crunch time," senior Jeremy Hunt said. "That's when it counts. As long as you make them in the clutch, that's a good thing. We've just got to focus when we get on the line, relax and take our time. (Against UTEP), a couple went in and out, and there's nothing you can do about that."
The free-throw situation is important -- particularly with this team -- because it invites opponents to play extremely physical defense, as UTEP did. When the Tigers aren't making teams pay for that strategy by making free throws, they are clearly more vulnerable.
Though Calipari doesn't want to play UTEP in the C-USA Tournament next week because it's so gut-wrenching for him to coach against former assistant Tony Barbee, he wants Memphis to face that kind of physical challenge again before the NCAAs.
"Are we tough enough?" Calipari said. "When it gets rough, who's going to make plays, and who's going to close their eyes when they shoot? And I hope the next team plays us rough, and I hope we're played rough throughout the whole tournament."
Memphis' free-throw woes can't be attributed to a lack of attention. Shooting has been part of essentially every practice since late December. Still, players who by all rights should be good free-throw shooters -- including Robert Dozier (65.2 percent), Kemp (40 percent) and Kareem Cooper (60 percent) -- have struggled lately.
In the cases of Dozier and Cooper, both are shooting far below what they did last year when they converted 75 percent and 84 percent, respectively.
Add that to players like Joey Dorsey (43.9 percent) and Allen (47.8 percent) who have never been good free-throw shooters, and the problem suddenly seems contagious.
"In tournament games, you're not going to be able to go in and miss a lot of free throws and still win against a really good opponent," Hunt said. "We've got to get to the point where we're making our free throws because we're going to need it down the stretch."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
No. 6 Tigers at SMU
When, where: Today, 8:30 p.m., at Dallas
TV: CSTV (Ch. 222 on Comcast digital cable, Ch. 610 on DIRECTV, Ch. 152 on DISH Network; not all available on every cable or satellite package)
Radio: WREC-AM (600)
Tiger coach: Making them in crunch time is what counts
By Dan Wolken
March 3, 2007
DALLAS -- First, John Calipari watched point guard Andre Allen miss two free throws in the first half of Thursday's game at UTEP. Moments later, when Allen was momentarily hurt after a hard foul, freshman Willie Kemp replaced him to shoot his free throws. As Kemp's first and second attempts bounced off the rim -- neither coming close to going in -- Calipari turned to his bench with his arms folded, trying to restrain his reaction.
Tonight, the University of Memphis will take the court at Moody Coliseum as heavy favorites to beat SMU and complete a 16-0 record in Conference USA. But as the No. 6-ranked Tigers transition from the regular season to what they hope will be a long March, there is one obvious issue threatening to undermine their accomplishments.
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Though Memphis has been a poor free-throw shooting team all season at 61.3 percent, it nearly reached a crisis point in El Paso. Though the Tigers won, 78-67, they made 11-of-25 from the line -- and that was an accomplishment, considering they made an inexplicable four of their first 16.
Calipari has tried not to chastise his team too much over free throws, afraid he'll make the situation worse if he turns it into an issue. But Calipari acknowledged after the UTEP game there is some concern about it heading into the NCAA Tournament.
"There is," Calipari said, "but my teams have never been great free-throw shooting teams. What you've got to do is make them when they count."
The Tigers certainly did that against UTEP, making 7-of-9 down the stretch as they tried to protect the lead. But their failures to convert early in the game played a part in the Miners having a chance to win deep into the second half.
Missing 14 free throws (out of 32 attempts) also helped Gonzaga push the Tigers into overtime on Feb. 17.
"We're not a very good free-throw shooting team, but we've maintained making them in crunch time," senior Jeremy Hunt said. "That's when it counts. As long as you make them in the clutch, that's a good thing. We've just got to focus when we get on the line, relax and take our time. (Against UTEP), a couple went in and out, and there's nothing you can do about that."
The free-throw situation is important -- particularly with this team -- because it invites opponents to play extremely physical defense, as UTEP did. When the Tigers aren't making teams pay for that strategy by making free throws, they are clearly more vulnerable.
Though Calipari doesn't want to play UTEP in the C-USA Tournament next week because it's so gut-wrenching for him to coach against former assistant Tony Barbee, he wants Memphis to face that kind of physical challenge again before the NCAAs.
"Are we tough enough?" Calipari said. "When it gets rough, who's going to make plays, and who's going to close their eyes when they shoot? And I hope the next team plays us rough, and I hope we're played rough throughout the whole tournament."
Memphis' free-throw woes can't be attributed to a lack of attention. Shooting has been part of essentially every practice since late December. Still, players who by all rights should be good free-throw shooters -- including Robert Dozier (65.2 percent), Kemp (40 percent) and Kareem Cooper (60 percent) -- have struggled lately.
In the cases of Dozier and Cooper, both are shooting far below what they did last year when they converted 75 percent and 84 percent, respectively.
Add that to players like Joey Dorsey (43.9 percent) and Allen (47.8 percent) who have never been good free-throw shooters, and the problem suddenly seems contagious.
"In tournament games, you're not going to be able to go in and miss a lot of free throws and still win against a really good opponent," Hunt said. "We've got to get to the point where we're making our free throws because we're going to need it down the stretch."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
No. 6 Tigers at SMU
When, where: Today, 8:30 p.m., at Dallas
TV: CSTV (Ch. 222 on Comcast digital cable, Ch. 610 on DIRECTV, Ch. 152 on DISH Network; not all available on every cable or satellite package)
Radio: WREC-AM (600)
Preview - #6 Memphis Tigers vs. SMU
No. 6 Tigers at SMU
March 3, 2007
Moody Coliseum, Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
TV: CSTV (Ch. 222 on Comcast digital cable, Ch. 610 on DIRECTV, Ch. 152 on DISH Network). CSTV is not all available on every cable or satellite package
Radio: WREC-AM (600)
Records: Memphis 26-3 (15-0 Conference USA), SMU 14-15 (3-12)
Series standing: Memphis leads, 3-1
Latest line: Memphis by 14
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
With a victory, Memphis would finish off a perfect 16-0 conference season. In the history of the program, no Tigers team has ever gone undefeated in its league. Only one other C-USA team has run the table, as Cincinnati went 16-0 in 1999-2000. ... Perhaps more remarkable, of Memphis' 15 league games, only one has been decided by a single-digit margin (Southern Miss on Jan. 27). ... With his 21-point performance in Thursday's 78-67 victory at UTEP, sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts made a strong push to claim C-USA player of the year honors. Douglas-Roberts has scored in double-figures in all 12 league games he's played (he missed three due to injury) and is averaging 15.3 points. ... Senior guard Jeremy Hunt, a lock to win the C-USA sixth man award, will average double-figures for the first time in his career. After averaging 9.0, 9.6 and 9.5 points, Hunt has bumped his contribution to 14.1 points per game. By making 4-of-7 from 3-point range at UTEP, Hunt bumped his 3-point percentage to 44.4. ... Coach John Calipari is working to find more minutes for Doneal Mack, who connected on 5-of-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 points in the first meeting with SMU.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Due to attrition and injuries, SMU is down to seven scholarship players for tonight's game. Three of SMU's starters played 37 minutes in Wednesday's 67-60 loss to Tulsa. The lack of depth means the Mustangs will likely play the same zone defense Memphis destroyed in the Tigers' 88-52 victory on Feb. 3. "We have to play a lot of zone," coach Matt Doherty said. "We play a lot of zone anyway, but (by playing man-to-man), you risk foul trouble and fatigue."... Regardless of tonight's outcome, SMU will be the 11th seed in next week's C-USA Tournament ... Senior Ike Ofoegbu is streaking to end his career, with an average of 19.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in the last six games. He's shot 53.5 percent from the field during that stretch and made 14 of 22 from 3-point range. ... Ofoegbu, Devon Pearson and Donatas Rackauskas will be playing their final home games. ... Bamba Fall, a 7-1 sophomore, is unlikely to play tonight due to a broken finger on his left hand. He has been out since Feb. 10 but might return for the conference tournament.
KEY MATCHUP: Donatas Rackauskas vs. Robert Dozier
One of Calipari's biggest frustrations has been Dozier's inability to finish strong when he bumps up against physical post players. Rackauskas, a 6-11 senior, will likely try to hack and disrupt Dozier when he gets the ball, as UTEP did Thursday. Though Dozier is slightly built, the bigger issue is his mentality, which must improve before the NCAA Tournament.
-- Dan Wolken
March 3, 2007
Moody Coliseum, Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
TV: CSTV (Ch. 222 on Comcast digital cable, Ch. 610 on DIRECTV, Ch. 152 on DISH Network). CSTV is not all available on every cable or satellite package
Radio: WREC-AM (600)
Records: Memphis 26-3 (15-0 Conference USA), SMU 14-15 (3-12)
Series standing: Memphis leads, 3-1
Latest line: Memphis by 14
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
With a victory, Memphis would finish off a perfect 16-0 conference season. In the history of the program, no Tigers team has ever gone undefeated in its league. Only one other C-USA team has run the table, as Cincinnati went 16-0 in 1999-2000. ... Perhaps more remarkable, of Memphis' 15 league games, only one has been decided by a single-digit margin (Southern Miss on Jan. 27). ... With his 21-point performance in Thursday's 78-67 victory at UTEP, sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts made a strong push to claim C-USA player of the year honors. Douglas-Roberts has scored in double-figures in all 12 league games he's played (he missed three due to injury) and is averaging 15.3 points. ... Senior guard Jeremy Hunt, a lock to win the C-USA sixth man award, will average double-figures for the first time in his career. After averaging 9.0, 9.6 and 9.5 points, Hunt has bumped his contribution to 14.1 points per game. By making 4-of-7 from 3-point range at UTEP, Hunt bumped his 3-point percentage to 44.4. ... Coach John Calipari is working to find more minutes for Doneal Mack, who connected on 5-of-5 from 3-point range and scored 17 points in the first meeting with SMU.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Due to attrition and injuries, SMU is down to seven scholarship players for tonight's game. Three of SMU's starters played 37 minutes in Wednesday's 67-60 loss to Tulsa. The lack of depth means the Mustangs will likely play the same zone defense Memphis destroyed in the Tigers' 88-52 victory on Feb. 3. "We have to play a lot of zone," coach Matt Doherty said. "We play a lot of zone anyway, but (by playing man-to-man), you risk foul trouble and fatigue."... Regardless of tonight's outcome, SMU will be the 11th seed in next week's C-USA Tournament ... Senior Ike Ofoegbu is streaking to end his career, with an average of 19.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in the last six games. He's shot 53.5 percent from the field during that stretch and made 14 of 22 from 3-point range. ... Ofoegbu, Devon Pearson and Donatas Rackauskas will be playing their final home games. ... Bamba Fall, a 7-1 sophomore, is unlikely to play tonight due to a broken finger on his left hand. He has been out since Feb. 10 but might return for the conference tournament.
KEY MATCHUP: Donatas Rackauskas vs. Robert Dozier
One of Calipari's biggest frustrations has been Dozier's inability to finish strong when he bumps up against physical post players. Rackauskas, a 6-11 senior, will likely try to hack and disrupt Dozier when he gets the ball, as UTEP did Thursday. Though Dozier is slightly built, the bigger issue is his mentality, which must improve before the NCAA Tournament.
-- Dan Wolken
Friday, March 02, 2007
From the Memphis Edge .....Analyzing the Tiger Analysts
Analyzing the Tiger analysts
Before I go any further, I want to issue a disclaimer: The following is not an argument about where Memphis should be ranked, where Memphis should be seeded or how good Memphis is.
Rather, I want to comment on what I’ve been hearing, mainly on local talk radio, about the Tigers. Most of it is shallow mimicry, people saying the same intellectually lazy things over and over again about the Tigers’ schedule, Conference USA, the losses to Georgia Tech, Arizona and Tennessee, etc.
The problem is, what you hear is two-dimensional analysis about an incredibly multi-dimensional sport. I can guarantee, in a month these same people will be talking about how it baffles the mind that some No. 7 seed made a deep run while some No. 1 or No. 2 seed lost early.
But this is the difficulty in analyzing college basketball. In my opinion, there is no sport where there are more variables that can impact the outcome of every game. Then, you get to the NCAA Tournament, and some of those variables are suddenly eliminated and others are altered, which is why there are so many seemingly shocking upsets.
For instance, the Tigers’ 18-point loss to Tennessee is the one that seems to be held against them more than any of their three losses. But it's a completely irrelevant result in trying to determine how the Tigers will perform in the NCAA Tournament (or the Vols, for that matter), and I can make that argument without even talking about where the game was played.
Here's the argument: Tennessee played a Dec. 1 game against Murray State, then had five days to prepare for Memphis on Dec. 6. In that time span, Memphis played Manhattan on Dec. 2, Marshall on Dec. 4, then had to travel to Knoxville on Dec. 5. No matter how good Memphis is, Tennessee was going to be far more prepared, far better rested and far more mentally ready for a big game.
In an NCAA Tournament scenario, both teams travel the same day. Both teams are playing at an unfamiliar arena. Both teams have had essentially the same amount of rest time. Many of the factors that can impact how a game is played are thus taken out of the equation.
Did Chris Douglas-Roberts’ stomach virus impact the way the Arizona game was played? Absolutely. If there were rematches, would Doneal Mack’s emergence impact the way every game in November and December was played? Absolutely.
To what degree, I couldn’t say. Nobody could. The point is, in college basketball, past results are often a poor predictor of future results since the circumstances are constantly changing.
This is not to say that the outcomes of games aren’t important. The past performances are important for the purposes of getting into the NCAA Tournament and seeding. But the truth is, we can talk about it all we want, but there is only one opinion that matters. And that’s the opinion of the 10 people in Indianapolis who put together that bracket.
You and I can discuss what factors we think are important or where different teams should be seeded. And after the bracket is released, you’ll hear plenty of people screaming into microphones about injustices and travesties. But the truth is, if the Tigers come out as a No. 2 seed, you have to accept it because that’s what the committee says they are. And the same thing holds true if they get a No. 5 seed. All the other analysis is useless.
Before I go any further, I want to issue a disclaimer: The following is not an argument about where Memphis should be ranked, where Memphis should be seeded or how good Memphis is.
Rather, I want to comment on what I’ve been hearing, mainly on local talk radio, about the Tigers. Most of it is shallow mimicry, people saying the same intellectually lazy things over and over again about the Tigers’ schedule, Conference USA, the losses to Georgia Tech, Arizona and Tennessee, etc.
The problem is, what you hear is two-dimensional analysis about an incredibly multi-dimensional sport. I can guarantee, in a month these same people will be talking about how it baffles the mind that some No. 7 seed made a deep run while some No. 1 or No. 2 seed lost early.
But this is the difficulty in analyzing college basketball. In my opinion, there is no sport where there are more variables that can impact the outcome of every game. Then, you get to the NCAA Tournament, and some of those variables are suddenly eliminated and others are altered, which is why there are so many seemingly shocking upsets.
For instance, the Tigers’ 18-point loss to Tennessee is the one that seems to be held against them more than any of their three losses. But it's a completely irrelevant result in trying to determine how the Tigers will perform in the NCAA Tournament (or the Vols, for that matter), and I can make that argument without even talking about where the game was played.
Here's the argument: Tennessee played a Dec. 1 game against Murray State, then had five days to prepare for Memphis on Dec. 6. In that time span, Memphis played Manhattan on Dec. 2, Marshall on Dec. 4, then had to travel to Knoxville on Dec. 5. No matter how good Memphis is, Tennessee was going to be far more prepared, far better rested and far more mentally ready for a big game.
In an NCAA Tournament scenario, both teams travel the same day. Both teams are playing at an unfamiliar arena. Both teams have had essentially the same amount of rest time. Many of the factors that can impact how a game is played are thus taken out of the equation.
Did Chris Douglas-Roberts’ stomach virus impact the way the Arizona game was played? Absolutely. If there were rematches, would Doneal Mack’s emergence impact the way every game in November and December was played? Absolutely.
To what degree, I couldn’t say. Nobody could. The point is, in college basketball, past results are often a poor predictor of future results since the circumstances are constantly changing.
This is not to say that the outcomes of games aren’t important. The past performances are important for the purposes of getting into the NCAA Tournament and seeding. But the truth is, we can talk about it all we want, but there is only one opinion that matters. And that’s the opinion of the 10 people in Indianapolis who put together that bracket.
You and I can discuss what factors we think are important or where different teams should be seeded. And after the bracket is released, you’ll hear plenty of people screaming into microphones about injustices and travesties. But the truth is, if the Tigers come out as a No. 2 seed, you have to accept it because that’s what the committee says they are. And the same thing holds true if they get a No. 5 seed. All the other analysis is useless.
Great Blog From Duke Keith, KLAQ Radio in El Paso, On C-USA, the One-Bid Conference
That Will Do
Duke Keith's Views On Sports And Such
Duke Keith is the sports director for KLAQ, does morning sports on KROD, and does pretty much whatever events MetroSports Southwest is televising. He's been involved with local sports media since coming to El Paso in 1990.
You can listen to Duke on the KLAQ Morning Show, weekdays 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and watch him on MetroSports Southwest's "News & Views".
Duke comments on sports in general, especially its lighter side.
E-mail Duke at dkeith@klaq.com.
February 24, 2007
C-USA Needs to Check That Light at the End of the Tunnel
Hi ho hi ho, it's off to school we go
We have no chance
For the Big Dance
Hi ho, hi ho
Ladies and gentlemen, we present Memphis and the 11 Dwarves, also known as Conference USA men's basketball.
Sorry, but unless a school other than Memphis wins the C-USA tournament -- in Memphis -- this is a one-bid league. And we're not talking about a bid for auction, either; although you get the feeling the conference got what was left of an estate sale after the heirs were finished picking out the good stuff.
The lack of overall success means Conference USA is looking more like a strained stew these days, and something needs to change. In the annual race between conferences -- where bling is king in terms of construction, coaches' contracts, TV exposure and post-season appearances -- C-USA seems to be left behind.
Almost two seasons removed from losing Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville, among others, and one season removed from losing Mike Anderson and Doc Sadler, there is a vacuum in Conference USA. And though C-USA schools have spent good money for coaches like Larry Eustachy and Mike Davis, a few fans here are beginning to second-guess UTEP's choice for a conference home.
Part of this kvetching might be separation withdrawal. The Miners' old conference, now including its I-10 arch-rival, could end up having four teams with 20 wins or more. Western Athletic Conference schools Nevada, New Mexico State and Utah State are already there. Fresno State has 19 wins with three games remaining. The always-underrated WAC could get three teams in the NCAA Tournament, but probably won't unless the Wolfpack or the Aggies don't win the WAC tourney -- in Las Cruces, NM.
Part of it is the success of conferences that might be considered behind C-USA in the pecking order. A few years back, the Missouri Valley Conference demanded its schools ramp up their scheduling, coaches' salaries and facilities. There are penalties if you don't keep up with the Joneses, too. The result is a conference considered a basketball powerhouse nationally.
It's not an absolute comparison because the MVC doesn't play Division 1A football, but it gives an idea of the business plan some conferences have -- a plan those who follow C-USA hope that conference has.
Part of the grumbling also comes from the fact C-USA hasn't had the best of school years in either major sport. Football was competitive within the conference, but going 0-for-14 against Top 25 competition and with a single bowl victory in five tries doesn't help.
But basketball? Yeesh. Undefeated in conference play stand the Tigers, a saguaro cactus looming over the rat's nest of prickly pear competition at its base. Actually, rats would know better than to build a nest in this mess.
So why has UTEP?
The answers are easier than you might think. Television and bowl games.
Yes, college football bowl tie-ins have very little to do with basketball on the surface, but you must walk before you run, and if you're a conference that plays football and men's basketball at the D-1A level, you start and end on the gridiron. It's program- (and conference-) building 101.
Considering UTEP's longer history and bigger name in hoops, it's a little sad. But it's the harsh reality of conference affiliation these days that potential TV audiences and demographics rule the roost. Demographers, TV networks and advertisers love football.
We hear UTEP athletic director Bob Stull is still sending purple and white Thank You cards to a certain Fort Worth address for giving up a space in a conference with a legit television deal.
TCU might want that spot back after dealing with the Mountain West's TV woes. I'm sure Horned Frogs fans are really into those heated rivalry games with UNLV and San Diego State, though I'm sure they've learned to dislike Brigham Young as much as any old WAC school.
Speaking of, gripe away about how good the WAC is these days in both football and basketball. It won't change the fact that the whole conference lives paycheck to paycheck because it can't put any stock in its un-deal with ESPN. Actually, it should read: TV won't put any stock in the WAC.
The big Boise State-San Jose State football matchup this last season, scheduled to be on ESPN2, was dropped by the network. At the time, the WAC was worried it might cost the Broncos a shot at a BCS berth.
Why the drop and why no TV deal? Because the only WAC schools that get first share of local media coverage are in the sparsely-populated states of Hawaii and Idaho. From there it gets worse.
How about Nevada? The Wolfpack is top dog locally, but outside Reno? Not with the steady parade of high-profile boxing matches and UNLV in front of them. Not even in Parumph.
NMSU is second fiddle in two markets, Albuquerque and El Paso. Utah State is third fiddle to Utah and BYU. San Jose State is fourth fiddle to Cal, Stanford and anybody else in the Pac-10; and to the rest of California, Fresno State might as well be a trade school.
Louisiana Tech? Please. The South Central Louisiana State Mud Dogs beat La-Tech's merchandise sales on bottles of Bobby Boucher "High-Quality H-2-O" alone.
So few television sets and no recognizable names, other than Boise State? And with the Broncos all but publicly salivating at the prospect of joining the Mountain West Conference? UTEP got out just in time, because it could get uglier soon for the WAC.
Thanks to C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky, the league ended up with a better overall deal with two cable TV sports outfits than it did just with ESPN. They took a large pay cut from ESPN after losing all the big hoops teams, but College Sports Television actually puts C-USA's annual TV payout to $11.3 million over six years.
As for C-USA ship-jumpers, there is Memphis. The Tigers would love a move to the Big East. They're about the only school that can make a jump, all on the basis of basketball.
But Memphis has a problem. The Tigers play D-1A football, too, and they're not very good at it. With all the open speculation about the Big East being dropped as a Bowl Championship Series conference after its defections, the last thing it wants is Memphis' dead weight plunging the conference into the abyss.
Then you have Tigers' head basketball coach and Tony Barbee's mentor, John Calipari, quoted in the article linked above (third paragraph), as saying "You watch. In the next two to three years we'll be a three- or four-bid league."
Sounds like Memphis isn't going -- or can't go -- anywhere.
A relatively secure conference outlook. A TV deal former conference mates in both the WAC and the Mountain West covet. Five, and sometimes six bowl tie-ins.
It is still much better for UTEP right where they are, though conference affiliation is never permanent. The Mountain West taught El Paso this.
However, establishing winning football and basketball programs is a must for the entire conference. Otherwise, ESPN might be saying "Goodbye, UTEP-Memphis" and "Hello, Knight School 2."
Posted by Duke Keith on February 23, 2007 at 11:26 PM | Permalink
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http://theafternoonsnooze.wordpress.com/2007/03/02/simply-put-the-tigers-need-to-join-the-valley/#comment-2768
In a few of my discussions with a family friend, I always brought up the topic of the Tigers leaving Conference USA for greener pastures and better competition.
Or in this case, the Missouri Valley Conference, a conference that the Tigers were a part of during the late ’60’s and early 70’s with schools like Bradley, Drake, West Texas State, and future C-USA member Tulsa.
And a conference that has captivated the imagination of college basketball pundits throughout this season as Southern Illinois goes into today’s action in the Valley tournament with the highest ranking in school history and holders of the 5th rated RPI in the country.
The Valley has always thrived on their success in basketball through coaches like Eddie Hickey at Creighton and St. Louis, Chuck Osborn at Bradley, Henry Iba at Oklahoma State, Dana Altman at Creighton, and others.
As well as players like Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Kyle Korver, Hershey Hawkins, Xavier McDaniel, and others.
Which could very well be the ticket that the University of Memphis needs in order to replace the University of Evansville, who was rumored to be leaving the conference for maybe the Mid-Continent as a replacement for Valparaiso in 2007-08.
If you held up the standings in the Valley against the standings in Conference USA, the gap between the first-place and second-place teams in the Valley was only a game while the gap in Conference USA between the Tigers and Central Florida was five games after the Tigers’ win over UTEP on last night.
Disparaging, huh?
This year the Valley as a conference racked up wins over big-name schools like Purdue, Wisconsin, Xavier, just to name a few.
Which improved their RPI as a conference.
Conference USA, on the other hand, is still trying to make this new league work and comb its way through the wilderness.
The thing is, the Tigers’ constant success in the conference is going to continue to raise the debate about quality in Conference USA.
Do you put a school with so much basketball tradition in a conference filled with a bunch of bottom-feeders that get their asses kicked by 30 night in and night out?
Or do you devise a committee of alumni who decide (unless if Evansville decides to leave the Valley) that the best way for the Tigers to gain some type of competition in basketball during the conference season is to go back to the Missouri Valley and face the likes of Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Creighton?
Or do you call one of the athletic directors at one of the schools in the Valley and switch conference schedules?
Think about it.
http://theafternoonsnooze.wordpress.com/2007/03/02/simply-put-the-tigers-need-to-join-the-valley/#comment-2768
In a few of my discussions with a family friend, I always brought up the topic of the Tigers leaving Conference USA for greener pastures and better competition.
Or in this case, the Missouri Valley Conference, a conference that the Tigers were a part of during the late ’60’s and early 70’s with schools like Bradley, Drake, West Texas State, and future C-USA member Tulsa.
And a conference that has captivated the imagination of college basketball pundits throughout this season as Southern Illinois goes into today’s action in the Valley tournament with the highest ranking in school history and holders of the 5th rated RPI in the country.
The Valley has always thrived on their success in basketball through coaches like Eddie Hickey at Creighton and St. Louis, Chuck Osborn at Bradley, Henry Iba at Oklahoma State, Dana Altman at Creighton, and others.
As well as players like Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Kyle Korver, Hershey Hawkins, Xavier McDaniel, and others.
Which could very well be the ticket that the University of Memphis needs in order to replace the University of Evansville, who was rumored to be leaving the conference for maybe the Mid-Continent as a replacement for Valparaiso in 2007-08.
If you held up the standings in the Valley against the standings in Conference USA, the gap between the first-place and second-place teams in the Valley was only a game while the gap in Conference USA between the Tigers and Central Florida was five games after the Tigers’ win over UTEP on last night.
Disparaging, huh?
This year the Valley as a conference racked up wins over big-name schools like Purdue, Wisconsin, Xavier, just to name a few.
Which improved their RPI as a conference.
Conference USA, on the other hand, is still trying to make this new league work and comb its way through the wilderness.
The thing is, the Tigers’ constant success in the conference is going to continue to raise the debate about quality in Conference USA.
Do you put a school with so much basketball tradition in a conference filled with a bunch of bottom-feeders that get their asses kicked by 30 night in and night out?
Or do you devise a committee of alumni who decide (unless if Evansville decides to leave the Valley) that the best way for the Tigers to gain some type of competition in basketball during the conference season is to go back to the Missouri Valley and face the likes of Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Creighton?
Or do you call one of the athletic directors at one of the schools in the Valley and switch conference schedules?
Think about it.
SI.com "Tigers Burning Brights As March Arrives"
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - The Memphis Tigers are humming along, ranked sixth in the nation and enjoying the nation's longest winning streak at 17 games.
Imagine where they might be if Shawne Williams and Darius Washington hadn't gone to the NBA.
"Who knows how the scoring would've been?'' senior guard Jeremy Hunt said. "We don't know. We think about it. But we don't ever get negative thoughts. We're just wondering.''
It would be difficult for Memphis to improve much on this season.
The Tigers (25-3), who play Thursday night at UTEP, clinched a second straight Conference USA title outright last week for the first time in school history and have won three of the past four. Only Winthrop of the Big South Conference has gone undefeated in league play this season.
And defending national champion Florida is the only other team that has won as many as the Tigers' 58 wins during the past two seasons.
Not bad for a team that lost top scorer and senior Rodney Carney, also an NBA first-round pick, with Williams. Washington was not drafted but could not return because he had signed with an agent.
Coach John Calipari, who has guided his Tigers to at least 20 wins in each of his seven seasons in Memphis, found himself without 56 percent of the offense and 50 percent of the defense with the loss of the three starters.
His starting lineup this year? A freshman point guard in Willie Kemp, three sophomores led by Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson and junior Joey Dorsey.
"I know we're young. I also know we're pretty good,'' Calipari said.
The Tigers are in step with the squad that earned the first No. 1 seed in school history last year and reached the Oakland Regional final before losing to UCLA 50-45.
They rank ninth in scoring offense (80.4 points), fifth in scoring margin (17.9 ppg), sixth in steals (10.2) and eighth in field goal percentage defense (38.3 percent). As hosts of the league tournament next week, with its automatic bid to the winner, they'll play at home where they have won 29 straight.
"We're like a runaway train because we score a lot of points,'' Calipari said. "We put 'em up in bunches. We can make 3s. We're athletic and long. We really guard.''
Calipari calls this his best passing team. And the players love his system.
"It's a run and gun offense,'' Hunt said. "If you can play, you're going to be on the court.''
That includes Hunt, who was dismissed in October 2005 following a fight on Memphis' famous Beale Street and was charged with assaulting an ex-girlfriend. He met the terms a judge set in the assault case, and his criminal record was cleared of the charge Tuesday.
He returned the team on what Calipari calls "triple-secret probation,'' limiting what Hunt can do. He now is the first player off the bench, averaging 13.8 points.
Calipari credits Hunt's mother with backing the school's punishment. Hunt responded by never missing a game last season, sitting in the student section, watching practices in which couldn't play and finishing his degree in sports education last August.
"He has been humble, he's grown, he's matured. ... I think it's a great statement that this university has given him another chance,'' Calipari said.
Hunt, the lone senior who isn't a walk-on, said he grew up when he couldn't play. He has been a big key for a team that has moved up the rankings even though the Tigers' last ranked opponent was then-No. 9 Arizona on Dec. 20.
They haven't lost since. Their other two losses: to then-No. 19 Georgia Tech in Maui and at Tennessee in December, which went undefeated at home this season.
"When you schedule that kind of schedule, you're risking the program because we lost all that we lost,'' Calipari said. "And we survived it.''
Conference USA's RPI is up from last season, but the Tigers' toughest game in league play was Jan. 11 at Houston in a 79-69 victory. They went to Gonzaga on Feb. 17 and won 78-77 in overtime in a game designed to toughen up the schedule late.
Calipari's teams traditionally play well in March, and he is a combined 30-13 in the NIT and NCAA tournament at Massachusetts and Memphis. These Tigers didn't celebrate their latest league title last week. Only a national title - which would be the first for a school that has been to the Final Four twice and not since 1985 - will do.
"We have big goals,'' Hunt said. "We're trying to fulfill them.'"
Imagine where they might be if Shawne Williams and Darius Washington hadn't gone to the NBA.
"Who knows how the scoring would've been?'' senior guard Jeremy Hunt said. "We don't know. We think about it. But we don't ever get negative thoughts. We're just wondering.''
It would be difficult for Memphis to improve much on this season.
The Tigers (25-3), who play Thursday night at UTEP, clinched a second straight Conference USA title outright last week for the first time in school history and have won three of the past four. Only Winthrop of the Big South Conference has gone undefeated in league play this season.
And defending national champion Florida is the only other team that has won as many as the Tigers' 58 wins during the past two seasons.
Not bad for a team that lost top scorer and senior Rodney Carney, also an NBA first-round pick, with Williams. Washington was not drafted but could not return because he had signed with an agent.
Coach John Calipari, who has guided his Tigers to at least 20 wins in each of his seven seasons in Memphis, found himself without 56 percent of the offense and 50 percent of the defense with the loss of the three starters.
His starting lineup this year? A freshman point guard in Willie Kemp, three sophomores led by Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson and junior Joey Dorsey.
"I know we're young. I also know we're pretty good,'' Calipari said.
The Tigers are in step with the squad that earned the first No. 1 seed in school history last year and reached the Oakland Regional final before losing to UCLA 50-45.
They rank ninth in scoring offense (80.4 points), fifth in scoring margin (17.9 ppg), sixth in steals (10.2) and eighth in field goal percentage defense (38.3 percent). As hosts of the league tournament next week, with its automatic bid to the winner, they'll play at home where they have won 29 straight.
"We're like a runaway train because we score a lot of points,'' Calipari said. "We put 'em up in bunches. We can make 3s. We're athletic and long. We really guard.''
Calipari calls this his best passing team. And the players love his system.
"It's a run and gun offense,'' Hunt said. "If you can play, you're going to be on the court.''
That includes Hunt, who was dismissed in October 2005 following a fight on Memphis' famous Beale Street and was charged with assaulting an ex-girlfriend. He met the terms a judge set in the assault case, and his criminal record was cleared of the charge Tuesday.
He returned the team on what Calipari calls "triple-secret probation,'' limiting what Hunt can do. He now is the first player off the bench, averaging 13.8 points.
Calipari credits Hunt's mother with backing the school's punishment. Hunt responded by never missing a game last season, sitting in the student section, watching practices in which couldn't play and finishing his degree in sports education last August.
"He has been humble, he's grown, he's matured. ... I think it's a great statement that this university has given him another chance,'' Calipari said.
Hunt, the lone senior who isn't a walk-on, said he grew up when he couldn't play. He has been a big key for a team that has moved up the rankings even though the Tigers' last ranked opponent was then-No. 9 Arizona on Dec. 20.
They haven't lost since. Their other two losses: to then-No. 19 Georgia Tech in Maui and at Tennessee in December, which went undefeated at home this season.
"When you schedule that kind of schedule, you're risking the program because we lost all that we lost,'' Calipari said. "And we survived it.''
Conference USA's RPI is up from last season, but the Tigers' toughest game in league play was Jan. 11 at Houston in a 79-69 victory. They went to Gonzaga on Feb. 17 and won 78-77 in overtime in a game designed to toughen up the schedule late.
Calipari's teams traditionally play well in March, and he is a combined 30-13 in the NIT and NCAA tournament at Massachusetts and Memphis. These Tigers didn't celebrate their latest league title last week. Only a national title - which would be the first for a school that has been to the Final Four twice and not since 1985 - will do.
"We have big goals,'' Hunt said. "We're trying to fulfill them.'"
All Headline News "Memphis Wins 18th Straight"
No. 6 Memphis Wins 18th Straight With 78-67 Victory Over UTEP
March 2, 2007 10:04 a.m. EST
Christopher Cornell - All Headline News Sports Reporter
El Paso, TX (AHN) - No. 6 Memphis continued its domination over Conference USA on Thursday by winning its 18th straight contest with a 78-67 victory over the University of Texas El Paso. The Tigers (26-3, 15-0) haven't dropped a contest since Dec. 20 when they fell 79-71 to Arizona.
The Tigers have won their last eight conference contests by double digits.
The backcourt combination of Chris Douglas-Roberts and reserve Jeremy Hunt was too much for the Miners to overcome on Thursday night. Douglas-Roberts dropped 21 points while Hunt added 19, including 5-of-8 from long distance. The Tigers' bench played a big part in their 18th straight victory as Doneal Mack added 10 as a sub and the entire reserve unit contributed 36 points.
The Tigers coach John Calipari felt fortunate to escape with the win on the road.
"Two shots for them and they win that game," Calipari said, referring to a pair of late 3-pointers that wouldn't fall for the Miners.
Memphis built a 10-point advantage with 8:18 remaining on a dunk by Joey Dorsey, but UTEP climbed back in with haste. UTEP scored the next seven points to close the gap to 28-25 with just under seven minutes to go. The Miners tied the game at 36 with a minute left on a 3-pointer by Jeremy Sampson. Robert Dozier and Mack closed out the half with a pair of jumpers to take a four-point advantage into the break.
Kareem Cooper hit a two and a half minutes into the second half to put the Tigers up 47-39, but they went 3:30 without a field goal and allowed UTEP to close to within 47-44. Douglas-Roberts pushed the lead to double digits again with 5:16 left as he scored five straight points.
Stefon Jackson's free throws got the Miners back within five at 68-63 with 3:41 left, but the Tigers put the game away with a 3-pointer from Hunt with 51 seconds left, making it a 74-64 game.
Jackson led the Miners with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jeremy Sampson had 14 points and hit 5-of-7 from the field. Maurice Thomas added 11 and Marvin Kilgore scored 12.
The Tigers held a 47-33 advantage on the glass and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds which led to 10 second chance points.
Memphis will try to complete a perfect conference record on Saturday when they play at SMU.
March 2, 2007 10:04 a.m. EST
Christopher Cornell - All Headline News Sports Reporter
El Paso, TX (AHN) - No. 6 Memphis continued its domination over Conference USA on Thursday by winning its 18th straight contest with a 78-67 victory over the University of Texas El Paso. The Tigers (26-3, 15-0) haven't dropped a contest since Dec. 20 when they fell 79-71 to Arizona.
The Tigers have won their last eight conference contests by double digits.
The backcourt combination of Chris Douglas-Roberts and reserve Jeremy Hunt was too much for the Miners to overcome on Thursday night. Douglas-Roberts dropped 21 points while Hunt added 19, including 5-of-8 from long distance. The Tigers' bench played a big part in their 18th straight victory as Doneal Mack added 10 as a sub and the entire reserve unit contributed 36 points.
The Tigers coach John Calipari felt fortunate to escape with the win on the road.
"Two shots for them and they win that game," Calipari said, referring to a pair of late 3-pointers that wouldn't fall for the Miners.
Memphis built a 10-point advantage with 8:18 remaining on a dunk by Joey Dorsey, but UTEP climbed back in with haste. UTEP scored the next seven points to close the gap to 28-25 with just under seven minutes to go. The Miners tied the game at 36 with a minute left on a 3-pointer by Jeremy Sampson. Robert Dozier and Mack closed out the half with a pair of jumpers to take a four-point advantage into the break.
Kareem Cooper hit a two and a half minutes into the second half to put the Tigers up 47-39, but they went 3:30 without a field goal and allowed UTEP to close to within 47-44. Douglas-Roberts pushed the lead to double digits again with 5:16 left as he scored five straight points.
Stefon Jackson's free throws got the Miners back within five at 68-63 with 3:41 left, but the Tigers put the game away with a 3-pointer from Hunt with 51 seconds left, making it a 74-64 game.
Jackson led the Miners with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jeremy Sampson had 14 points and hit 5-of-7 from the field. Maurice Thomas added 11 and Marvin Kilgore scored 12.
The Tigers held a 47-33 advantage on the glass and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds which led to 10 second chance points.
Memphis will try to complete a perfect conference record on Saturday when they play at SMU.
Tigers Replay
Tigers replay
March 2, 2007
AS THE GAME TURNED
With 7:41 to go, a putback by Jeremy Sampson drew the Miners within 59-58, and when they got the ball back moments later, it was obvious that the moment was theirs to seize. But Maurice Thomas missed a 3-foot jumper, and with 6:56 left, Tigers senior Jeremy Hunt buried a 3-pointer. Then, sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts took over, getting two points on a goaltending call with 6:06 to go, then driving for a baseline runner on the next possession and drawing a foul. His free throw put Memphis ahead 68-58.
AS THE ROTATION TURNED
John Calipari made a very timely substitution with 11.5 seconds left in the first half. After UTEP's Stefon Jackson committed an offensive foul, giving the ball to Memphis, Calipari brought freshman guard Doneal Mack off the bench to replace forward Robert Dozier. The idea was to have another 3-point shooter on the floor if the Tigers got a good look. Instead, it was Antonio Anderson taking a 3-pointer from the corner. He missed, but Mack went after the ball harder than anyone and used his 41-inch vertical leap for a putback dunk that gave the Tigers a 40-36 lead.
RIM GEMS
Joey Dorsey's impact was diminished due to foul trouble, but a sequence with 8:15 to go in the first half highlighted how much he was able to dominate UTEP's post players when he wanted to. After Willie Kemp missed a 3-pointer, Dorsey rose above the crowd to tip the ball back toward the 3-point line, where Mack picked it up and fired. Again, Dorsey timed his jump just right, tip-dunking Mack's missed 3-pointer off as it bounced high off the rim.
HIDE YOUR EYES
Thursday was a nightmare offensively for Dozier, who had trouble every time he got close to the rim. The 6-9 sophomore had trouble finishing in traffic, going 1-for-6 from the field, mostly on missed layups. He also got stuffed by the rim on a dunk. Dozier did make an impact defensively, blocking five shots and grabbing seven rebounds.
SCORER'S TABLE
Memphis made as many 3-pointers as free throws. The Tigers went 11-for-28 from the 3-point line. Memphis went 11-for-25 from the free-throw line to ring out at 44 percent.
LOCKERROOM CHATTER
"It felt like a tournament game. It reminded me of practice really because it was just like playing against each other. They ran the same plays and played us physical, just like we do, and we expected that. But we didn't expect the type of environment, and we didn't know they were going to come out and play as hard and as good as they did." -- Douglas-Roberts
ODDS AND ENDS
Calipari coached his 500th college game Thursday. With the win, he improved his career record to 367-133.
Memphis became the first team in the country this season to reach 18 straight wins. Clemson, Florida and Wisconsin all won 17 straight games but lost going for No. 18.
LOOKING AHEAD
Tigers at SMU, Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
-- Dan Wolken
March 2, 2007
AS THE GAME TURNED
With 7:41 to go, a putback by Jeremy Sampson drew the Miners within 59-58, and when they got the ball back moments later, it was obvious that the moment was theirs to seize. But Maurice Thomas missed a 3-foot jumper, and with 6:56 left, Tigers senior Jeremy Hunt buried a 3-pointer. Then, sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts took over, getting two points on a goaltending call with 6:06 to go, then driving for a baseline runner on the next possession and drawing a foul. His free throw put Memphis ahead 68-58.
AS THE ROTATION TURNED
John Calipari made a very timely substitution with 11.5 seconds left in the first half. After UTEP's Stefon Jackson committed an offensive foul, giving the ball to Memphis, Calipari brought freshman guard Doneal Mack off the bench to replace forward Robert Dozier. The idea was to have another 3-point shooter on the floor if the Tigers got a good look. Instead, it was Antonio Anderson taking a 3-pointer from the corner. He missed, but Mack went after the ball harder than anyone and used his 41-inch vertical leap for a putback dunk that gave the Tigers a 40-36 lead.
RIM GEMS
Joey Dorsey's impact was diminished due to foul trouble, but a sequence with 8:15 to go in the first half highlighted how much he was able to dominate UTEP's post players when he wanted to. After Willie Kemp missed a 3-pointer, Dorsey rose above the crowd to tip the ball back toward the 3-point line, where Mack picked it up and fired. Again, Dorsey timed his jump just right, tip-dunking Mack's missed 3-pointer off as it bounced high off the rim.
HIDE YOUR EYES
Thursday was a nightmare offensively for Dozier, who had trouble every time he got close to the rim. The 6-9 sophomore had trouble finishing in traffic, going 1-for-6 from the field, mostly on missed layups. He also got stuffed by the rim on a dunk. Dozier did make an impact defensively, blocking five shots and grabbing seven rebounds.
SCORER'S TABLE
Memphis made as many 3-pointers as free throws. The Tigers went 11-for-28 from the 3-point line. Memphis went 11-for-25 from the free-throw line to ring out at 44 percent.
LOCKERROOM CHATTER
"It felt like a tournament game. It reminded me of practice really because it was just like playing against each other. They ran the same plays and played us physical, just like we do, and we expected that. But we didn't expect the type of environment, and we didn't know they were going to come out and play as hard and as good as they did." -- Douglas-Roberts
ODDS AND ENDS
Calipari coached his 500th college game Thursday. With the win, he improved his career record to 367-133.
Memphis became the first team in the country this season to reach 18 straight wins. Clemson, Florida and Wisconsin all won 17 straight games but lost going for No. 18.
LOOKING AHEAD
Tigers at SMU, Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
-- Dan Wolken
Tigers Win 18th In a Row
Tigers win 18th in a row
No. 6 Tigers 78, UTEP 67
By Dan Wolken
March 2, 2007
EL PASO, Texas -- John Calipari and Tony Barbee walked toward each other along the scorer's table at the Don Haskins Center and embraced, one of them relieved and the other lamenting a signature win that slipped away.
Then, Barbee, who played under Calipari at UMass and coached under him at the University of Memphis, leaned in and shared the secret of what had transpired over 40 heart-wrenching minutes of basketball.
"What he ended up saying," Calipari said, "was just go after (Memphis) physically, and that's what they did."
Few teams have thrown the kind of physical pressure at the No. 6-ranked Tigers that UTEP did Thursday, inspired by a crowd of 11,066 that was on its feet for most of the second half. Few teams have so readily attacked Memphis' weaknesses. But in the end, the Tigers' talent and their will carried them to a 78-67 victory that remained in doubt until the final minute.
"This is a hard one because we needed to win the game, and (Barbee) did everything he could to put his team in position to win the game," Calipari said. "They came after us. He knows this team, and he played individual players the way they needed to be played. Remember, he recruited these guys."
For a while, Barbee's game plan had the nation's longest winning streak in jeopardy as Memphis was clinging to a one-point lead deep into the second half. But the Tigers got a 3-pointer from senior Jeremy Hunt with 6:56 left and clutch baskets down the stretch by sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts to break open a one-point game, giving Memphis a 10-point lead it nursed to the finish.
The Tigers, winners of 18 in a row, now head to Dallas for Saturday's meeting with SMU to close the regular season. A victory would complete Memphis' first unbeaten conference record in school history and match a C-USA record set by Cincinnati in 1999-2000.
But to even get on the precipice of that accomplishment, Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) had to survive a major scare from UTEP, which nearly produced the perfect upset recipe.
First, the Miners got junior forward Joey Dorsey in foul trouble, finally getting him to crack with 10:42 left when Dorsey got called for a technical foul (his fourth) for something he said as he walked to the Tigers' bench. Dorsey fouled out with 3:41 left, just seconds after letting a rebound out of his grasp that UTEP used to pull within 68-61.
Then, UTEP took away the rest of Memphis' inside game by applying relentless physical pressure to forward Robert Dozier, who had trouble finishing around the rim and went 1-for-8 from the field.
And finally, UTEP put the Tigers at the free-throw line, where they went 11-of-25 and missed three front-ends on bonus situations.
That convergence of circumstances rattled the Tigers for much of the game as they fired up contested 3-pointers and couldn't get any breathing room until an 11-2 run fueled by five straight Chris Douglas-Roberts points to give Memphis a 68-58 lead with 5:16 to go.
But even then, the Tigers couldn't put the game away, as UTEP crawled back within five points. A Douglas-Roberts putback put the Tigers in front 70-63 with 1:55 to go, and another Hunt 3-pointer with 51 seconds left finished off the Miners.
Hunt and Douglas-Roberts have made the key shots in all of the Tigers' close games, including victories over Gonzaga and Southern Miss. Douglas-Roberts had 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and Hunt scored 19 on 5-of-11.
"Me and Hunt talk about it at the end, and we just try to make the plays that we can make," Douglas-Roberts said. "Hunt knows that at the end, if he's open, let it go. And he can shoot it from deep. And I know I'm going to try to get fouled and try to get a layup, but we talk about that, and we're feeling our roles better."
UTEP shot 47.1 percent from the field and made 6-of-14 from 3-point range. Calipari said two wide-open misses by UTEP in the final minutes were all that stood between the Miners and a monumental upset.
"I don't know what else to say," Barbee said. "It was a good game. The kids played hard. We competed. We shot the ball well, but we didn't take care of the basketball well enough."
No. 6 Tigers 78, UTEP 67
By Dan Wolken
March 2, 2007
EL PASO, Texas -- John Calipari and Tony Barbee walked toward each other along the scorer's table at the Don Haskins Center and embraced, one of them relieved and the other lamenting a signature win that slipped away.
Then, Barbee, who played under Calipari at UMass and coached under him at the University of Memphis, leaned in and shared the secret of what had transpired over 40 heart-wrenching minutes of basketball.
"What he ended up saying," Calipari said, "was just go after (Memphis) physically, and that's what they did."
Few teams have thrown the kind of physical pressure at the No. 6-ranked Tigers that UTEP did Thursday, inspired by a crowd of 11,066 that was on its feet for most of the second half. Few teams have so readily attacked Memphis' weaknesses. But in the end, the Tigers' talent and their will carried them to a 78-67 victory that remained in doubt until the final minute.
"This is a hard one because we needed to win the game, and (Barbee) did everything he could to put his team in position to win the game," Calipari said. "They came after us. He knows this team, and he played individual players the way they needed to be played. Remember, he recruited these guys."
For a while, Barbee's game plan had the nation's longest winning streak in jeopardy as Memphis was clinging to a one-point lead deep into the second half. But the Tigers got a 3-pointer from senior Jeremy Hunt with 6:56 left and clutch baskets down the stretch by sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts to break open a one-point game, giving Memphis a 10-point lead it nursed to the finish.
The Tigers, winners of 18 in a row, now head to Dallas for Saturday's meeting with SMU to close the regular season. A victory would complete Memphis' first unbeaten conference record in school history and match a C-USA record set by Cincinnati in 1999-2000.
But to even get on the precipice of that accomplishment, Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) had to survive a major scare from UTEP, which nearly produced the perfect upset recipe.
First, the Miners got junior forward Joey Dorsey in foul trouble, finally getting him to crack with 10:42 left when Dorsey got called for a technical foul (his fourth) for something he said as he walked to the Tigers' bench. Dorsey fouled out with 3:41 left, just seconds after letting a rebound out of his grasp that UTEP used to pull within 68-61.
Then, UTEP took away the rest of Memphis' inside game by applying relentless physical pressure to forward Robert Dozier, who had trouble finishing around the rim and went 1-for-8 from the field.
And finally, UTEP put the Tigers at the free-throw line, where they went 11-of-25 and missed three front-ends on bonus situations.
That convergence of circumstances rattled the Tigers for much of the game as they fired up contested 3-pointers and couldn't get any breathing room until an 11-2 run fueled by five straight Chris Douglas-Roberts points to give Memphis a 68-58 lead with 5:16 to go.
But even then, the Tigers couldn't put the game away, as UTEP crawled back within five points. A Douglas-Roberts putback put the Tigers in front 70-63 with 1:55 to go, and another Hunt 3-pointer with 51 seconds left finished off the Miners.
Hunt and Douglas-Roberts have made the key shots in all of the Tigers' close games, including victories over Gonzaga and Southern Miss. Douglas-Roberts had 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and Hunt scored 19 on 5-of-11.
"Me and Hunt talk about it at the end, and we just try to make the plays that we can make," Douglas-Roberts said. "Hunt knows that at the end, if he's open, let it go. And he can shoot it from deep. And I know I'm going to try to get fouled and try to get a layup, but we talk about that, and we're feeling our roles better."
UTEP shot 47.1 percent from the field and made 6-of-14 from 3-point range. Calipari said two wide-open misses by UTEP in the final minutes were all that stood between the Miners and a monumental upset.
"I don't know what else to say," Barbee said. "It was a good game. The kids played hard. We competed. We shot the ball well, but we didn't take care of the basketball well enough."
AP Story - Memphis Tigers Over UTEP Miners
EL PASO, Texas (AP) -Memphis coach John Calipari knew his No. 6 Tigers wouldn't have an easy time going into a matchup with his protege and former player - first-year UTEP coach Tony Barbee.
Still, with 21 points from starting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts and reserve Jeremy Hunt , who added 19 points from the bench, Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) was able to put it away in the final minutes to win their 18th straight game, 78-67.
''Two shots for them and they win that game,'' Calipari said, adding that he was just grateful two late-game three pointers didn't fall for the Miners.
Calipari said he expected the Miners to know what his team was planning, since Barbee helped run the potent offense as an assistant until coming to UTEP (14-15, 6-9) this season. He also played for Calipari at UMass.
''They beat us to our positions five or six times,'' Calipari said.
Barbee, whose has had a disappointing season, said he and Calipari ''are mirror images of one and other,'' coaching the exact same type of game.
Stefon Jackson , a sophomore guard who led UTEP with 19 points, said the Miners felt like they were playing a bigger, stronger version of themselves.
Barbee met with his mentor briefly after the game, but declined to tell reporters what Calipari told him.
''I'd like to keep that between us,'' Barbee said.
Memphis, which has already secured the regular season conference title, could face the bottom-of-the-conference Miners again next week in the C-USA tournament, a prospect that Calipari said he wouldn't look forward to.
Still, with 21 points from starting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts and reserve Jeremy Hunt , who added 19 points from the bench, Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) was able to put it away in the final minutes to win their 18th straight game, 78-67.
''Two shots for them and they win that game,'' Calipari said, adding that he was just grateful two late-game three pointers didn't fall for the Miners.
Calipari said he expected the Miners to know what his team was planning, since Barbee helped run the potent offense as an assistant until coming to UTEP (14-15, 6-9) this season. He also played for Calipari at UMass.
''They beat us to our positions five or six times,'' Calipari said.
Barbee, whose has had a disappointing season, said he and Calipari ''are mirror images of one and other,'' coaching the exact same type of game.
Stefon Jackson , a sophomore guard who led UTEP with 19 points, said the Miners felt like they were playing a bigger, stronger version of themselves.
Barbee met with his mentor briefly after the game, but declined to tell reporters what Calipari told him.
''I'd like to keep that between us,'' Barbee said.
Memphis, which has already secured the regular season conference title, could face the bottom-of-the-conference Miners again next week in the C-USA tournament, a prospect that Calipari said he wouldn't look forward to.
Official Box Score - Memphis 78, UTEP 67
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Memphis vs UTEP
03-01-07 7:05 p.m. at El Paso, Texas - Don Haskins Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Memphis 26-3, 15-0 C-USA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
02 Dozier, Robert...... f 1-6 0-1 1-2 2 5 7 3 3 1 2 5 0 22
32 Dorsey, Joey........ f 3-6 0-0 0-2 5 1 6 5 6 0 0 1 1 24
01 Kemp, Willie........ g 2-5 2-5 0-3 0 0 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 16
12 Anderson, Antonio... g 2-7 0-3 2-4 3 6 9 1 6 5 1 0 1 34
14 DOUGLAS-ROBERTS, C.. g 8-13 2-2 3-3 3 1 4 4 21 2 3 1 1 28
05 Hunt, Jeremy........ 5-11 4-7 5-8 1 5 6 1 19 2 1 0 1 29
15 Allen, Andre........ 2-11 1-6 0-3 4 2 6 2 5 5 3 0 3 25
20 Mack, Doneal........ 4-7 2-4 0-0 2 2 4 2 10 0 3 0 0 14
42 Cooper, Kareem...... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 1 8
TEAM................ 2 2 4 1
Totals.............. 28-68 11-28 11-25 22 25 47 21 78 17 15 7 8 199
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-35 45.7% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 41.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-15 40.0% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 39.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 9-17 52.9% Game: 44.0% 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: UTEP 14-15, 6-9 C-USA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 VANWRIGHT, Dale..... f 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 2 1 3 0 0 16
50 RAMALHO, Victor..... f 1-7 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 4 2 0 2 0 0 23
11 HENDERSON, Kevin.... g 2-7 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 2 6 5 2 1 3 33
12 JACKSON, Stefon..... g 6-10 0-1 7-10 2 10 12 4 19 0 2 1 2 38
24 KILGORE, Marvin..... g 5-7 0-0 2-3 0 0 0 3 12 3 4 0 1 31
03 ALVIN, Malik........ 0-3 0-1 1-3 1 2 3 2 1 5 4 0 0 17
31 THOMAS, Maurice..... 4-9 0-0 3-5 0 1 1 0 11 0 1 3 0 17
33 SAMPSON, Jeremy..... 5-7 4-6 0-1 1 3 4 2 14 1 2 2 0 21
34 CLARKE, Darren...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 24-51 6-14 13-22 8 25 33 22 67 15 21 7 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7% 2nd Half: 10-21 47.6% Game: 47.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 10-17 58.8% Game: 59.1% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Steve Welmer, Mark Whitehead, Ted Hillary
Technical fouls: Memphis-DORSEY, Joey. UTEP-None.
Attendance: 11066
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Memphis....................... 40 38 - 78
UTEP.......................... 36 31 - 67
Points in the paint-MEM 30,UTEP 32. Points off turnovers-MEM 16,UTEP 14.
2nd chance points-MEM 10,UTEP 8. Fast break points-MEM 10,UTEP 12.
Bench points-MEM 36,UTEP 26. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-MEM 2nd-00:49, UTEP 2nd-00:15.
Largest lead-MEM by 13 2nd-00:29, UTEP by 2 1st-18:42.
Memphis vs UTEP
03-01-07 7:05 p.m. at El Paso, Texas - Don Haskins Center
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Memphis 26-3, 15-0 C-USA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
02 Dozier, Robert...... f 1-6 0-1 1-2 2 5 7 3 3 1 2 5 0 22
32 Dorsey, Joey........ f 3-6 0-0 0-2 5 1 6 5 6 0 0 1 1 24
01 Kemp, Willie........ g 2-5 2-5 0-3 0 0 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 16
12 Anderson, Antonio... g 2-7 0-3 2-4 3 6 9 1 6 5 1 0 1 34
14 DOUGLAS-ROBERTS, C.. g 8-13 2-2 3-3 3 1 4 4 21 2 3 1 1 28
05 Hunt, Jeremy........ 5-11 4-7 5-8 1 5 6 1 19 2 1 0 1 29
15 Allen, Andre........ 2-11 1-6 0-3 4 2 6 2 5 5 3 0 3 25
20 Mack, Doneal........ 4-7 2-4 0-0 2 2 4 2 10 0 3 0 0 14
42 Cooper, Kareem...... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 1 8
TEAM................ 2 2 4 1
Totals.............. 28-68 11-28 11-25 22 25 47 21 78 17 15 7 8 199
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-35 45.7% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 41.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 6-15 40.0% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 39.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 9-17 52.9% Game: 44.0% 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: UTEP 14-15, 6-9 C-USA
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 VANWRIGHT, Dale..... f 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 4 2 1 3 0 0 16
50 RAMALHO, Victor..... f 1-7 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 4 2 0 2 0 0 23
11 HENDERSON, Kevin.... g 2-7 2-6 0-0 1 3 4 2 6 5 2 1 3 33
12 JACKSON, Stefon..... g 6-10 0-1 7-10 2 10 12 4 19 0 2 1 2 38
24 KILGORE, Marvin..... g 5-7 0-0 2-3 0 0 0 3 12 3 4 0 1 31
03 ALVIN, Malik........ 0-3 0-1 1-3 1 2 3 2 1 5 4 0 0 17
31 THOMAS, Maurice..... 4-9 0-0 3-5 0 1 1 0 11 0 1 3 0 17
33 SAMPSON, Jeremy..... 5-7 4-6 0-1 1 3 4 2 14 1 2 2 0 21
34 CLARKE, Darren...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 1 1 1
Totals.............. 24-51 6-14 13-22 8 25 33 22 67 15 21 7 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7% 2nd Half: 10-21 47.6% Game: 47.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-10 50.0% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 10-17 58.8% Game: 59.1% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Steve Welmer, Mark Whitehead, Ted Hillary
Technical fouls: Memphis-DORSEY, Joey. UTEP-None.
Attendance: 11066
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Memphis....................... 40 38 - 78
UTEP.......................... 36 31 - 67
Points in the paint-MEM 30,UTEP 32. Points off turnovers-MEM 16,UTEP 14.
2nd chance points-MEM 10,UTEP 8. Fast break points-MEM 10,UTEP 12.
Bench points-MEM 36,UTEP 26. Score tied-2 times. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-MEM 2nd-00:49, UTEP 2nd-00:15.
Largest lead-MEM by 13 2nd-00:29, UTEP by 2 1st-18:42.
#6 Memphis 78, UTEP 67
Memphis Handles Texas-El Paso, 78-67
Douglas-Roberts nets 21 to lead Tigers to road victory over Miners.
March 1, 2007
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points and Jeremy Hunt added 19 to help No. 6 Memphis beat Texas-El Paso 78-67 on Thursday night, securing the Tigers' 18th straight victory.
The Tigers, who already had won the Conference USA regular season title, were lucky to escape the Don Haskins Center with a victory. Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) shot just 41 percent from the field and couldn't put UTEP away.
The Miners (14-15, 6-9) were within a point several times in the final 10 minutes, but were plagued by too many turnovers.
Stefon Jackson scored 19 to lead UTEP.
Douglas-Roberts nets 21 to lead Tigers to road victory over Miners.
March 1, 2007
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 21 points and Jeremy Hunt added 19 to help No. 6 Memphis beat Texas-El Paso 78-67 on Thursday night, securing the Tigers' 18th straight victory.
The Tigers, who already had won the Conference USA regular season title, were lucky to escape the Don Haskins Center with a victory. Memphis (26-3, 15-0 C-USA) shot just 41 percent from the field and couldn't put UTEP away.
The Miners (14-15, 6-9) were within a point several times in the final 10 minutes, but were plagued by too many turnovers.
Stefon Jackson scored 19 to lead UTEP.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Si.com's Grant Wahl "Revisiting the Magic How Our Magic Eight Has Fared"
Revisiting the Magic
How our Magic Eight has fared and more notes
Posted: Wednesday February 28, 2007 2:51PM; Updated: Wednesday February 28, 2007 2:51PM
What have we learned during this college basketball season? Well, after four months we've learned that it's a felony to possess 'shrooms in the state of Washington (who knew?); that the most genuinely touching moment of the year would feature a teary-eyed Bob Knight; and, not least, that there's no clear favorite heading into the NCAA tournament.
That's another way of saying it's a good time to check back in on our Magic Eight, the list of eight teams from which we guaranteed the national champion would emerge. Keep in mind, this was back in early January, but it's worth seeing where those teams stand today. Here goes (in alphabetical order):
ARIZONA
The Wildcats are an underwhelming 6-8 since the Magic Eight came out on Jan. 10. And while we still think this crew is capable of making a tournament run, there are just too many flaws to win a national title. To wit: lack of depth, no significant big guy, poor defense, up-and-down chemistry, Jawann McClellan's mysterious slide and a general softness. Is that enough for you?
FLORIDA
The Gators have done a heck of a job lowering everyone's expectations, losing three of their last four -- and with it the tag of "favorite" heading into the NCAA tournament. The question is whether we'll look back on this stretch a month from now the same way we view Florida's mediocre SEC campaign in '06, which is to say as a meaningless blip on the way to a title run. When you see what this team brings to the table, that scenario is extremely plausible.
KANSAS
Sports Illustrated's preseason pick to win it all is humming along, demolishing teams at home and showing encouraging toughness on the road (witness this week's nail biter win at Oklahoma). What do we make of the no-shows by Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins in Norman? The Jayhawks can make up for it and still win in a tough environment.
NORTH CAROLINA
The young Heels should have closed the door on Maryland when they had the chance, and now they find themselves in a dogfight -- that few observers had anticipated before the season -- to win the ACC . That said, we still think the Tar Heels' overwhelming force will serve it well in March, as long as they settle down and play some defense.
TENNESSEE
We'd feel better about the Vols if they had picked up more wins on the road this season. True, there's still no impact big man, but Tennessee plays well together, and Bruce Pearl's press is going to mess with most NCAA foes' heads even before the game starts.
UCLA
The Bruins are the closest thing we've seen to a model of consistency, and for that reason, they have the inside track to the overall-No. 1 seed. But what they've accomplished without a major post presence has been underplayed in some quarters. Has anyone raised the prospect that Arron Afflalo and Darren Collison could both be first-team All-Americas? The idea is starting to grow on us.
WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars appeared as a fluke Magic Eight inclusion to some detractors, but what's happened since has only reinforced the idea that Tony Bennett's team deserves total respect from the Establishment. Don't be surprised if the Beast in the Palouse knocks off UCLA this week.
WISCONSIN
|The 'Bag is less worried about Wisconsin's two losses last week than we are about Brian Butch's elbow injury, which might keep him out of the NCAA tournament. Did the Badgers peak too early? And do they lack the focus to get the ball in Alando Tucker's hands when it matters most? Tucker's your guy in crunch time, guys. Use him.
Which Magic Eight omissions might cause us problems? Let's count 'em:
• Ohio State. The Buckeyes already proved us wrong by winning the Big Ten; there's no reason they couldn't do it again in the NCAAs.
• Texas A&M. The only Big 12 team that has beaten the Aggies this season is Texas Tech (twice). A&M's defense makes it a solid Final Four candidate.
• Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Louisville. The three scariest teams in the Big East still suffer from enough flaws that we can envision long tournament runs without them winning it all.
• Memphis. We wish the Tigers had faced a little bit tougher level of competition than C-USA has been able to offer.
How our Magic Eight has fared and more notes
Posted: Wednesday February 28, 2007 2:51PM; Updated: Wednesday February 28, 2007 2:51PM
What have we learned during this college basketball season? Well, after four months we've learned that it's a felony to possess 'shrooms in the state of Washington (who knew?); that the most genuinely touching moment of the year would feature a teary-eyed Bob Knight; and, not least, that there's no clear favorite heading into the NCAA tournament.
That's another way of saying it's a good time to check back in on our Magic Eight, the list of eight teams from which we guaranteed the national champion would emerge. Keep in mind, this was back in early January, but it's worth seeing where those teams stand today. Here goes (in alphabetical order):
ARIZONA
The Wildcats are an underwhelming 6-8 since the Magic Eight came out on Jan. 10. And while we still think this crew is capable of making a tournament run, there are just too many flaws to win a national title. To wit: lack of depth, no significant big guy, poor defense, up-and-down chemistry, Jawann McClellan's mysterious slide and a general softness. Is that enough for you?
FLORIDA
The Gators have done a heck of a job lowering everyone's expectations, losing three of their last four -- and with it the tag of "favorite" heading into the NCAA tournament. The question is whether we'll look back on this stretch a month from now the same way we view Florida's mediocre SEC campaign in '06, which is to say as a meaningless blip on the way to a title run. When you see what this team brings to the table, that scenario is extremely plausible.
KANSAS
Sports Illustrated's preseason pick to win it all is humming along, demolishing teams at home and showing encouraging toughness on the road (witness this week's nail biter win at Oklahoma). What do we make of the no-shows by Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins in Norman? The Jayhawks can make up for it and still win in a tough environment.
NORTH CAROLINA
The young Heels should have closed the door on Maryland when they had the chance, and now they find themselves in a dogfight -- that few observers had anticipated before the season -- to win the ACC . That said, we still think the Tar Heels' overwhelming force will serve it well in March, as long as they settle down and play some defense.
TENNESSEE
We'd feel better about the Vols if they had picked up more wins on the road this season. True, there's still no impact big man, but Tennessee plays well together, and Bruce Pearl's press is going to mess with most NCAA foes' heads even before the game starts.
UCLA
The Bruins are the closest thing we've seen to a model of consistency, and for that reason, they have the inside track to the overall-No. 1 seed. But what they've accomplished without a major post presence has been underplayed in some quarters. Has anyone raised the prospect that Arron Afflalo and Darren Collison could both be first-team All-Americas? The idea is starting to grow on us.
WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars appeared as a fluke Magic Eight inclusion to some detractors, but what's happened since has only reinforced the idea that Tony Bennett's team deserves total respect from the Establishment. Don't be surprised if the Beast in the Palouse knocks off UCLA this week.
WISCONSIN
|The 'Bag is less worried about Wisconsin's two losses last week than we are about Brian Butch's elbow injury, which might keep him out of the NCAA tournament. Did the Badgers peak too early? And do they lack the focus to get the ball in Alando Tucker's hands when it matters most? Tucker's your guy in crunch time, guys. Use him.
Which Magic Eight omissions might cause us problems? Let's count 'em:
• Ohio State. The Buckeyes already proved us wrong by winning the Big Ten; there's no reason they couldn't do it again in the NCAAs.
• Texas A&M. The only Big 12 team that has beaten the Aggies this season is Texas Tech (twice). A&M's defense makes it a solid Final Four candidate.
• Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Louisville. The three scariest teams in the Big East still suffer from enough flaws that we can envision long tournament runs without them winning it all.
• Memphis. We wish the Tigers had faced a little bit tougher level of competition than C-USA has been able to offer.
El Paso Times "Memphis Aims For Top Tourney Seed"
Memphis aims for top tourney seed
Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 03/01/2007 12:29:59 PM MST
As the final two weeks tick down on Selection Sunday, some familiar names have floated to the top of the discussion for the No. 1 seeds.
Kansas, Florida, Ohio State, Wisconsin, UCLA, North Carolina -- the bluebloods of college basketball --are all there.
So where is Memphis? Where is the team that comes to El Paso with the longest winning streak in the nation (17 games), a No. 6 ranking and a No. 8 RPI?
Why isn't a team that earned a No. 1 seed last year and has a 25-3 record part of this discussion?
That's a good way to make coach John Calipari scratch his head. In fact, he sounds worried his team isn't going to get a No. 2 seed.
"I just don't want it to become more propoganda, because the more it's said the more it becomes believable," he told the USA Today in a Tuesday cover story. "You don't think our guys are watching TV and hearing they should be a 4-seed or 5-seed?
"You don't want opinions to become propaganda. You don't have a sequestered group picking these seeds, and the tournament is all about seeding, believe me."
The problem, is of course, Conference USA, which has no clear second-best team, no teams other than Memphis receiving a single vote in either poll, and has slipped to No. 11 in the conference RPI ratings.
Memphis hasn't played a rank ed team since Christmas, though it did win at Gonzaga last week.
Calipari thinks the C-USA bashing is unfair.
"People don't want to accept this, but our league has gotten stronger than it was a year ago," he said in the USA Today article. "Six teams moved up 50 or more (places) in the RPI."
At any rate, Memphis appears to be in prime position to do something about its image in the NCAA tournament, which could actually position it to be the preseason No. 1 team in the country next year.
Consider that the Tigers only have one senior getting significant playing time -- sixth man Jeremy Hunt -- and starts three sophomores and a freshman.
"We're deep, and that helps us," sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said after Sunday's comeback victory against Houston. "Eventually, a team that is not as deep as us will get worn out because we're constantly running up and down."
Lately, most of the running has been right up the national rankings.
Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359.
Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 03/01/2007 12:29:59 PM MST
As the final two weeks tick down on Selection Sunday, some familiar names have floated to the top of the discussion for the No. 1 seeds.
Kansas, Florida, Ohio State, Wisconsin, UCLA, North Carolina -- the bluebloods of college basketball --are all there.
So where is Memphis? Where is the team that comes to El Paso with the longest winning streak in the nation (17 games), a No. 6 ranking and a No. 8 RPI?
Why isn't a team that earned a No. 1 seed last year and has a 25-3 record part of this discussion?
That's a good way to make coach John Calipari scratch his head. In fact, he sounds worried his team isn't going to get a No. 2 seed.
"I just don't want it to become more propoganda, because the more it's said the more it becomes believable," he told the USA Today in a Tuesday cover story. "You don't think our guys are watching TV and hearing they should be a 4-seed or 5-seed?
"You don't want opinions to become propaganda. You don't have a sequestered group picking these seeds, and the tournament is all about seeding, believe me."
The problem, is of course, Conference USA, which has no clear second-best team, no teams other than Memphis receiving a single vote in either poll, and has slipped to No. 11 in the conference RPI ratings.
Memphis hasn't played a rank ed team since Christmas, though it did win at Gonzaga last week.
Calipari thinks the C-USA bashing is unfair.
"People don't want to accept this, but our league has gotten stronger than it was a year ago," he said in the USA Today article. "Six teams moved up 50 or more (places) in the RPI."
At any rate, Memphis appears to be in prime position to do something about its image in the NCAA tournament, which could actually position it to be the preseason No. 1 team in the country next year.
Consider that the Tigers only have one senior getting significant playing time -- sixth man Jeremy Hunt -- and starts three sophomores and a freshman.
"We're deep, and that helps us," sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said after Sunday's comeback victory against Houston. "Eventually, a team that is not as deep as us will get worn out because we're constantly running up and down."
Lately, most of the running has been right up the national rankings.
Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359.
CDR Named to 1st Team NABC All-District 7, Hunt Named to 2nd Team
Douglas-Roberts, Hunt Earn NABC All-District 7 Honors
Douglas-Roberts named to first team, Hunt to second team
Feb. 28, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - University of Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Hunt have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 team, the organization announced Wednesday. Douglas-Roberts earned NABC All-District 7 first team honors, while Hunt was selected to the district's second team.
It is the second-straight year that two Tigers were named to the NABC All-District squad. Last year, Rodney Carney and Darius Washington Jr. received NABC district recognition.
Douglas-Roberts, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Week on Feb. 26, is the team's leading scorer with a 15.1 scoring average. He ranks sixth in Conference USA in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage (.540). The Detroit, Mich., native has netted double figures in 21 of his 26 games, and has posted six 20-point performances. Earlier this season, the 6-foot-6 guard scored a career-high 28 points versus Austin Peay.
Hunt is the Tigers' second-leading scorer with a 13.9 scoring average and is ranked 10th in Conference USA in scoring. He also ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.413). In Memphis' win over Rice Feb. 22, Hunt scored the 1,000th point of his career and became the 42nd player in Tiger basketball history to reach the milestone. In early February, the Memphis, Tenn., native netted a career-high 30 points in the Tigers' victory over UAB. In that game, Hunt tied a school record with seven three-pointers.
Joining Douglas-Roberts on the NABC All-District 7 first team were Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee, Tennessee's Chris Lofton, Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars and Kentucky's Randolph Morris. On the district's second team, Hunt was joined by Austin Peay's Drake Reed, Louisville's Terrence Williams, Kentucky's Joe Crawford and Vanderbilt's Shan Foster.
Douglas-Roberts named to first team, Hunt to second team
Feb. 28, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - University of Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jeremy Hunt have been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 team, the organization announced Wednesday. Douglas-Roberts earned NABC All-District 7 first team honors, while Hunt was selected to the district's second team.
It is the second-straight year that two Tigers were named to the NABC All-District squad. Last year, Rodney Carney and Darius Washington Jr. received NABC district recognition.
Douglas-Roberts, who was named the Conference USA Player of the Week on Feb. 26, is the team's leading scorer with a 15.1 scoring average. He ranks sixth in Conference USA in scoring and fifth in field goal percentage (.540). The Detroit, Mich., native has netted double figures in 21 of his 26 games, and has posted six 20-point performances. Earlier this season, the 6-foot-6 guard scored a career-high 28 points versus Austin Peay.
Hunt is the Tigers' second-leading scorer with a 13.9 scoring average and is ranked 10th in Conference USA in scoring. He also ranks fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.413). In Memphis' win over Rice Feb. 22, Hunt scored the 1,000th point of his career and became the 42nd player in Tiger basketball history to reach the milestone. In early February, the Memphis, Tenn., native netted a career-high 30 points in the Tigers' victory over UAB. In that game, Hunt tied a school record with seven three-pointers.
Joining Douglas-Roberts on the NABC All-District 7 first team were Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee, Tennessee's Chris Lofton, Vanderbilt's Derrick Byars and Kentucky's Randolph Morris. On the district's second team, Hunt was joined by Austin Peay's Drake Reed, Louisville's Terrence Williams, Kentucky's Joe Crawford and Vanderbilt's Shan Foster.
Kellogg, Robic Could Be Next Tiger Assistants To Move Up
Kellogg, Robic could be next Tiger assistants to move up
By Dan Wolken
March 1, 2007
EL PASO, Texas -- Neither John Calipari nor Tony Barbee likes what is going to happen tonight. For two hours at the Don Haskins Center, they will be forced to suspend a relationship that goes back to Barbee's sophomore year of high school. They probably won't even make eye contact until tonight's game between the University of Memphis and UTEP is over, when they can once again embrace at center court, and, as Barbee said, "tell each other we love each other, like we always do."
Though facing a former assistant is an unpleasant experience for Calipari, it could become a more common occurrence in the future.
Just consider: Barbee, a Tigers assistant from 2000-06, got the UTEP job at age 35 in large part because of Memphis' success last season. So with the Tigers once again bullying their way into the top 10, it stands to reason that assistants Derek Kellogg or John Robic could be plucked off Calipari's staff this spring.
"That would be great for those guys," Calipari said.
At 48, Calipari's coaching tree is starting to expand quickly.
After a rough experience taking over for Calipari at UMass, Bruiser Flint has turned Drexel into a strong contender for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. Though Barbee's Miners are 14-14 this season, he's already won more games than he was supposed to, and the future is promising with a strong recruiting class on the way. And finally, former Calipari assistant Steve Roccaforte is well-positioned to make his mark at Lamar.
So who's next?
Robic has already been a head coach from 1999-2005 at Youngstown State, a difficult job that was made tougher when his program moved up from the Mid-Continent to the Horizon League.
And Kellogg, 33, clearly fits the Barbee mold as a former UMass player and Memphis assistant who works the recruiting trail as effectively as any assistant in the country.
"The one thing you can't do is really press for a job or worry about what's coming next," Kellogg said. "But obviously, the success of the program and the way we've done things and working for a guy like Coach Calipari makes you more of a candidate for potential head coaching jobs.
"The biggest thing with coach is, he wants everybody in his circle to be successful and have an opportunity, and the one thing he wants is that you do it when the time is right and for a job you can have success at."
Another key reason Robic's and Kellogg's names could pop up for openings is Memphis' style of play. Only a handful of college teams have adopted the "Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack" offense, developed by Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg, but it's starting to gather admirers.
"I think it really is attractive because kids want to play wide open," said ESPN analyst Tom Brennan, the former Vermont coach. "Coaching is breeding. There really is something to that. Back in the day, Bear Bryant's guys all got jobs, and Mike Krzyzewski's guys all got jobs and Coach Knight's guys all got jobs, and Cal is one of those guys now."
Barbee said working with Calipari was good preparation for his first head coaching job, and not just from a basketball standpoint.
"The places we've been, being with Cal, you're not at one of the top five jobs in the country," Barbee said. "We've learned to do it at places where it's not expected like Memphis, UMass. I was at Wyoming and Youngstown. You had to be creative."
With every game Barbee wins at UTEP this year, the chances of Calipari losing one of his assistants becomes greater. But the head-coaching opportunities Kellogg and Robic may encounter aren't necessarily tied to his immediate success.
And Calipari said he would never stand in the way of an assistant getting that opportunity, no matter how much he'd like to keep his staff in tact.
"Derek is doing an unbelievable job, and John Robic deserves a job where you can win, and not Youngstown State," Calipari said. "He deserves a better job than that, and I think he'll get another one. And if that happens, I'll be ecstatic for him."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
By Dan Wolken
March 1, 2007
EL PASO, Texas -- Neither John Calipari nor Tony Barbee likes what is going to happen tonight. For two hours at the Don Haskins Center, they will be forced to suspend a relationship that goes back to Barbee's sophomore year of high school. They probably won't even make eye contact until tonight's game between the University of Memphis and UTEP is over, when they can once again embrace at center court, and, as Barbee said, "tell each other we love each other, like we always do."
Though facing a former assistant is an unpleasant experience for Calipari, it could become a more common occurrence in the future.
Just consider: Barbee, a Tigers assistant from 2000-06, got the UTEP job at age 35 in large part because of Memphis' success last season. So with the Tigers once again bullying their way into the top 10, it stands to reason that assistants Derek Kellogg or John Robic could be plucked off Calipari's staff this spring.
"That would be great for those guys," Calipari said.
At 48, Calipari's coaching tree is starting to expand quickly.
After a rough experience taking over for Calipari at UMass, Bruiser Flint has turned Drexel into a strong contender for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. Though Barbee's Miners are 14-14 this season, he's already won more games than he was supposed to, and the future is promising with a strong recruiting class on the way. And finally, former Calipari assistant Steve Roccaforte is well-positioned to make his mark at Lamar.
So who's next?
Robic has already been a head coach from 1999-2005 at Youngstown State, a difficult job that was made tougher when his program moved up from the Mid-Continent to the Horizon League.
And Kellogg, 33, clearly fits the Barbee mold as a former UMass player and Memphis assistant who works the recruiting trail as effectively as any assistant in the country.
"The one thing you can't do is really press for a job or worry about what's coming next," Kellogg said. "But obviously, the success of the program and the way we've done things and working for a guy like Coach Calipari makes you more of a candidate for potential head coaching jobs.
"The biggest thing with coach is, he wants everybody in his circle to be successful and have an opportunity, and the one thing he wants is that you do it when the time is right and for a job you can have success at."
Another key reason Robic's and Kellogg's names could pop up for openings is Memphis' style of play. Only a handful of college teams have adopted the "Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack" offense, developed by Pepperdine coach Vance Walberg, but it's starting to gather admirers.
"I think it really is attractive because kids want to play wide open," said ESPN analyst Tom Brennan, the former Vermont coach. "Coaching is breeding. There really is something to that. Back in the day, Bear Bryant's guys all got jobs, and Mike Krzyzewski's guys all got jobs and Coach Knight's guys all got jobs, and Cal is one of those guys now."
Barbee said working with Calipari was good preparation for his first head coaching job, and not just from a basketball standpoint.
"The places we've been, being with Cal, you're not at one of the top five jobs in the country," Barbee said. "We've learned to do it at places where it's not expected like Memphis, UMass. I was at Wyoming and Youngstown. You had to be creative."
With every game Barbee wins at UTEP this year, the chances of Calipari losing one of his assistants becomes greater. But the head-coaching opportunities Kellogg and Robic may encounter aren't necessarily tied to his immediate success.
And Calipari said he would never stand in the way of an assistant getting that opportunity, no matter how much he'd like to keep his staff in tact.
"Derek is doing an unbelievable job, and John Robic deserves a job where you can win, and not Youngstown State," Calipari said. "He deserves a better job than that, and I think he'll get another one. And if that happens, I'll be ecstatic for him."
-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365
Preview - #6 Tigers @ UTEP
No. 6 Tigers at UTEP
March 1, 2007
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, 8 p.m. CST
TV, radio: ESPN, WREC-AM (600)
Records: Memphis 25-3 (14-0 Conference USA), UTEP 14-14 (6-8)
Series standing: Memphis leads, 5-1
Latest line: Memphis by 12
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis finishes the regular season with a two-game Texas road trip. The No. 6-ranked Tigers are aiming for their first undefeated conference record in school history. Memphis has already clinched its second consecutive C-USA championship. ... The Tigers have won 17 straight games, the longest streak in the nation. No team in the country has won 18 straight this season. Clemson, Florida and Wisconsin all had their win streaks snapped at 17. ... Tonight is John Calipari's 500th game as a college head coach but only his second against one of his former assistants. The first occurred earlier this season, when Memphis beat Lamar, coached by Steve Roccaforte. ... The Tigers are again establishing a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Opponents are shooting 38.3 percent against Memphis, which ranks eighth nationally. Last year, the Tigers were second in defensive field goal percentage at 38.0. Memphis is also averaging 10.2 steals per game, which is sixth in the country. Memphis has forced 15 or more turnovers in 20 of its 28 games. The Tigers have won 19 of those.
SCOUTING THE MINERS
After a 12-7 start, UTEP appeared to be a top-four C-USA team, but the Miners have struggled since a Jan. 24 loss to Rice. UTEP lost at East Carolina last Saturday, 79-78, giving the Pirates their first C-USA victory. Still, UTEP's 14 victories ranks former Tiger assistant Tony Barbee No. 3 among first-year coaches in school history. Former Memphis staff members Milt Wagner and Mike Babul are on Barbee's staff. Former Tiger walk-on Nathaniel Root is UTEP's video coordinator. ... Sophomore Stefon Jackson has emerged as one of the league's best players, averaging 18.5 points per game.
KEY MATCHUP: A. ANDERSON vs. S. JACKSON
Jackson is UTEP's most dangerous player by far, which means he'll see a lot of the 6-6 Anderson, the Tigers' best defender. If the Tigers can keep him in check, the Miners will have difficulty out-scoring Memphis.
-- Dan Wolken
March 1, 2007
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas, 8 p.m. CST
TV, radio: ESPN, WREC-AM (600)
Records: Memphis 25-3 (14-0 Conference USA), UTEP 14-14 (6-8)
Series standing: Memphis leads, 5-1
Latest line: Memphis by 12
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Memphis finishes the regular season with a two-game Texas road trip. The No. 6-ranked Tigers are aiming for their first undefeated conference record in school history. Memphis has already clinched its second consecutive C-USA championship. ... The Tigers have won 17 straight games, the longest streak in the nation. No team in the country has won 18 straight this season. Clemson, Florida and Wisconsin all had their win streaks snapped at 17. ... Tonight is John Calipari's 500th game as a college head coach but only his second against one of his former assistants. The first occurred earlier this season, when Memphis beat Lamar, coached by Steve Roccaforte. ... The Tigers are again establishing a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Opponents are shooting 38.3 percent against Memphis, which ranks eighth nationally. Last year, the Tigers were second in defensive field goal percentage at 38.0. Memphis is also averaging 10.2 steals per game, which is sixth in the country. Memphis has forced 15 or more turnovers in 20 of its 28 games. The Tigers have won 19 of those.
SCOUTING THE MINERS
After a 12-7 start, UTEP appeared to be a top-four C-USA team, but the Miners have struggled since a Jan. 24 loss to Rice. UTEP lost at East Carolina last Saturday, 79-78, giving the Pirates their first C-USA victory. Still, UTEP's 14 victories ranks former Tiger assistant Tony Barbee No. 3 among first-year coaches in school history. Former Memphis staff members Milt Wagner and Mike Babul are on Barbee's staff. Former Tiger walk-on Nathaniel Root is UTEP's video coordinator. ... Sophomore Stefon Jackson has emerged as one of the league's best players, averaging 18.5 points per game.
KEY MATCHUP: A. ANDERSON vs. S. JACKSON
Jackson is UTEP's most dangerous player by far, which means he'll see a lot of the 6-6 Anderson, the Tigers' best defender. If the Tigers can keep him in check, the Miners will have difficulty out-scoring Memphis.
-- Dan Wolken
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