Calipari coaches 250th career game for Memphis

Calipari coaches 250th career game for Memphis
November 27, 2007

Austin Peay (2-3) at No. 3 Memphis (5-0) 8:00 pm EST

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- It will not take a leap of faith to believe that John Calipari's 250th career game at Memphis will not go much like the previous.

Calipari will become the third man in school history to coach in at least 250 games when third-ranked Memphis faces Austin Peay on Tuesday.

In his eighth season with the Tigers, Calipari has compiled an 186-63 record. Over the past two seasons, Calipari has notched 66 wins and guided Memphis to a pair of trips to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers (5-0) appeared primed for a third straight 33-win campaign after returning all five starters and added dynamic freshman Derrick Rose to the mix.

Rose, who had at least 17 points in his first four games, experienced some growing pains in his fifth, managing just four points due to some sloppy play in an 84-63 victory over Arkansas State on November 20.

Rose, however, was picked up by sophomore reserve Willie Kemp, who knocked down six 3-pointers en route to a career-high 22 points.

Memphis has won its last 35 games at home, the longest active winning streak in the nation. It owns a 14-4 all-time record against Austin Peay, including an 88-63 home victory last season.

The Governors (2-3) are coming off 61-47 loss against Valparaiso at the South Padre Invitational on Saturday.

Fernandez Lockett scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Austin Peay. The 6-5 forward leads the team in both scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg).