• When
the second-ranked Memphis Tigers began NCAA tournament play a week ago,
conventional wisdom held that the cakewalks of Conference USA were behind them.
It was time for men to play like men, and against the men of BCS conferences.
Having snuck by the SEC’s Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second round, the
Tigers were deemed by many to be worthy candidates for an upset by the Big 10’s
Michigan State Spartans.
Friday
night’s Sweet 16 contest was over at halftime. Shooting lights out — and from
the foul line! — the Tigers ran out to a 50-20 lead on their way to a 92-74
victory, setting up a South Regional championship Sunday against the
second-seeded Texas Longhorns. With no fewer than eight Tigers (including Pierre
Niles) getting into the scoring column by halftime, Memphis made this week’s MSU
look like last month’s SMU, or ECU. Those pundits waiting for the Tigers (now
36-1) to crumble under the pressure of a prime-time nail-biter will have to wait
another two days, and hope the Big 12 sends stronger, better shooting, and more
competitive men into the Tigers’ den.
• Should
Memphis reach its first Final Four in 23 years, Antonio Anderson will be the
player of the game against Texas. The junior guard has been coach John
Calipari’s defensive ace since his freshman season, and will certainly get the
bulk of minutes guarding Texas star D.J. Augustin. The Longhorns have an offense
that threatens first from the perimeter, A.J. Abrams complementing Augustin’s
driving skills with a long-distance shooting touch sure to stretch the Memphis
defense in ways Michigan State was unable. The Tigers’ backcourt depth will be
critical, with Willie Kemp, Andre Allen, and Doneal Mack available to spell
freshman Derrick Rose, conserving the star point guard’s energy for the
offensive end. (Any offense Anderson delivers Sunday will be gravy. His mission
will be to contain Augustin.)
• In
1973, the Memphis State Tigers beat Kansas State to win the Midwest Regional in
Houston, Texas. Twelve years later, the Tigers beat Penn and UAB in Houston, on
their way back to the Final Four. As for Sunday’s opponent, the Longhorns are
one of only two teams (both UT!) to beat the Tigers in FedExForum over the last
three years. (Memphis fell to the “burnt” shade of orange on January 2, 2006.)
These are Texas-sized connections for Tiger historians to consider, to say
nothing of their team’s third attempt in as many years to reach the hallowed
Final Four. As for the intangible of playing an opponent in its home state, the
experience factor is heavily on the side of the “visitors.” For Chris
Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey, Robert Dozier, Anderson, and Allen, a third
attempt at a fourth tourney win — in what will be a school-record-tying 12th
NCAA tournament game for each — is welcome regardless of how many stars appear
in the state flag.
•
Everyone with a bracket loves the underdog during the NCAAs, but this weekend
may be a good one to pull for the front-runners. Never have all four number-one
seeds reached the Final Four. Only three times in the last quarter-century have
three top seeds made it to the tournament’s final weekend (1993, ’97, and ’99).
With perennials North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA still in the hunt, the
“underdog” who could become the nation’s favorite in a Final Four that holds to
form is, you guessed it, the Memphis Tigers.
