Tag: basketball

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Jazz Slap Hapless Griz, 118-94

What happens when the NBA’s highest-scoring offense meets the Grizzlies’ “Bluff City” defense? Well, in Salt Lake City Saturday night it was all that Jazz all over Memphis. And it was all over early.

A sidenote: In the Flyer office, there’s an interesting betting pool. Entrants have to predict which Memphis basketball team will win more games this season — the Memphis Tigers or the Grizzlies. Early betting has the Tigers coming out on top. If things continue as they went for the Griz tonight, those bettors will be in the money.

Memphis reverted to last-season’s NBA-worst-record form, and the Jazz, led by Carlos Boozer’s 31 points, took advantage, coasting to an easy win.

Rudy Gay led the home-team in scoring with 18; Pau Gasol added a very un-AllStar-like 11. Check out all the depressing stats, recap, etc. here.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Memphis Stuns Southern Miss, 29-26

The Memphis Tigers scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes to upset heavily favored Southern Miss in Hattiesburg Saturday, 29-26.

Unable to rush the ball throughout the game (the Tigers had 30 yards total on the ground), Memphis rode the arm of QB Martin Hankins for 400 yards and four touchdowns, two in the final five minutes. Hankins threw to 10 different Tiger receivers.

The much-maligned Memphis defense also played well, holding Southern Miss to only 306 total yards.

The Tigers, now 5-5 on the year, can become bowl-eligible by winning one of their remaining two games.

For complete stats and recap, check out SI.com.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Grizzlies Fall to Portland, 110-98

After holding as much as a 15-point lead, the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Portland Trailblazers Friday night in Portland, 110-98.

Rudy Gay led the Griz in scoring with 31 points. Pau Gasol had 19, but none in the second half, as Portland double-teamed Gasol and shut him off.

Portland was led by LaMarcus Aldrige (30) and Brandon Roy (22). Complete stats here. For more Griz stuff, see Chris Herrington’s GrizBlog, Beyond the Arc.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Griz Top Sonics for First Win, 105-98

AP — Veterans told Kevin Durant there would be nights like this. And just about everybody told the rookie’s SuperSonics there would be a season like this.

Rudy Gay overcame a cold start to score 25 points and Kyle Lowry hit a clinching 3-pointer as the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to beat the winless Sonics 105-98, sending Seattle to its worst start in 38 years.

Lowry, who missed five of his first six shots, got a rebound off his missed layup and then swished a 3-pointer with 11.3 seconds remaining to clinch the first win of the season for the Grizzlies, in their first road game.

Durant, playing for the third time in four nights in a welcome-to-NBA life stretch, scored a season-low 17 points and was a woeful 3-for-17 from the field for the Sonics (0-5). The second overall draft pick missed his first four shots and then sat 10 minutes before finally scoring midway through the second quarter.

And just a reminder to all you Grizzlies fans: Chris Herrington’s “Beyond the Arc” Grizblog is your best bet for pre-game and post-game analysis and reaction.

And, there’s always the ever-popular Jacob Riis report — today, featuring Sonics ginger-boy center, Robert Swift.

Read it here.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Tigers Glide Past Tennessee-Martin; Rose Debut a Good One

(AP) – Derrick Rose didn’t take long to adjust to the college game.

The highly touted freshman had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in his collegiate debut and No. 3 Memphis beat Tennessee-Martin 102-71 on Monday

Calipari said Rose might be the player Memphis needs this year to push them into the Final Four.

“You need to have a guy, that when the game is on the line, he can just dog the other guys and do whatever he wants when he wants,” Calipari said. “He can do that.”

Memphis senior forward Joey Dorsey has a sprained right shoulder sprain and did not play. He is also expected to miss Tuesday night’s game with the injury. Shawn Taggart, a transfer from Iowa State, started in his place and finished with 15 rebounds.

The Tigers will play Richmond, which beat Maine 44-42 on Monday, in the regional final Tuesday night. The winner will play in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

USA Today Touts Basketball Tigers

USA Today has a nice story on the basketball Tigers online today.

An exerpt: For all his attributes, and he has a ton, Chris Douglas-Roberts has been scrutinized for the absence of an outside shot.

Not anymore.

The 6-6 guard says he spent countless hours in the offseason working on everything from his midrange jumper to his three-point shooting. He is one reason Memphis is considered a favorite to reach the NCAA tournament title game.

With four other returning starters and the addition of one of the most heralded freshmen in the country in 6-4 guard Derrick Rose, the team could give Memphis its first NCAA championship in basketball.

“Yeah, we’re talented, and we’re deep,” Memphis coach John Calipari says. “But when you have good guys that get along. .. and they’re on a mission, that’s when it becomes like, ‘Wow.'”

Like “wow” indeed. Read the rest here.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Darius Washington May Return to Memphis to Face Griz Wednesday Night

It appears former Memphis Tiger point guard Darius Washington will be in uniform when the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs open their season Tuesday night. With injuries to a pair of guards already on their roster, the Spurs may well suit up Washington for his NBA debut.

The Spurs come to Memphis Wednesday night for the Grizzlies season opener at FedExForum. Will D-Wash return to the scend of his collegiate glory? Stay tuned.

Read more about Washington here.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Memphis Tigers Ranked Number 3 in ESPN’s First Poll

North Carolina leads four teams from the 2007 Elite Eight in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, released Friday morning.

The No. 1 Tar Heels edged UCLA and Memphis for the top spot, despite the fact that the Bruins had two more first-place votes (12) than the Tar Heels (10). North Carolina had 739 points in the poll, followed by No. 2 UCLA with 734 and No. 3 Memphis with 731 points and 8 first-place votes.

Fellow Elite Eight participants Kansas and Georgetown complete the top five.

Louisville, Tennessee, Michigan State, Indiana and Washington State rounded out the top 10.

Read more at ESPN’s website.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Memphis Tigers’ Midnight Madness Draws National Media

From ESPN.com’s Andy Katz (one of many national scribes here to catch the Tigers’ Midnight Madness festivities):

“Six hours prior to Memphis unveiling its most anticipated team to the general public on Friday, John Calipari was looking for someone to help him hang a Chinese dragon symbol in his office.

“‘This symbolizes dominance,’ Calipari said as he found the perfect spot behind his desk to hang the gold and red keepsake given to him by the Chinese Basketball Assocation delegation that he helped bring to the city the past week in a unique five-year deal with the CBA.

“Throughout the past week, Calipari has been running a clinic for the Chinese delegation, hoping his style will rub off on the Chinese as they try to enhance their basketball program.

“Well, after Friday night’s Midnight Madness event in Memphis, Calipari gave the Chinese coaches some words to work on translating into Mandarin, words like hype, spontaneity and boldness …”

Read the rest of Katz’ story at ESPN.com.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Griz Win in Spain Over Estudiantes, 98-73

MADRID, Spain – Pau Gasol scored 10 points in his return to Madrid as the Memphis Grizzlies rolled over Spanish team Estudiantes 98-73 Thursday in an NBA pre-season game.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 17 points. Gasol finished 4-of-6 from the field, with eight rebounds and three blocks in just under 20 minutes.

“We’re in good shape even if these games are a little different than regular ones. This is pre-season where you’re trying to find your rhythm,” Gasol said. “Now we’ll see how it goes for the rest of the season.”

Spaniards Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro played at the Palacio de Deportes for the first time since Spain fell to Russia 60-59 in the European championship final last month, when Gasol’s jumper lipped out as time expired.

Emilio Jasen led Estudiantes with 17 points, while centre Larry Lewis — one of 38 Americans playing in the Spanish league — had 14.

Read more here.