What a Difference a Year Makes

I spent the day re-reading the posts I wrote last season. All the way back to October, when I made my reservations for San Antonio (which turned out to not be a jinx at all and came in quite handy), I knew that last year was something special. I didn't know much about Derrick Rose, but I knew that people were amazed by him. I knew we were expected to do great things. Knowing this made it worse. The season was stress-ridden for me. Every game was cause for anxiety. And when I finally made the trip to San Antonio, it was amazing. It was entirely worth spending the money I didn't have. It was also worth the disappointment at the outcome. But the weekend itself was amazing, and it will be a great memory that will last my lifetime.

This season? This season has been different from the beginning. I didn't blog much (or at all, really) this year. I didn't pay nearly as close attention to what was going on. Yes, I read the Commercial Appeal every day. And I watch the games that I can. But this was supposed to be a rebuilding year, nobody expected much, we were supposed to be incredibly lucky to make the Sweet Sixteen, if even that. So I wasn't investing nearly as much energy. And then... something happened. They found a point guard. They started winning. And they didn't stop.

The Tigers now #5 in one poll and #6 in the other. Tomorrow, they will likely rise at least one spot, and have the potential to rise two. Other teams are losing. But not the Tigers. Most bracketologists think we're a lock for a 2 seed. We're closing in a 1 seed. And it's happening without people noticing. We're not on national TV as much this year (except for this Thursday on ESPN2, 8pm CT), and we've been under the radar for the most part.

Hubert Davis thinks we're going to the Final Four, though he's just about the only one right now. But I wouldn't best against it at this point.

Even if it isn't supposed to be our year.

Where did the season go?

It's mid-February, it's been a very interesting season, and I haven't blogged about it, not really, since November. I am a slacker of the utmost degree.

But while I wasn't blogging and most of the country wasn't paying attention, the Tigers have sneaked back up into the Top 10. They've won every game since Tyreke Evans took over the point. And they look suspiciously familiar. You know, like the teams we've seen in the past four years.

Seriously, Memphis fans, do you realize what we've been dealing with for the past few years? Two number 1 seeds, a 2 seed, 2 Elite Eights and a National Championship game? This year was supposed to be the year off, the year Sweet Sixteen was likely out of reach, the year we just hoped to hold things together while we waited for next year's recruits. It was the year where the players didn't have chemistry, where they weren't a brotherhood, just some guys on a court with a ball. Someone forgot to tell the team, I guess.

Last weekend's game at Gonzaga was quite a thing of beauty, a huge game for the Tigers. Nationally televised, with the chance to either prove the country right or wrong. But tonight is big too, especially in the conference, since Tulsa could snatch a tie in the conference championship, but any loss now will hurt. The Tigers are favored right now by 13.5, and that seems slightly optimistic given the way our last game at Tulsa ended, with me screaming at the television and Antonio Anderson sinking a last second shot.

But, if the Tigers just keep winning, we may be in for a very familiar scene come March. And I, for one, can't wait.

UCLA game pics

Dozier intro

CDR shooting free throws

"And Then There Were Four"

Final Score

One Day More

I don't want to turn this blog into a Geoff Calkins tribute or anything, but he is my favorite sports journalist. Today he writes about judging the Memphis players-- by the way they wear their hats, by the tattoos they have, by their age, by so many things. It's something people do. And not just the national media-- not just people who have no clue about Memphis, the University, or this team. Memphians do it.

As a lifelong Memphian (until recently, anyway-- but I am still a Memphian, in spirit if not in location), I can't begin to enumerate the number of times I've heard people insult my hometown. Visitors, people who've never even been to Memphis, but especially locals. It's crime-ridden, it's ugly, and (my favorite from my time in East Tennessee) it's FLAT. But let's just talk about that for a second.

I'm not going to pretend that Memphis doesn't have crime. It's a city. Cities have crime. And Memphis has more than its fair share. Memphis also has more than its fair share of racial tension. But it's not like I was afraid all the time. Or even very often. And ugly? Memphis may be many things, but Memphis is not ugly. And I feel that I have enough experience to say that. Look, I live in the mountains. The Rocky Mountains. I can see ski slopes from my office window. It is ridiculously and unbelievably beautiful here. But I still won't say Memphis is ugly. Memphis has lots and lots of trees, and big parks. Memphis has azaleas and flowering pear trees and crepe myrtles that flower all summer. No, there's not much snow. And autumn never lasts as long as we want it to. But Memphis is not ugly. And flat? Come on, Chattanoogans, is that the best you've got?

Anyway, the whole point of this post was to say this: this team, these Tigers, may not appear to be basketball royalty. They have tattoos and brands, and cornrows, and wear their hats in a untraditional manner. They get in trouble when they stay out too late in nightclubs, and at least one of them has thrown away his lifelong dream this weekend. They make mistakes. And I don't claim to know them personally. I've never met any of the players. Calipari says they have great hearts. I know better than to believe every word out of Coach Cal's mouth, but I do know what I've seen.

I've seen them LOVE to play basketball. I've seen them have fun on the court. I've seen that most times these players are willing to share the ball, and thus the glory, with their teammates. I've seen that they appear to be more than teammates, they are friends. I've seen that Joey Dorsey lights up and comes alive when he feels the love and support of the crowd. I've seen Chris Douglas-Roberts give all he has over and over. I've seen Derrick Rose arrive without a sign of any prima donna attitude, and be all that we thought he would be and more. I've seen Antonio Anderson named the Most Valuable Player in the Conference tournament even though he's not at the top of the list of "stars" on the team. And that's enough for me.

So call them young and irresponsible. Just don't call them thugs.

Check Me Out

I did a little Q & A on the Final Four with the good folks over at Thirtyfive Seconds. They're doing a series on the Final Four and I was proud to be representing Memphis. Read it all here:

Final Four Preview: Memphis Tigers

And we're off!

It's that time again. And I'm already angry.

Every poll that asks which 1 seed will be the first to lose? You know the answer.

Some analysts (like ESPN's Hubert Davis) are calling for the Tigers to be upset by Mississippi State in Round Two. Or certainly by Pitt. Or for goodness sake, Texas. No way we're going all the way. Dick Vitale thinks we'll lose to Texas, too, though his call seems to be based on geography, not on basketball talent.

Gregg Doyel from cbs sportsline does think we'll make the Final Four, if only because he thinks Stanford will upset Texas and we can beat Stanford. Should Texas beat Stanford, though, he doesn't sound too confident.

Check the brackets of 14 national insiders from ESPN, SportsIllustrated.com and Sportsline.com. Only three of them think Memphis will reach the Final Four. Only ESPN's Digger Phelps picks Memphis to win it all.

It's irksome.

But there are a few people I don't hate right now. Like Digger Phelps, my shirt/highlighter matching friend that seems to love us. Another of my new favorite people is Dick Jerardi, writer for the Philadelphia Daily News who has Memphis winning it all. I'm also quite fond of Kevin Scarbinsky, who writes for the Birmingham News, and says,

I've seen Memphis in person twice, and that's what a national champion looks like.

The nation is going to find out about Memphis, whose only loss this season came by four points against a Tennessee team that won the SEC regular-season title and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The nation is going to find out that Memphis can win from ahead or behind, in close games or blowouts, with offense or defense. The Tigers have the players to win a title, and they have the hunger after losing in the Elite Eight the last two seasons.

The Tigers play Friday night at approximately 8:40pm. It is to tip off thirty minutes following the end of the game before, so that time could change significantly. If you need a schedule of all games, you can check here. That page includes NIT games.

Okay, Okay...

So I didn't blog about it. I couldn't bring myself to. The Vols? Seriously? Was that God's idea of funny? Cause it wasn't. I would have much rather lost to UAB. Although, losing to the #2 team isn't so bad. EXCEPT IT'S THE VOLS.

But today I feel I can come back to Blogger with a heart full of gratitude to the Vanderbilt Commodores, for cutting the Vols' time at #1 to a short 28 hours or so. :)

The question now is, what happens? In the AP poll, the Tigers only fell to #2. If they win both games this week (Tulsa tonight and UTEP Saturday) they should take back the #1 spot. But in the Coaches' poll, the Tigers fell to #3, behind UNC. UNC plays one game this week, on Saturday, against Boston College. If UNC wins that game, they will probably move up to #1, even though they have 2 losses and (assuming they win both games this week) the Tigers will only have 1. Which irks.

But the most important thing to me at this point is that the Tigers are a number 1 seed and that they play in Little Rock. UNC would be placed in Raleigh (I'd think), so if they're ahead of us on Selection Sunday it's not going to hurt us on that. Actually, there aren't many teams that (if we're a 1 seed) would take our spot in Little Rock and push us to another city. UCLA would go to Anaheim, the Vols are closer to Birmingham (or D.C., as Cal likes to say), Kansas to Omaha. Texas is the one that might give us a problem. But they'd have to be above us and I'm not sure how that could happen.

Anyway, there's not much we can say about all that until Selection Sunday rolls around. In the meantime, though, we still need to address one game at a time. There are four games left in the regular season, two home, two away, and tonight's game is at home against Tulsa. We're favored by 18.5. I'd take that bet, because I think the Tigers will be in the mood to put the smackdown on somebody, and too bad for the Hurricane that they drew this day. We'll see, though, won't we?

I'm on the brink of a nervous breakdown

I'm seriously a little bit scared now.

For years, since I started going to Tiger basketball games in the fall of 1992, I've been saying it. Every year, almost at least, I've said, "This is the year!" And I always mean it, call it naivete or hopeless optimism or refusal to face reality. But seriously, y'all?

This IS the year.

And I'm really freaking out about it a little. I'm more nervous about each game than I would be if the team was only mediocre. Because, for reals, we could go all the way. We could go undefeated or one-defeated or whatever, but we could SERIOUSLY BE PLAYING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

Georgetown was one thing. That game? That game was a thing of beauty. It was everything a college basketball game could be, the only thing missing was ME in the Forum. But then Arizona came along. This could trip them up, can they keep themselves pumped for a game after something as exhilarating as Georgetown?

Um, yeah. They can. And now? Now I'm just whipped into a tizzy, counting down each game, trying to keep myself under control while mentally figuring out how in the heck I'm going to afford to go to all 6 games in the tournament if it should happen because no way in hell am I missing it and hopefully we'll play in Little Rock for the first two games so I can find a friend with a couch or a guest room and then I can caravan with thousands of Memphis fans across the River with our flags flying on our car windows and how much fun would that be and I really cannot wait and oh gosh I better not count my chickens before they hatch because I don't want to jinx anything but still that would be so awesome I've forgotten to use punctuation.

And because of this possibility, every game has the potential to push me over the edge. Siena, tonight? Oh Lord, don't let them beat us. Anything can happen. If we beat them it's good for our RPI (currently we're no. 1, you know), and we need a good RPI come March and we really need a high seed in the tourney. Maybe it's a good thing you can't get CSS out in my new neck of the woods, because I'm not sure I could stand it. I won't be able to watch a game until the Gonzaga game. That's THREE WHOLE WEEKS away. Maybe in that time I can get a grip. But somehow? I doubt it.

I just screwed it up for everyone

Y'all. It's all my fault. If the Tigers don't make the Final Four, don't blame Cal, or Joey, or CDR. It's all on me.

I just made a hotel reservation in San Antonio for April 4-8.

I couldn't help it!!! I really want to be there, and I want to have a place to sleep. I'm too old to sleep in my car, even though I'd totally do it if that were my only option. I'm too far removed from school days to still have friends in Road Band that will give me floor space. And I'm too poor to wait til the last minute and book the ridiculously expensive team hotel. I do reserve the right to change my mind on any of these points prior to April. Any Mighty Sound of the South members wanna be my friend? I'll buy you beer.

Until Next Year...

It took me awhile before I was ready to come back and post anything. Saturday's game just about killed me. I could talk about Joey Dorsey. I could talk about KEEPING YOUR MOUTH SHUT. But I won't. I'll just say,

See you next year.

8 more hours until we get to heaven...

Where hopefully Aggie boys get BEAT (they might get laid too, but that's a story for a different kind of blog).

According to this CA article, Jeremy's ready to light it up and the Alamodome is really big.

CDR's feeling better and might play tonight. He really wants to.

I would like Acie Law to go away. Really. That'd be great.

So, we're the underdogs. So, we're playing Texas A & M, a lower seeded team, not so far from their home. That's okay.

Seth Davis disagrees, and picks the Aggies to win by 1.

GO TIGERS!

p.s. If anyone out there gets the reference from the title and first line (besides you, Mom) let me know. I thought it was more well-known than it (apparently) is.

Today's Mishmash

Click the link to read the entire story...

Memphis aims to silence doubters
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A 24-game winning streak hasn't convinced everyone that Memphis is a legitimate national championship contender.

After all, the second-seeded Tigers didn't get much of challenge from their Conference USA rivals, none of which made the NCAA tournament. Counting North Texas and Nevada, the two teams Memphis beat to get to the South Regional semifinals, the Tigers have defeated five teams that made the NCAA's field of 65.

It's safe to say that Thursday's game in San Antonio against Texas A&M will be the Tigers' toughest test in months.

And Memphis could be without leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is nursing a sprained left ankle. Coach John Calipari said he wasn't positive Douglas-Roberts would play.

"But I think he will," Calipari said after his weekly radio show Monday before a packed house of Tiger fans at a Memphis restaurant.

CDR ankle improving
University of Memphis star sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts showed signs of progress Tuesday, according to team officials, but it was still uncertain whether his sprained left ankle would prevent him from playing in Thursday's NCAA South Regional semifinal against Texas A&M.

"He's planning on playing, but we'll have to see," coach John Calipari said. "I think he is (improving)."

Douglas-Roberts has been receiving nearly round-the-clock treatment since Memphis beat Nevada, 78-62, on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16. He suffered the injury with 8:11 to go in the game after jumping to tip a ball and landing on teammate Joey Dorsey's foot.

According to team officials, Douglas-Roberts was walking Tuesday without a protective boot. Douglas-Roberts was at the Finch Center late Monday night to receive treatment again and will continue to do so today in San Antonio.

Though Douglas-Roberts, the Tigers' leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, tells teammates he will play, his status likely won't be determined until Thursday.

Deja Vu
A year ago, the University of Memphis played an Elite Eight game against a lower-seeded opponent in that team's home state.

In the game, the top-seeded Tigers were defeated as much by No. 2 UCLA's stifling defense and their own inept shooting as by the pro-Bruin atmosphere inside The Arena in Oakland.

The stakes may not be quite as high Thursday when Memphis faces Texas A&M in a South Regional semifinal inside San Antonio's vast Alamodome. But the scenario facing the No. 2-seeded UofM looks familiar:

Tennessee Trio in Sixteen

Tennessee trio put Final Four bids, alliances on the line

By Gary Parrish

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- John Calipari has spent the past few years using an East Coast attitude to antagonize his friends from the eastern part of this state.

The Memphis coach has at different times insisted on no longer playing Tennessee, promised to only play the Vols on a neutral court and explained in detail why Bruce Pearl is at a disadvantage in attempting to come into his city and recruit.

John Calipari is from the East Coast, but he mixes it up in Tennessee. (Getty Images)

It started as friendly banter. It became heated dialogue.

So though Calipari remains more Pittsburgh than Memphis in many ways, one thing he inherited long ago is a disdain for Good Ole Rocky Top. It's a sizeable disdain, and the man has never wavered, privately or publicly.

Until now.

"All of their fans should be rooting for us and all of our fans should be rooting for them," Calipari said. "We should be cheering for each other."

Ah, strength in numbers.

It's a sensible strategy on the surface, considering the state of Tennessee has a numbers advantage in this NCAA Tournament. Memphis and Tennessee remain in the South Regional and Vanderbilt is in the East Regional -- meaning this state known more for its musical contributions to Rock 'n' Roll (Sun Studio), Country and Western (The Grand Ole Opry), Southern Soul (Stax Records), Rhythm and Blues (Beale Street) and Rap (Hustle and Flow) is the largest contributor to the Sweet 16 with three institutions that are just two wins from the Final Four.

"It's incredible," Calipari said. "What my man (Kevin Stallings) is doing at Vanderbilt is incredible, what Tennessee is doing is great and then we're hanging around, too. So it's kinda nice."

But can everybody play nice?

That's the question, and to fully understand why it's not as easy as it sounds you have to understand the state of Tennessee and the divisions that exist. For the most part, east Tennessee (Knoxville/UT) and middle Tennessee (Nashville/Vanderbilt) despise west Tennessee (Memphis/U of M), and vice versa. The people of Memphis believe the people of Nashville are snobs and the people of Knoxville are rednecks, and the people of Nashville and Knoxville both believe the people of Memphis spend most of the week robbing and shooting each other.

They are wild stereotypes, to be sure. But they exist.

Why didn't Harold Ford Jr. win his U.S. Senate race last year?

Analysts believed it wasn't just because he was a black man running in the south or a Democrat running in a conservative state. The real problem was Ford is a black democrat from Memphis, and that's a hell of a combination to overcome in the eyes of everything outside a 60-mile radius of Memphis.

Plus, Ford is a Tiger supporter; it's doubtful that helped in any way.

Which brings us back to the Sweet 16 and San Antonio, where Memphis and Tennessee fans have converged for the weekend.

The Tigers play Texas A&M in the first game Thursday just before the Vols play Ohio State. Depending on the outcomes and how much alcohol is consumed, don't be surprised if the two schools' contingents shimmy over to the Alamo and re-enact the famous 19th century battle at some point late Thursday night.

But Calipari has offered a truce.

"I'm not going to paint my body orange," he said. "But I might wear an orange shirt."

Gotta start somewhere. Baby steps and all that.

Anyway, when I heard this proposal I decided to call Pearl. I wanted to know whether he was down with the idea. So I asked whether he was down with the idea.

"I'm absolutely down with it," answered Pearl, who added he had already called to congratulate Calipari and Stallings. "Tennessee and Memphis are sister schools in a way, from the same system. So I don't think there's any question we should be rooting for each other."

And what if Memphis and Tennessee both win Thursday and play Saturday with a trip to the Final Four at stake?

"It would be great for the state," Pearl said.

"Then we draw the line in the sand and it's back to civil war," Calipari added. "But up until then we should be rooting for each other."

Bipartisan basketball at its finest.

But in a search to determine whether the notion of Memphis and Tennessee fans uniting is realistic, I bounced the idea off a man with ties to each school. His name is Keith Easterwood, and he's an AAU coach in the state of Tennessee who has worked with players in both programs and regularly talks with both staffs.

Can Memphis root for Tennessee? Can Tennessee root for Memphis?

"It's a nice warm fuzzy thought, but it goes against the grain for too many people," Easterwood said. "I don't think it's going to happen."

In other words, see you at the Alamo late Thursday night.

CDR update

Confidence is High: According to the CA, CDR's playing Thursday night will be a game day decision, but the players are hopeful he will be able to play. Calipari says he won't play unless they think he can stay up with the game.

ESPN's coverage: Tigers' top scorer nursing sprained ankle

Sweet!

Sorry no updates over the weekend... I was in New Orleans. ;) Go Tigers.

My favorite columnist: Team Effort Seals Deal

With slightly more than six minutes left in the game, Memphis Tigers coach John Calipari could feel it all slipping away -- the game, the season, the back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16.

Chris Douglas-Roberts had been carried off to the locker room with a sprained ankle. The Memphis lead had gone from 7 to 5, from 5 to 3, from 3 to a single layup.

What happened next may be the happiest stretch of basketball in Calipari's tenure at Memphis because it was everything he has always thought basketball should be.

Furious defense. Relentless rebounding. A collection of players who, tested by a moment, survive the moment by drawing on each other and their collective will.

The big surprise: Memphis Turns It's Weakness into Winning Ingredient

"The No. 2 Tigers 78-62 victory against the No. 7 Wolf Pack on Sunday at New Orleans Arena, was their 24th consecutive win. But heading into the game, there were still large questions looming over the Tigers. Two of the main ones were: Could they make their free throws? And could they execute in a half-court game?

The Tigers answered the first question in hilarious fashion; they hit 26 of 34 free throws, with each one they made being met with a wild cheer. That registered at a 76 percent clip, which was decidedly better than the 61.3-percent rate they were hitting entering the game. Much was being made about the Tigers’ struggles, especially when Coach John Calipari said that he had actually stopped having his players practice free throws and had them just work on visualization techniques."

The Scare: Deep Memphis Deals with Douglas-Roberts' sprain

"I'm going to play," Douglas-Roberts told ESPN.com as he hobbled out of the locker room.

Calipari was quick to say, "We don't know yet." But he added, "we hope."

So here is the rub for Memphis. Even if Douglas-Roberts doesn't play, this team is deeper and tougher than a year ago. The Tigers still might survive without him -- or at least, without a healthy version of him -- in San Antonio.

Still no love: Tigers in Sweet 16, but are they any good?

Calipari has some depth, but has been going only eight deep lately. Douglas-Roberts plays the most minutes and score the most points. Calipari points to the fact that they've won without CDR before this season.

But that was against East Carolina and Tulsa.

Not Texas A&M.

"Everyone has doubted us," Memphis sophomore guard Antonio Anderson said.

For good reason.

A little bit of love: Wolves no match for Tigers

Their top scorer was in the locker room getting X-rays. The lead they'd been nursing was down to two points. And the other team's star player was finally rolling. If the Memphis Tigers were going to crack, this was the time - especially because they were facing a formidable opponent for the first time since before Christmas. John Calipari's bunch didn't budge. Not by a single point.



A LOT of love: Kansas, Memphis and Georgetown Storm into Sweet Sixteen

Memphis: Time to stop doubting John Calipari's team, whose winning streak reached 24 thanks to a stifling defensive performance in its 78-62 rout of Nevada. Most impressive about the Tigers was their offensive balance. The only downer: Chris Douglas-Roberts left late in the second half with an ankle sprain and didn't return. They'll certainly need him against Acie Law.

One Day to Go!

Get to know Buckets

ESPN's game preview

The best & worst case scenarios

Today's Chatter

The Hair

The Defense

The Matchup

The History

The Potential Game (scroll down to 6 Best (Potential) Games Before Atlanta)

The Hater

Various and Sundry

The asshat: Win Your Tournament Pool

The sad truth: Free Throws are Tigers' Achilles Heel

The inspiration: Imagine swish

The dare: South Region quick hits

The psych out: Predictions may keep Tigers humble

The Big Question: Are these Tigers better?


Get a bracket here.

Crescent City, Here I Come

Oh yeah.

2 seed.

The Tigers will meet the University of North Texas on Friday in New Orleans.

GO TIGERS...

Memphis a Mystery

From the N.Y. Times:

Despite Ranking, Memphis Remains a Mystery for N.C.A.A. Tournament

By THAYER EVANS

Memphis earned its first No. 1 seeding in the N.C.A.A. tournament and fell a game short of the Final Four last season. But the Tigers were hardly expected to achieve similar success this season after losing two top players from that team to the N.B.A.

Now, having won an N.C.A.A. Division I-best 19 consecutive games and being the first team to streak through Conference USA undefeated since 2000, the sixth-ranked Tigers (27-3) are poised to be seeded No. 2 or No. 3 in this month’s N.C.A.A. tournament.

“Whether they merit a No. 1 seed, I don’t know, but I do think they’re better than they were last year,” Rice Coach Willis Wilson said in a telephone interview.

As the Conference USA tournament starts on its home court Wednesday, Memphis is perhaps college basketball’s most mysterious highly ranked team.

The Tigers have victories against Kentucky (20-10), Mississippi (19-11) and Gonzaga (22-10), and their only losses are to Georgia Tech (20-10), Tennessee (22-9) and Arizona (20-9), all of whom were ranked at the time.

But 16 of their wins were in Conference USA, which is ranked 11th nationally in the Ratings Percentage Index, behind such leagues as the Mountain West, the Western Athletic Conference and the Atlantic 10.

As a result, Memphis, led by the sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts and a stingy defense, is ranked eighth in the R.P.I., but its strength of schedule is 77th.

Read the rest...