Tulane

Speaking of arse-kicking.

Final Score: 95-51. There's not much else to say, really. Except the freshmen got a lot of playing time, and it gave them an opportunity to show what they can do. They did a good job.

Next? 7 pm Wednesday at Tulsa. Supposed to air on CSTV, which sucks because since Time Warner sold to Comcast, we don't have CSTV anymore. Not cool.

Update: CSTV didn't go away, it just relocated. It's now channel 222, if you're in Memphis.

UAB

The Tigers travel to Birmingham take on UAB tonight at 8pm CT, and it will be broadcast on ESPN as part of Rivalry Week. Really? Okay. Tigers are favored by 9-10 points right now.

Final Score: (8) Tigers 70, UAB 56

Well then. The game was interesting. It seemed very sloppy to me in the first part of the first half. UAB was trying to run and gun, and they were sloppy. The Tigers were just... sloppy. Everytime they started to make a run, UAB was able to stay with them. Until they weren't. The Tigers had a 12 point lead at halftime, in the second half built the lead to as many as 23 points and then held on to win by 14. The story of the night was definitely Jeremy Hunt. He was just ridiculous. He had a career-high 25 points in the first half, including a buzzer beater that was incredible.

Now, last year I wasn't a big fan of Hunt. He seemed to be one of many basketball stars that had succombed to the pressure of being a hometown star. He had not lived up to his potential on the court, and off he was arrested for violence against his girlfriend, and for a "scuffle" on Beale Street, and was supposedly off the team. But Calipari, in his either wisdom or foolishness (only the future will reveal which) allowed Hunt back on the team this season. And so far, it seems that Hunt is an example of a life turned around. He's playing well on the court, he got his degree, and he hasn't been in any trouble that I know of. I hope it's true.

Next? The Tigers play Tulane at home Saturday night. It will air on CSS, at 7pm CT.

Movin' on Up

The Tigers have moved up to #10 in the USA Today poll. We have hopped above Duke and Oregon.

The Tigers are now #8 in the AP poll. We hopped above Kansas, Butler, Duke fell to #16, it's crazy! That puts us directly under #7 Pittsburgh. Which could make for an interesting match up in my house.

SMU

The Tigers are playing SMU right now on ESPN.

Sorry I didn't give you a heads up, Mom, I know you're probably missing it.

I'll be back when it's over!

Update:

That, my friends, is what we call an arse-kicking. The Tigers were favored by 19 anyway, but they won by 36. So that was nice. (Final Score: 88-52) The game was close for the first couple of minutes, but the Tigers went on a run that had them up by 20 before the first half ended. SMU never really threatened. The Tigers are 9-0 in conference play now, and have the second longest active winning streak in the country.

Polls: Last Monday, the Tigers were #12 in the ESPN poll, #11 in the AP poll. Duke (#10) and Oregon (#9) both lost this week, so chances are we may move up a spot or two. It would seem the Tigers may sneak their way into the Top 10.

Coming up: Thursday night at UAB, at 8pm CT. The game will be aired on ESPN. Then Saturday night back home against Tulane (will be aired on CSS if you have Comcast). The biggest game left on the schedule is February 17 trip to Gonzaga. Gonzaga has the longest active home court winning streak. That game will be our chance to tune up before the NCAA tournament, and give us a chance to end that nice little winning streak. It will air on ESPN.

Here' s a link to the Tigers schedule.

Is anybody out there?

Blah. Why can I not get excited about the Tigers?

Does anybody read this blog? Seriously? Are there lurkers? Cause I'm considering just killing this blog, because clearly I have not been working very hard at keeping it updated.

Maybe I'll just hold it until March. Cause then I'll get into it again, and when the Tigers are in the Final Four I will be completely PUMPED.

Yeah.

Cincinnati

Explain to me how this happened. I used to eagerly anticipate the Cincinnati game each year. Once (in 2001) I couldn't sleep for a few days I was so psyched. That night, after we lost by one point on a last second shot, I nearly cried. There was much Goldschlager consumed that night. I loved (loved!) the rivalry. I hated (hated!) the Bearcats. Their fans were evil. Their band obnoxious. Their coach... well, it was Bob Huggins.

Today? I don't care much. Is it because Huggins is gone? Is it because Cincy is not in C-USA anymore? Is it because the Tigers are favored by 16 points? Probably all of the above, but tonight the Syracuse-Pitt game will probably be more exciting.

Did you see that? I just jinxed us probably. Oops.

The game is at 8pm CT, and airs on ESPN.

Update: Wow. That was interesting. I'd like to say I saw the whole game, but it got so boring that ESPN switched to a different game. Final Score: Memphis 88, Cincinnati 55. Geoff Calkins tells me the crowd was rowdy, Joey Dorsey made it through the game without one single foul, and Jeremy Hunt went 6 for 7 from 3-point range. So maybe it'll carry over to the rest of the season. Maybe I can allow myself to get excited again. But it's a little bit odd, I still don't feel as fired up as I thought I would.

The next game is next Thursday at Houston.

Catching Up

So, the Tigers have won a couple games, against MTSU and Lamar. The next game is Thursday, against Cincinnati. It's hard for me to get excited about that game the way I used to about playing the Bearcats. With Huggins gone, it's just not the same. It would be a good win, though.

Anyway, the Tigers are at #22 in the AP poll, #23 in the ESPN poll... same as last week, and with a very few opportunities left to make a move. But there's always hope, and I'm not giving up!