Honestly, I was expecting a UAB upset. But man...#4 Memphis looked so damn good. Their 71-60 victory over the UAB Blazers, even more so than their victory over Gonzaga earlier this month, proves that the Memphis Tigers are for real. Offensively, they received a balanced effort that included 4 guys scoring 13+, including Doneal Mack, who led the way with 17. After jumping on the Memphis bandwagon back in the Darius Washington era, I had to leave last season due to the hypes. I'm back on after Thursday night's performance.
While there's no way to say whether they can beat the likes of Pitt, UCONN, or UNC, they do have to be in the conversation. If the Tigers were to have their 54-game conference winning streak snapped, it was expected to happen in their trip to Birmingham. But Memphis stepped up to the plate as tournament-ready teams do. On the road. Hostile environment. Hungry, desperate, and most dangerous conference foe. And the Tigers got it done. For a while it seemed like UAB had Memphis on the ropes with chances of completing the upset, but Memphis always had an answer.
Although Memphis critics point out their poor shooting, lack of offensive sets, and turnover-prone freshman PG Tyreke Evans as major downfalls for the Tigers, they fail to mention their experience and defense. The departures of Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts left many under the impression that the Tigers would fall off a bit. However, they still have the one variable that trumps all in college basketball: experience. Seniors, G Antonio Anderson and F Robert Dozier have seen legit PT every year at Memphis, as have Junior Gs Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp, and F Shawn Taggart. Combine that with Coach John Calipari's history, and there is nothing the Tigers haven't seen in terms of defenses, game situations, and so on. And it was Mack and Anderson who provided the daggers to stop the Blazers efforts on Thursday.
Furthermore, the Tigers defense is one of the most underrated in the nation. While they aren't great on defensive principles a la Pitt. or UCLA, it's their length and athleticism that make them so effective. Thursday, the Tigers held UAB sharpshooter, to 0 points, and 0-15 from the field. What's more, they've got huge guards, meaning they can switch onto just about anybody, and maintain extreme ball pressure at all times. They're second in the nation in opponent field goal%, holding competition to just 37% shooting, and 13th in points allowed, giving up just 59 points per night.
Lastly, as elementary as it may seem, the 25-3 Tigers win and are used to it, which means a lot. They've won 19 straight this season. 46 straight regular season conference games (54 straight conference games including the post-season tournament). And they've been to 3 Elite Eight's in the past three years, including the National Championship game last season.
Plain and simple: Memphis is some Dogs.
Top 25 Scores From Around The Nation...2/26/09
#4 Memphis 71, UAB 60
#11 Arizona St. 70, #21 Washington 73 (OT)
NC St. 78, #14 Wake Forest 85
#16 Purdue 78, Michigan 87
#17 Gonzaga 81, Santa Clara 73
#19 UCLA 76, Stanford 71
Minnesota 41, #20 Illinois 52
#2 Xavier 68, St. Joe's 64
Youngstown St. 57, #23 Butler 78
Via: ESPN
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