Memphis Tigers News Archives

December 2007

12/31/07		Monday update (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken – After taking Sunday off, the Tigers had a short practice today. Coach John Calipari was all set to scrimmage for awhile, but after just two four-minute segments, he saw what he needed to see and called it a day. No need to spoil a good thing. – Calipari left on a recruiting trip at the end of practice, but players stayed to do some individual work. That all ended when Willie Kemp did a 360-degree dunk, then ripped off his shirt and ran back to the locker room. When Willie does a 360, there’s no reason for anybody to stay on the court. – Before practice, Calipari held an individual workout with Pierre Niles and was highly complimentary of his effort. Despite his ongoing weight issues, Niles does some impressive things. I think Calipari is going to try everything possible to get him into the rotation now, even if it’s just a 5, 6 minute cameo. – Matt Simpkins, the 6-9, 215-pound power forward from The Patterson School, will be in Memphis on his official visit this weekend. Simpkins is ranked 47th overall in the class of 2008 by Rivals.com. Simpkins has had some academic difficulties, and Patterson is his sixth school in five years. Simpkins is originally from Berkley, Calif., and several Pac-10 schools are recruiting him. My sense is that Memphis wants a commitment from either Simpkins or Wesley Witherspoon, whichever one they can get first. Getting both is probably not too realistic, since they are both in the 6-8, 6-9 range. – As of now, point guard Andre Allen will be eligible to participate Thursday against Siena. Allen was thrown out of the game Saturday against Arizona for coming off the bench with 8:11 remaining when Chris Douglas-Roberts was fouled hard by Kirk Walters. Though Allen, by rule, probably should be subject to a one-game suspension for being ejected from the game, the officiating crew never recorded an ejection with the official scorekeeper. As it was happening, I heard the official near the Memphis bench tell Calipari that Allen had to go to the locker room for coming off the bench. But no technical foul was called, so I’m not sure it really was an official ejection. Therefore, I’m not sure how a penalty could be enforced.

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12/31/07		Montgomery Earns Academic Accolades -- Montgomery selected to NSCAA All-America team (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis men's soccer midfielder Adam Montgomery was selected to the 2007 NSCAA/adidas Men's Scholar All-America second team. This is Montgomery's first scholar all-american honor. Montgomery holds a 3.77 cumulative grade point average while majoring in business. He has also earned All-Conference USA second team and NSCAA All-Midwest third team honors this season. In his first year he was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman team and was a part of the 2004 conference championship team. Montgomery had one goal on the season and started every match for the Tigers in 2007. The senior finishes his Memphis soccer career with four goals, five assists and one game winner.

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12/31/07		Lady Tiger Golf Team Adds Mid-Term Transfer To Roster (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, TENN. - University of Memphis Lady Tiger golf coach Jenny Bruun announced that Leslie Grabeman, a former member of the University of Minnesota women's golf team, has a scholarship with the Tigers and will enroll in January. She will be eligible for competition immediately and is expected to participate for the U of M this spring. Grabeman, a native of Springboro, Ohio, played in seven tournaments for the Lady Gophers during the 2006-07 collegiate season. She ranked fourth on the squad in scoring average with an 81.24 average. Grabeman had one top 10 finish as a freshman but turned in eight competitive rounds with scores of 79 or better, including a low round of 74. Her top finish came during the DeBarry Intercollegiate in which she posted a two day total of 151 (75-76). During the '06-07 season, Grabeman also tied for 21st at the Rio Verde Invitational with rounds of 74-74-80. She appeared in one event for Minnesota during the fall of '07. The sister of Ohio State men's golfer Kevin Grabeman, Leslie is a graduate of Springboro High School, where she earned four letters in golf. She was named all-city and all-area for four consecutive seasons and was an all-conference selection as a senior. Grabeman was the medalist in her league championship as a senior and was the medalist in every tournament she played in as a junior. "I am delighted to have a player of Leslie's caliber join our program," said Bruun. "She is an experienced player who is tournament tested and I am sure that she will contribute to our squad this spring." Grabeman will have two and a half years of eligibility remaining at Memphis.

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12/31/07		Calipari's Tigers end 2007 on a 'special run' -- Some memorable moments over U of M's calendar year (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Monday, December 31, 2007 As coach John Calipari analyzed, then re-analyzed what happened at FedExForum late Saturday night, he finally came back to the simplest, yet most important part of No. 2-ranked Memphis' 76-63 victory over No. 17 Arizona. "We're in a special run," Calipari said. "So enjoy it." Indeed, by beating Arizona, Memphis closed out 2007 with a 34-1 record, including victories over some of college basketball's great programs like Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Southern California, and Georgetown. Though the Tigers hope to make 2008 even more memorable with a trip to the Final Four, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to ever match the record they compiled during this calendar year. Before the Tigers look ahead to the next part of their schedule, beginning Thursday at FedExForum against Siena, here are the 10 moments that stand out most from this last trip around the sun. 1. "The Free Throws," March 22, San Antonio: The pressure of making game-deciding free throws in the NCAA Tournament can crack even the best of shooters. So imagine the situation facing Antonio Anderson with 3.1 seconds left in a Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M. Not only did Anderson have to overcome the fact that he had missed three straight from the line before that, but he somehow had to drown out a football-like crowd of 25,000 screaming Aggies. All season, Calipari had said that the Tigers would make the free throws that mattered, despite the team's 62.1 shooting percentage. And on this occasion, he was right, as Anderson swished both to send Memphis into the Elite Eight, 65-64. Though Anderson's free throws will stick out forever in Tiger history, they would not have occurred without a brilliant sequence of offensive rebounding. After Andre Allen missed a 3-pointer, Jeremy Hunt snatched away the long carom and tried a putback runner that missed. Then, Robert Dozier missed a tip-in attempt, and Anderson followed with a miss. In that chaos, however, the officiating crew correctly saw that Donald Sloan had whacked Anderson on the right arm, sending him to the free throw line. 2. "The Spectacle," Dec. 22, Memphis: When Calipari was presented with an opportunity to get Georgetown on his home schedule, he jumped at it with full force. Indeed, to make it happen, Calipari persuaded the athletic department to buy out a game at Ole Miss, arguing that playing Georgetown at FedExForum would be not just a basketball game but an event. Calipari was right, as 18,864 fans packed the arena and several national media members came to Memphis to cover the season's only scheduled matchup between top-five teams. The electric atmosphere produced a memorable game, as the Tigers finished a fast-paced first half with a 17-5 flurry, then pulled away with a dominating second half for an 85-71 victory. Georgetown, ranked No. 5 coming into the game, didn't even appear to be in the same league as Memphis, which won the rebounding battle 43-30 and made 11 of its final 19 field goals to solidify its claim as one of the nation's elite. 3. "The Tip Dunk," Nov. 5, Memphis: After a year of hype and anticipation, freshman phenom Derrick Rose signaled his arrival in college basketball with an explosive debut against Tennessee-Martin. Rose contributed 17 points, five assists, six rebounds and two blocked shots in a 102-71 victory, and Tiger fans didn't have to wait long to see why he was labeled as special coming out of Chicago. With 3:17 left in the first half, Chris Douglas-Roberts missed a jumper from the near wing. From across the court, Rose read the trajectory of the shot as a miss. Instinctively, he launched himself from his position near the free throw line toward the rim and soared for a thunderous tip-dunk, rising higher than any 6-foot-3 point guard should be able to. 4. "David and Goliath," March 23, San Antonio: It may be awhile before Joey Dorsey can go somewhere without being reminded of his ill-timed comments about freshman center Greg Oden on the eve of Memphis' Elite Eight game with Ohio State. "It's going to be David and Goliath," Dorsey said, with a room full of reporters around him at the Alamodome. "I'm Goliath. He's the little man. I'm going to outwork him to every ball. I think I'm going to have like a 20 rebound night. Coach Cal said this is going to be my breakout game." And on it on went, with Dorsey later calling Oden overrated. After he failed to show up the next day -- zero points, three rebounds -- Dorsey was mocked nationally, and not just for messing up his Biblical history. Though Dorsey's comments may or may not have had much to do with Ohio State's 92-76 victory, you just can't tip the karmic scales that overtly and expect to get rewarded. 5. "The Ankle Sprain," March 18, New Orleans: In truth, the outcome of Memphis' second-round NCAA Tournament game against Nevada should have been decided long before the 8-minute mark. To that point, the No. 2-seed Tigers had pretty much controlled the Wolfpack, but a mess of missed layups invited trouble all afternoon long. And by the time Douglas-Roberts went down with a severe left ankle sprain, Memphis had blown its opportunity to put the game away. Indeed, when their leading scorer was carried into the locker room with no hope of coming back, the Tigers suddenly were in big trouble, as Nevada cut the deficit to 64-62 with five minutes to go. But Memphis kept its composure and played nearly perfect basketball down the stretch, finishing the game on a 14-0 run to advance to its second straight Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. 6. "The Gonzaga Saga," Feb. 17, Spokane, Wash.: After failing to capitalize on early-season opportunities, the Tigers badly needed a signature win to solidify a high NCAA Tournament seed. And to get it, Memphis would have to fly more than four hours to the Inland Northwest and play in front of a sold-out, hostile crowd of 11,272 fans. Despite opening a 13-point lead early in the second half, Memphis had to withstand a charge from Gonzaga to send the game to overtime. But Tigers senior Jeremy Hunt, who went 0-for-4 from the field in regulation, hit two huge 3-pointers to keep them in it. Then, with the Tigers down a point, Douglas-Roberts slashed across the lane and hit a one-handed game-winner from eight feet with 5.6 seconds left. The 78-77 victory was Memphis' 15th straight. 7. "The Payback," Nov. 15, New York: Calipari and UConn coach Jim Calhoun were New England rivals in the early 1990s, but Calipari did not have an opportunity to beat him since his first two years at UMass. Though both coaches downplayed the matchup, Memphis' 81-70 victory in the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic championship game was a satisfying victory for Calipari. Douglas-Roberts scored a career-high 33 points, while Rose added 24 points at Madison Square Garden. 8. "The Breakaway," Jan. 4, Memphis: Memphis likes to say it always improves after Camp Cal, the all-basketball period between semesters. And the Tigers showed it in an 88-55 dissection of Cincinnati on national television, providing hints of just how good they could be. Against a former C-USA rival, Memphis made 20-of-33 field goals in the first half and built a 31-point lead. The game was so lopsided, ESPN broke away from it in the second half to show the finish of Southern California and Oregon. 9. "The Dragon," Feb. 8, Birmingham, Ala.: At halftime, the score was UAB 25, Jeremy Hunt 25. In a career performance for the senior, Hunt finished with 30 points in Memphis' 70-56 victory at Bartow Arena. Hunt made six 3-pointers in the first half, willing Memphis to a 12-point lead, including a 30-footer to beat the buzzer. When he made the final shot, Hunt simply laid down on UAB's dragon logo, right where it spits a stream of fire. 10. "The Circus," Jan. 31, Orlando: After a series of unimpressive victories against East Carolina, Tulsa and Southern Miss, the Tigers seemed vulnerable in late January. Central Florida sensed it too, filling 5,000-seat UCF Arena for the biggest home game in school history. As players were being introduced, the mascot of practically every pro team in the state of Florida was on the floor, contributing to a circus-like atmosphere that seemed a potential hurdle to Memphis' perfect C-USA record. But the Tigers didn't give the crowd much chance to get revved up, sprinting to a 13-4 lead and ultimately blowing out the second-place Knights, 87-65. Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365

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12/30/07		Big guys getting it done (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken Beyond all the obvious things like defense and depth and experience, the Tigers’ 76-63 victory over Arizona last night showed me something more subtle but incredibly necessary for them to win a national championship: In a high-profile game, Memphis does not have to rely on its guards to get things done offensively. It’s been proven over and over in the NCAA Tournament that teams with great guards and mediocre post players simply don’t win national titles. You can get to the Final Four, perhaps, but to win six straight games in March and April, you need big people to provide easy points you can count on. Last year, Florida’s top three big men accounted for 38.5 percent of the team’s points. Here’s how the previous national champions this decade stack up by the same statistical standard: 2006 Florida — 40.2 percent 2005 North Carolina — 47.2 percent 2004 Connecticut — 37.3 percent 2003 Syracuse — 51.2 percent 2002 Maryland — 38.1 percent 2001 Duke — 47.9 percent 2000 Michigan State — 34.5 percent Admittedly, this is a flawed statistical analysis for many reasons. With Syracuse, for instance, you have to count Carmelo Anthony as a big on that team, even though he is more of a wing. But the point remains, I firmly believe that legitimate national title teams have to get roughly one-third of their points from their big people. How does Memphis stack up in that regard? Through 11 games, 28.4 percent of the Tigers points have been scored by Robert Dozier, Joey Dorsey and Shawn Taggart. That’s up from 26.9 percent last season by Dozier, Dorsey and Kareem Cooper. It’s also worth nothing that Dozier and Dorsey have each missed two games due to injuries, so the Tiger bigs would probably account for well over 30 percent if they had been healthy. Though Dorsey is pretty much giving you what he’s going to give you — a consistent 8 to 12 points — Tiger fans have every right to be encouraged by the uptick in production from Dozier (19 points against Georgetown, 18 against Arizona) and Taggart (15 points against Arizona).

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12/30/07		Over The Edge… (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by John Stacy, Tiger fan blogger If you are an NFL team that wants to challenge history and go undefeated then make sure you have a Memphis/Memphis State Tigers player on your team. The only two teams to do it now are the 1972 Miami Dolphins with Charlie Babb on their roster and the 2007 New England Patriots with Stephen Gostkowski. The two most recent runs prior to this year’s Pats team was the 2005 Colts and 1985 Bears. Neither team had a Tigers player on their roster therefore were destined to fail. So if you’re an NFL team who wants to challenge destiny make sure you draft a Tigers player soon if you don’t already have one on your roster. The first half of the Tigers win over Arizona proved once again you can take away some weapons but not all of them. The Wildcats did a good job on CDR and Rose in the first half. But Dozier and company stepped right in and knocked them down. Cal’s recruiting has proven to be nothing short of awesome. And that’s in the truest definition of awesome as they simply overwhelm opponents. Without looking at the record books I feel comfortable in saying that calendar 2007 was the single best year in Memphis Tigers basketball history. The Tigers lost only one game in the year 2007. I’d say that is as impressive as it gets. In fact, only one team has done that since the UCLA dynasties. The UNLV team that lost only in the NCAA Championship game in 1991 lost 2 games in December of 91. The had lost 2 games in 1990 as well. So despite having a great run, they didn’t have a calendar year where they lost only one game in a calendar year. Even those great Duke teams of the 90’s didn’t do it. The only team to pull it off prior to this year’s Tigers were the ‘76 Indiana Hoosiers who went unbeaten in the 75-76 season and lost only one game in the 74-75 season. So no, the Tigers aren’t the first to do it overall but it is the first time a Tigers team has done it. So congrats to Coach Calipari and the team. That’s a pretty impressive year. Here’s to hoping they improve on that in 2008. And if they do then the record books will be shattered. What’s got into Robert Dozier? The guy has been (at the risk of sounding cliche’) on fire of late. Since returning from an injury that kept him out of the Arkansas State and Austin Peay games he’s looked great. He’s averaged almost 14 points a game, six boards, 2 assists while shooting 27 of 53 from the field and is a perfect 9 of 9 from the charity stripe. The guy is playing at a level we were expecting from him but have rarely seen. I’ve heard all the raves about Taggart (and justly so) but folks have forgotten about RD. If Cal continues to get this kind of production out of the bigs like this then look out. The Tigers have played six of their 11 games against “BCS” schools. They have beaten them by an average of slightly over 10 points and that’s with 4 of the games being on neutral or road floors. Only USC managed to stay within 10 of the Tigers. To take it a step further they are beating teams by an average of right at 16 points a game and only once has a team stayed within single digits, again USC. From what I’ve seen so far, Derrick Rose should plan on being a Tiger for at least another year. He just seems to be erratic at times when he turns the ball over by trying to do some carnival shot or pass. Then there is the whole guards don’t fare too well as a whole when they go early into the NBA. Two years of seasoning at Memphis will make him truly NBA ready. Yes, I know it probably won’t happen because if a guy is going to be a top 10 pick he will leave every time. I’m just saying that in my opinion it might make the difference in him becoming a good NBA point guard and a great NBA point guard. But what do I know, I live in Mississippi. I personally challenge every Memphis fan to be there Thursday for the Siena game. There is no reason everyone shouldn’t be there for every game not just the marquee games. It should be about seeing YOUR Tigers not the opponent. I’ve read and heard some of the chatter about Mississippi and their success this year. Andy Kennedy was a great hire. But it is very likely that the game next season will be the last for quite a while. We shouldn’t play them in basketball if they drop the football contract. Why do them a favor? Honestly, I think both series should go on. In fact, I’d like to see the football game moved back to the 3rd weekend in November so the schools can play football in the afternoon and basketball at night. It sure would allow the Rebels to fill up Tad Smith which is something they don’t often do with their non-conference schedule.

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12/30/07		Defensive effort gets Tigers a victory over banged-up Arizona -- No. 2 Tigers 76, No. 17 Arizona 63 (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Sunday, December 30, 2007 Shawn Taggart put his chest out and his hands back, like coach John Calipari has begged him to do in every practice since October, and leaned into the body of Arizona forward Jordan Hill. And just like Calipari had preached, Hill lowered his shoulder, Taggart took the contact, the whistle blew for an offensive foul , and the ball belonged to the University of Memphis. And as Calipari skipped down the Tigers' bench Saturday night, pumping his fist and celebrating yet another brilliant defensive play with 16:19 remaining, it became clear why No. 2-ranked Memphis believes it can win any kind of game on any kind of night. When the free throws aren't falling, the stars aren't producing and the Tigers get mired in a mess of missed layups, Memphis always has its defense. And it bailed out the scrambling, suffocating Tigers again in a 76-63 victory over No. 17 Arizona in front of a sold-out FedExForum. "That's what coach preaches, and we believe in it," junior guard Antonio Anderson. "He got that discipline in us that we have to play D in order for us to succeed, and we're doing just that." If last Saturday's dissection of Georgetown was Memphis' work of art, this one was a testament to the many ways in which the Tigers have compiled a 34-1 record during the calendar year of 2007. On a night when freshman point guard Derrick Rose struggled at times to run the team with efficiency (12 points, five assists, six turnovers). On a night when the Tigers (11-0) missed multiple opportunities to pull away, Memphis effectively won the game by holding Arizona without a field goal for a 12-minute stretch of the first half. Though the Wildcats finished the game making 25-of-54 from the floor, the Tigers took control with a 21-6 run to end the first half, in which they kept Arizona off the scoreboard completely for a span of 7:44. By the time the Tigers got to the locker room, their lead was only 34-24, but it was enough. Though Arizona kept the game within a reasonable range for the entire second half -- and the Tigers contributed to that by scoring just four points in a six-minute span -- Memphis got timely baskets, including a 3-pointer by Taggart with 2:40 remaining for a 66-55 lead. That completed a 15-point, seven-rebound performance in 19 minutes by Taggart, easily his best of the season. Then, after a 3-pointer by Wildcats forward Chase Budinger to pull back within eight, junior forward Robert Dozier capped off a 18-point night with a 3-point play off a driving layup with 1:53 left. "They really weren't checking the four that much," Taggart said, explaining why he and Dozier were able to get so many quality opportunities. "They were packing it in the middle, the four man was staying in the paint while our four man was on the 3-point line. That's why I think we got open shots, and it helped other players get open shots." It was not exactly the way Memphis expected to win Saturday against an Arizona team that stayed with its man-to-man defense most of the night, bucking conventional wisdom. Instead of a high-flying track meet, the Tigers had to grind out a victory, making 29-of-61 field goals and forcing 19 turnovers, which gave them a handful of easy opportunities. The Tigers also got 17 points and five rebounds from junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who never quite found a rhythm but still impacted the game by making 6-of-11 from the field, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to put an exclamation point on the victory. "We win on defense," Douglas-Roberts said. "Every game, we win on the defensive end. In order for us to get great offense and transition we must create turnovers and bad shots, and that's what we strive for." It was something of a miraculous comeback for Douglas-Roberts, who collided with center Kirk Walters with 8:11 to go and landed hard on his left elbow (it was called an intentional foul). After remaining on the ground for nearly two minutes, Douglas-Roberts made two free throws for a 53-44 lead. Earlier in the game, Douglas-Roberts scored his 1,000th career point on a high-flying dunk for a 31-18 lead. Much of the luster from this matchup was lost when Arizona revealed Saturday that star freshman point guard Jerryd Bayless had sprained his right knee the night before during a practice at the Finch Center. Already, the Wildcats were without senior forward Bret Brielmaier due to a shoulder injury, meaning they would have to face Memphis without two starters. The situation became even more severe for Arizona just two minutes into the game, when 6-10 forward Jordan Hill committed two fouls and went to the bench for the remainder of the first half. Hill finished with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Though the Tigers didn't take advantage of his absence early, starting just 3-for-14 from the field, Memphis took an 18-17 lead with 7:41 left in the half on Dozier's free throws and never looked back. Memphis made 14-of-22 from the free-throw line, after starting 3-for-9. Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.

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12/30/07		Tigers replay (Commercial Appeal)
		By Scott Cacciola (Contact) Originally published 11:47 p.m., December 29, 2007 Updated 11:47 p.m., December 29, 2007 AS The Game Turned At the time, it seemed innocent enough: Senior guard Andre Allen banked in a free throw for Memphis with 12 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the first half. But that one shot — that one very ugly shot — sparked a 23-4 run for the Tigers, a stretch that featured some of the team’s finest defense of the season, which is saying a lot. Arizona went more than 12 minutes without a field goal and shot 8-of-29 from the floor as Memphis went ahead, 34-24, by halftime. Arizona struggled to contend with Memphis’ harassing pressure without starting point guard Jerryd Bayless, who missed the game after spraining his right knee during practice Friday. The Wildcats lacked any semblance of rhythm, and they often hoisted desperation jumpers with the shot clock winding down — that is, when they were even able to get a shot off. Two of their eight first-half turnovers were the result of shot-clock violations. AS THE ROTATION TURNED During Memphis’ slow start, coach John Calipari sought solutions. Before the game was three minutes old, Calipari expressed his displeasure with junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts and junior forward Robert Dozier by opting for sophomore forward Shawn Taggart and sophomore guard Willie Kemp off the bench. Dozier got an earful from Calipari after he misfired on a hook shot from outside the paint: “You’re one foot away from the basket, and you just throw it!” Calipari yelped. Taggart was a source of instant energy and played well throughout, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds. As his team got rolling, Calipari felt comfortable enough to send an unorthodox lineup onto the floor late in the first half: Dozier, Kemp, Allen, junior guard Antonio Anderson and sophomore forward Pierre Niles. Though the quintet lacked a whole lot of offensive pyrotechnics, they did force Arizona into a pair of quick turnovers. RIM GEMS Late in the first half, freshman guard Derrick Rose rebounded an errant 3-pointer and raced the ball ahead for a 2-on-1 fast break. Douglas-Roberts, who streaked upcourt along the left side, took Rose’s chest pass and flushed the ball with two hands for a 31-18 lead. The basket forced Arizona coach Kevin O’Neill to call for a timeout — and pushed Douglas-Roberts over the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Douglas-Roberts became the 43rd player in the program’s history to reach the milestone. “I didn’t even know,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I mean, it’s an honor, but I didn’t even know. I don’t pay attention to those types of things.” A close second: Joey Dorsey corralled Rose’s lob and dunked with 5:55 remaining in the game. It was a big hoop because Arizona had sliced Memphis’ lead to 55-48. HIDE YOUR EYES Though they tightened the vice on defense, the Tigers stumbled on offense at the start of their mammoth first-half stretch, particularly from the free-throw line. During their 9-2 spurt that started the run, the Tigers missed five free throws — three by Douglas-Roberts and two by Rose. Memphis did manage to close the half by making six straight from the stripe, which was reminiscent of the team’s solid 22-of-29 effort against Georgetown last Saturday. Overall, Memphis went 14-of-22 from the line against Arizona. SCORER’S TABLE Dozier and Taggart provided a dynamic one-two punch at power forward, combining for 33 points and 12 rebounds. Their production helped to compensate for a quiet game from Rose, who finished with 12 points, five assists and six turnovers. LOCKERROOM CHATTER “I’m sore, man,” said Douglas-Roberts, who was fouled hard on a drive late in the game and crumpled to the court, where he stayed for several moments. He made both free throws, then headed to the bench. ODDS and ENDS Memphis radio analyst Matt Dillon, who was dealing with laryngitis before the game even started, completely lost his voice during the first half and had to hand the reins to engineer Jeff Brightwell. It was the first time in 35 years that Dillon was unable to finish a broadcast, but he kept busy by scrawling notes for his broadcast partners. After shooting just 27.6 percent in the first half, Arizona shot 68 percent in the second half. The only problem? Memphis shot 56.7 percent in the second half. Memphis extended its home winning streak to 38 games, the second-longest in the country. LOOKING AHEAD Tigers vs. Siena, Thursday, 8 p.m., FedExForum — Scott Cacciola

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12/30/07		College basketball: Robert Dozier scores 18 to lift No. 2 Memphis to a 76-63 win over No. 17 Arizona (Jackson Sun)
		MEMPHIS - Robert Dozier had 18 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 and second-ranked Memphis beat No. 17 Arizona 76-63 on Saturday night, the third time the Tigers have knocked off a ranked opponent this season. Shawn Taggart added 15 points and seven rebounds to help the Tigers (11-0) match the second-best start in school history, dating to the 1982-83 season. Chase Budinger had 20 points, and Jordan Hill battled foul trouble to score 14 for the Wildcats (9-3), whose six-game winning streak ended. Memphis coach John Calipari scheduled tougher opponents this season to help offset the Conference USA schedule his Tigers begin playing in January. Apparently it hasn't been tough enough. Memphis has rolled through the thick of its daunting nonconference schedule this season much like it has through C-USA in years past: untouched. The Tigers already have defeated three ranked opponents - Arizona, Georgetown, Southern California - as well as perennial powers Oklahoma, Connecticut and Cincinnati. The strong schedule should not only make the Tigers better come March, it may bolster their bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They still host Gonzaga on Jan. 26, and in-state rival Tennessee on Feb. 23. The Tigers went a perfect 16-0 against C-USA opponents last season. The Wildcats suffered a huge blow before the game even began. Arizona scoring lead Jerryd Bayless was sidelined with a sprained right knee he suffered in practice Friday and will be out an undetermined amount of time. Arizona closed within 53-46 with 7:52 left on a dunk by Budinger, but that was as close as the Wildcats got. Memphis slowly added to its lead, and the Wildcats crumbled at the free throw line late. Arizona was one of the few teams this season that tried to match the speed of Memphis. The Wildcats played their fast-pace style, and didn't sit in a zone defense like most other teams had against Memphis' attack offense. Arizona just didn't account for the Tigers' swarming defense. The Wildcats were held without a field goal for more than 12 minutes in the first half, washing away an early 8-point lead on their way to shooting just 27.7 percent in the first 20 minutes. Memphis went on a 21-2 run during that stretch to go ahead 34-24 at the break.

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12/29/07		Tigers Cruise to 76-63 Win -- Robert Dozier had 18 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 and second-ranked Memphis beat No. 17 Arizona 76-63 (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Robert Dozier had 18 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 and second-ranked Memphis beat No. 17 Arizona 76-63 on Saturday night, the third time the Tigers have knocked off a ranked opponent this season. "It wasn't easy," Douglas-Roberts said. "None of these games have been. We've been playing the best teams in the nation. Any one of them we could see in the Final Four. To be able to beat them, we feel like we can beat anyone." Chase Budinger had 20 points, and Jordan Hill battled foul trouble to score 14 for the Wildcats (9-3), whose six-game winning streak ended. "It hurts," Arizona guard Jawann McClellan said. "We had a chance, we just let it get away." Shawn Taggart added 15 points and seven rebounds to help the Tigers (11-0) match the second-best start in school history, dating to the 1982-83 season. Despite one of the nation's toughest schedules, Memphis still doesn't have a blemish. "I love it," Taggart said. "Look at who we've beat. We still have some really tough games ahead. But to be where we are right now, it's hard not to be happy." The Tigers already have defeated Georgetown, Southern California, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Cincinnati. The strong schedule should not only make the Tigers better come March, it may bolster their bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. They still host Gonzaga on Jan. 26, and in-state rival Tennessee on Feb. 23. The Tigers went 16-0 against C-USA opponents last season. "To play teams like this early in the year will help us make that push in the tournament," Calipari said. "To beat teams like this just adds confidence. We're not going to see anything in the tournament we haven't seen already." The Wildcats suffered a huge blow before the game even began. Arizona scoring leader Jerryd Bayless was sidelined with a sprained right knee he suffered in practice Friday and will be out an undetermined amount of time. McClellan said the last thing the Wildcats need is another excuse. He said they already have been dealt their biggest shot when coach Lute Olson announced earlier this year he was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons, prompting Kevin O'Neill to takeover for the 73-year-old Hall of Famer. "I don't care what nobody says, nobody thought we'd be 9-3 at this point," McClellan said. "We've been through a lot. We've played some really good teams. To me, our season is just beginning." Arizona closed within 53-46 with 7:52 left on a dunk by Budinger, but that was as close as the Wildcats got. Memphis slowly added to its lead, and the Wildcats crumbled at the free throw line late. Arizona was one of the few teams this season that tried to match the speed of Memphis. The Wildcats played their fast-pace style, and didn't sit in a zone defense like most other teams had against Memphis' attack offense. Arizona hoped it could outlast Memphis. "They just wore us out," Budinger said. "They just kept coming and coming at us until we couldn't keep up anymore." The Wildcats were held without a field goal for more than 12 minutes in the first half, washing away an early eight-point lead on their way to shooting just 27.7 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Tigers went on a 21-2 run during that stretch to go ahead 34-24 at the break, and Arizona could never catch them. "We tried to make it so they didn't score," Taggart said. "Usually it doesn't happen that way. But we felt like they not only couldn't score on us, they couldn't even get off a shot."

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12/29/07		Memphis-Arizona Post Game Quotes (GoTigersGo.com)
		Memphis Head Coach John Calipari It was a good win. Hats off to Kevin (O'Neill). He was amazing. I knew what he was doing. He was calling timeouts before TV timeouts. He was trying to stretch the game and make it longer. He was trying to get his guy more breaks. Then I got mad in the second half because, you guys know I don't call timeouts very often, but the game was getting very erratic. But every time I called a timeout it played into their hands because it gave them a rest. And I said, (Chase) Budinger, this kid just stepped back and banked one on us. So I was happy. We defended. In the second half they made a ton of shots. Shawn Taggart came in and did some great stuff, which is what we didn't have before. I thought Andre (Allen) and Willie (Kemp) came in and really lifted the team, which is what we need them to do. Derrick (Rose), you know he's really young, when (Nic) Wise kept ripping him down low, and when he rips you down low three times you've got to know the fourth time he's going to rip him down low. He had six turnovers and they were all the same one. What you do is you don't show him the ball you just show him shoulders and he doesn't know that yet. We'll work on that this week to just get him to understand. That's why you play games like this. I wanted to see what Kevin (O'Neill) would do. He just put two guys in the middle of the lane. This is all good for us. That's why we play these games. You want to play I told Jerryd (Bayless) before the game I really wanted to see him. I watched him on tape and I wanted to see him play in person. I'm disappointed that he didn't play, but their team did whatever they had to stay in the game and give themselves a win. Arizona Coach Kevin O'Neill We did not execute in the first half for a long period of time. We had a make shift lineup in, and then we had three consecutive times where we missed a dunk or a layup. We had an opportunity to cut to a two possession game late and we did not do it. We played them on their court with their crowd, and that is a tough thing to do. It is unfortunate we lost but injuries are part of the game, and they beat us and that is no excuse. They beat us and that is all there is to it. We played without three starters the whole first half, and that is tough to do. We still had it at a 10 point game. We had a couple of opportunities to make plays, and we didn't. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen for us tonight. What we have to do is get ready for some home games now and start the Pac 10.

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12/29/07		Pregame blog: Arizona (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken People tell me Memphis is a Saturday night town. We’ll see if that holds true tonight, and the FedExForum crowd can match the energy of last Saturday morning against Georgetown. Unfortunately for the fans, they won’t get to see freshman point guard Jerryd Bayless. Though certainly his absence due to a sprained knee will make hte game easier for the Tigers to win, it’s a shame because he’s a fun player to watch much like Derrick Rose. Without two starters — Bret Brielmaier is also injured — Arizona is really up against it tonight. The Wildcats really weren’t that deep to begin with, so losing two starters is a big blow. I’d imagine Nic Wise will have to pick up the slack for Bayless tonight. Wise plays about 25 minutes per game usually, but I’d imagine he’ll be forced to play 33+ tonight. Meanwhile, tip-off time has been pushed back about 10 minutes due to the double overtime game between West Virginia and Oklahoma on ESPN2. It’s a Pac-10 officiating crew tonight of Mark Reischling, Michael Reed and Bill Kennedy.

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12/29/07		Calipari, his Tigers defending reputation -- Coach, players balk at comment on ESPN (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Saturday, December 29, 2007 As ESPN analysts recapped the first half of last Saturday's game between Georgetown and the University of Memphis, one comment by Jimmy Dykes stood out so sharply that by the time the No. 2-ranked Tigers wrapped up an 85-71 victory, coach John Calipari had already received several phone messages alerting him to it. After a monologue about Georgetown's halfcourt defense, Dykes concluded his analysis with the following statement, transcribed from video of the halftime show: "Here's what also stands out. Both teams have future pros. I think there's probably seven, eight pros on the floor right now. Both teams are playing for Memphis and Georgetown. A lot of times, Memphis, they play for agents and posses and AAU coaches. Calipari has done a great job today of his kids playing for Memphis." Though Dykes said this week that the remark did not come across as he intended, it clearly touched a nerve with players, coaches and fans, who felt the comment played into a perception they have been battling for the last two seasons. And though the Tigers have another opportunity to forge their national identity tonight against No. 17 Arizona in an ESPN2 game, they are not sure what more they can do to shake the image suggested by Dykes' remark, whether it was intentional or not. "We just go out and play," junior guard Antonio Anderson said. "When everybody on the team has a lot of tattoos and braids, wild hair designs and stuff, some people are going to think differently about you. But we don't care. We're normal kids, good kids just like everybody else." Two days after the game, Calipari called Dykes, whom he is friends with. Calipari said Dykes felt bad for the way it came across. "I'm fine with Jimmy Dykes," Calipari said. "He's a good guy." Dykes said he was attempting to compliment Memphis within the context of outside influences all elite teams face. "The point I was trying to get across was how impressed I was in that ball game for a team like Memphis with future pros -- we all know they have them -- and the ability Cal has had on those kids for them to buy in and listen to one voice: his voice," Dykes said. "I don't think a lot of people understand how difficult it is to keep all those distractions out of a kid's ear and listen to the voice of the head coach. When they do, it shows up like Memphis played Saturday, playing as a team, playing unselfishly, playing with terrific discipline on the defensive end of the floor. I was trying to find a way to quickly compliment Calipari for what I know he and Roy Williams and Bill Self and Tim Floyd and Ben Howland and all those guys deal with every day." What caused some concern within the Tiger locker room and among fans on Internet message boards, however, was the connotation of playing for, "agents, posses and AAU coaches." It speaks to the idea that Memphis, as a program, lacks discipline and welcomes players who are only interested in showcasing themselves for NBA contracts. A number of factors have gone into that perception, from the Tigers' style of play, to the fact that several players went to prep schools to qualify academically and even perhaps to the racial makeup of the team. Though Dykes said he does not buy into that perception -- "Because I've seen them practice, and as a guy who studies basketball for a living, I know the discipline and coaching and everything it takes to pull off how they play," he said -- the Tigers' players hear it often. "I guess people look at us different because of the backgrounds we came from, what we went through to get here," junior forward Robert Dozier said. "But we're used to it. It's been like that ever since we've been here." And though the Tigers have not always helped their own image -- most recently, with a September nightclub incident -- they vehemently challenge the notion that they have individual agendas or don't play with discipline. Some of that can be attributed to the Tigers' offense, which is based on isolating and driving, not screening. Calipari has heard all the critiques and frequently combats them by explaining the spacing, the patterns and the timing that make it work. And though egos may have clashed on previous Memphis teams, this particular group of players has not had chemistry issues. If it had, the Tigers probably would not have been able to win 33 games last season with nobody playing more than 28 minutes per game and only two players averaging more than 10 points. "You're talking about a team that has graduated 16 of its last 19," Calipari said. "That's discipline. A group of guys that play defense like we do takes discipline. The third thing is, this offense takes more discipline. And we don't have hanger-ons. There's no posses with this group. What he meant to say, and it's true on this team and any team, people are in these kids' ears, and they absolutely are, which is why I meet with them three times a day." Tonight, the Tigers will take on another team with highly recruited players. Indeed, while Memphis has just one former McDonald's All-American on its roster (freshman Derrick Rose), Arizona has three (Chase Budinger, Jerryd Bayless and Jawann McClellan). After last season's meeting, which Arizona won, 79-71, the Tigers began a 25-game winning streak that ended in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. Though losing that game might have helped turn the Tigers' season around, they'd love to reverse the outcome tonight. And, perhaps, even earn a few more admirers along the way. "You'd always like more, but Coach Cal is one of the greatest coaches," Anderson said. "He knows we deserve the respect, and he's going to preach it to everybody that we deserve it, and when we get it, he'll be the first one to let us know." No. 2 Tigers vs. No. 17 Arizona When, where: 9 p.m. today at FedExForum TV, radio: ESPN2, WREC-AM (600) On the web Go to thememphisedge.com at around 8:30 tonight to read Dan Wolken's pregame thoughts live from FedExForum.

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12/29/07		Missed FTs cost Lady Tigers (Commercial Appeal)
		From Our Press Services Saturday, December 29, 2007 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Women 99, University of Memphis 97 (OT) Delores Hughley scored 24 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with seven seconds left, as Arkansas-Pine Bluff defeated the University of Memphis, 99-97, in overtime Friday at Elma Roane Fieldhouse. UAPB improves to 2-8 while the Lady Tigers fall to 3-9. Poor free-throw shooting cost the Lady Tigers in the extra session as they made just 3-of-8 attempts. "If we hit our free-throws, we win this game," coach Blair Savage-Lansden said. "We shot 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (for the game). We shoot 70 percent and we win." Former Wooddale standout Paris Leonard scored 22 points to lead the Lady Tigers, who placed all five starters in double figures.

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12/28/07		Lady Tigers Fall in Overtime -- Hughley hits a three with seven seconds left on shot clock and 8.3 seconds left on game clock (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Delores Hughley hit a three-point field goal with seven seconds left on the shot clock and 8.3 seconds left on the game clock to push Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a 99-97 win over Memphis, Friday night. Hughley finished with 24 points, five of them in the overtime session in the win. "If we hit our free-throws, we win this game," Head Coach Blair Savage-Lansden said. "We shot 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. We shoot 70 percent and we win." Memphis had opportunities down the stretch, but hit 4-of-8 free-throws in overtime after hitting 72.5 percent of their shots from the line in regulation. The UAPB comeback started with the game seemingly in the Lady Tigers' hands. Memphis led 84-70 with 4:45 remaining when Arica Green took over for the Lady Golden Lions. Green hit a three with four minutes remaining to cut the deficit to single digits at 84-75. The Golden Lions immediately pressed and forced a pair of Lady Tiger turnovers. Green hit one lay-up off a turnover, then hit another to answer a Paris Leonard lay-up. Green scored 15 of her 19 points in the under four minute mark in the game, including a lay-up to tie the game at 89-89 with 41 seconds remaining. The Golden Lions then pressed the in-bounds play, fouling Latoya Bullard, who stepped to the line and hit the second of two free-throws to give Memphis a 90-89 lead with eight seconds left. Candace Ward then drove the length of the court with Lady Tiger guard Jessica Hall right on her hip. When she reached the UAPB end of the floor, Hall was whistled for a foul, and Ward hit the first free-throw to tie the game at 90-90. She missed the second free-throw and Memphis was unable to get a good look at the basket before the end of regulation. The Lady Tigers had battled back in to the game following a 43-35 first half deficit that might have been larger if not for Latoya Bullard's eight first half points and seven first half steals. But the Memphis defense kept giving up lay-ups on the other end, with UAPB shooting 53.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Bullard finished with 17 points, six assists and eight steals in 41 minutes of play. Paris Leonard led Memphis with 22 points, adding four rebound s and an assist in 37 minutes, while Jessica Jackson added a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. Jessica Hall scored 19 points with three assists, three steals and six rebounds in the loss, while Ashley Thornton added 12 points before fouling out with 4:28 to play. "I thought Latoya Bullard's perimeter defense was big for us, especially in the opening half," Savage said. "We just have to learn to close out games and not let calls we are or are not getting dictate our level of intensity." Four Golden Lions scored double-digits, led by Hughley's 24. Green added 19 points, while Tashayla Jackson added 15 points and three steals. Ava Walters finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in UAPB's second win of the season. Memphis will close out its non-conference schedule with a Jan. 4th game against Toledo at FedExForum. That game will be played at 7 p.m. That game will also be the `Take a Kid to the Game' promotion where all kids receive free admission with a paying adult.

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12/28/07		Over The Edge… (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by John Stacy, Tiger fan blogger Kevin O’Neill returns to Memphis tomorrow night. Many Tigers fans will remember him as the head coach at Marquette and Tennessee. He had moderate success at those two places but most folks remember him by his…hmmm….colorful sideline language. I wonder what will spew from his lips when the Tigers lay a beat down on the Wildcats? I don’t think the Tigers will have a let down against the Wildcats. Remember the last regular season loss the Tigers had was against them. So you can bet that they have been reminded of that fact by Cal. I get to go to the game tomorrow night with my son who lives out of town. I am as stoked about that as I am seeing the Tigers play another top 20 program. Have you seen the Power 16 on ESPN.com? The Tigers got a 3rd place vote by Fran Fraschilla. Was he under a rock last weekend? The Tigers manhandled the team he had 6th the previous week. I just don’t understand that vote. What do the Tigers have to do to impress him? I have nothing against North Carolina but how can anyone vote for them as the #1 team when they have played no team worth a flip and yes I know they played Kentucky. But let’s face it UK is simply bad. Yet the Heels only managed an 8 point win. In their opener they sqeaked out a 4 point win over a six loss Davidson team. Whereas the Tigers have won nine of their 10 games by at least double digits against a much tougher schedule. I thought voters were supposed to vote based on what a team has done this year not the previous years. But honestly, it doesnt’ bother me that much because the Tigers will get the chance to win it on the floor. I think 12th man McGrady will get a chance to play tomorrow night. Pun very much intended. The Division 1A football champion will always be a farce until a playoff featuring all conference champs takes place. Hawaii is the latest school who has a legitimate beef with the BCS system. Like their schedule of not, the fact of the matter is that they won all of their games. On the other hand, LSU has lost two games. There is just something wrong with that. Personally I’m rooting for the Tigers to win the thing. That’s when all the one loss and unbeaten schools will really raise a stink. There are at least 4 future NBA players on the Tigers roster. I think that Rose, Dorsey, CDR and Antonio Anderson will all eventually make an NBA roster. Dozier and Taggart could do it but I’m not sold on them just yet. The one you’re probably questioning is AA. Well, he’s got enough quickness to get a shot at being a backup 2 guard. After 10 games I think that Derrick Rose would be smart to play two years at Memphis. He will be a point guard in the NBA and he needs a lot of work to be productive at the next level. Yes, he will probably be a top five pick. But historically guards (under 6-5) have not had long term success with less than 2 years in college. There are exceptions. But the truth is that when a guard works on his game longer at the college level he in turn becomes a better NBA player. Go PATS!!! I want them to go 19-0. That would mean that two Tigers made big contributions to both perfect seasons in NFL history. Gotti has been a very solid kicker for the Patriots. Charlie Babb made a huge contribution to the Dolphins undefeated season. Babb blocked a punt and recovered it for a TD in the first round of the 72 playoffs. It would be nice to see something like Gotti drilling a 40-yard FG as time expires to win the Super Bowl by 2 points.

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12/28/07		Joe Lunardi = stat geek (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken Look, I give ESPN’s Joe Lunardi full credit for finding a way to take a pretty fruitless exercise — projecting the NCAA Tournament bracket — and using it to turn himself into a quasi-ESPN celebrity when he’s not doing his real job as a college administrator at St. Joseph’s. But the dude has to stop with all this talk about a perfect season for Memphis. After the Tigers beat Georgetown last Saturday, Lunardi immediately went on ESPN and started babbling about Memphis running the table. And today, he posted an article on ESPN.com — it’s a subscriber-only article, so I won’t link it here — flat-out predicting that Memphis would be 34-0 entering the NCAA Tournament. My advice to Lunardi: Stick to what you know best, which is posting your bracket five minutes before the real one comes out, then proclaiming for the next full year that you’ve projeted 64 of 65 teams correctly. What a racket. Anyway, the problem I have with people like Lunardi is that when you see basketball strictly within a prism of numbers and RPIs and power ratings, the game becomes two-dimensional. It’s hard for them to wrap their arms around emotion, timing, injuries, luck, officiating, and all the other little factors that make the game three-dimensional. Here’s a more appropriate way to look at Memphis. After what should be a very tough test Saturday, the Tigers go into a very manageable portion of their schedule with Siena, Pepperdine, East Carolina, Marshall and Rice (the latter two on the road). It’s the four games after that — Southern Miss (home), Tulsa (road), Gonzaga (home), Houston (road) — that will tell us a lot about what chances the Tigers have to go undefeated. Southern Miss, of course, nearly beat the Tigers at home last year. Tulsa will be a tough environment against a team that always plays well against Memphis (last year’s game at Tulsa was teetering on the edge until midway through the second half, when a couple buckets kind of turned momentum). Gonzaga, of course, is projected to be a difficult game. And winning at Houston will be a handful, as that game could very well determine whether Houston is an NCAA Tournament team or not, much like UAB two years ago. If Memphis rolls through that and gets to 20-0 on Feb. 1, then we can start to entertain conversation about an unbeaten season. Until then, it’s a ridiculous exercise that will only set you up to look silly. Then again, when you’re a recruiting guru or bracketologist, nobody really holds you accountable for bad predictions.

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12/27/07		Memphis Basketball Notes -- No. 2/2 Tigers to host No. 17/18 Arizona Saturday at FedExForum (GoTigersGo.com)
		TIGERS TO HOST SECOND-STRAIGHT TOP-25 FOE IN ARIZONA SATURDAY The University of Memphis squad (10-0, 0-0 C-USA), ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in ESPN/USA Today poll, returns to action after the short Christmas break on Saturday, Dec. 29 and hosts No. 17/18 Arizona (9-2, 0-0 Pac-10) at FedExForum. The game, to be televised by ESPN2, is slated for a 9:00 p.m. (CT) start. The Tigers are playing the second of five-straight home games when they meet the Wildcats Saturday. Memphis opened this current five-game homestand with an 85-71 victory over No. 5/4 Georgetown Dec. 22. Prior to that Dec. 22 home win, the Tigers had played away from FedExForum for 24 days. During its time on the road, Memphis defeated Southern Cal 62-58 in overtime at Madison Square Garden in New York City Dec. 4, Middle Tennessee 65-41 at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 15 and the Bearcats 79-69 in Cincinnati Dec. 19. Arizona brings a six-game win streak into Saturday's contest at FedExForum. Included in that win streak are impressive victories over Texas A&M 78-67, Illinois 78-72 (ot) and UNLV 52-49. SCOUTING THE WILDCATS Arizona enters Saturday's encounter with a 9-2 overall record. The Wildcats are on a six-game win streak, including impressive victories over Texas A&M 78-67, Illinois 78-72 (ot) and UNLV 52-49. Arizona is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll. The Wildcats are playing their third true road game of the season Saturday. Arizona lost at Kansas 76-72 (ot) on Nov. 25, but won at UNLV 52-49 on Dec. 19. The Wildcats defeated Illinois 78-72 (ot) in a game played in Chicago. The trio of Jerryd Bayless (18.5 ppg), Chase Budinger (15.6) and Jordan Hill (13.5) paces the Arizona offense. Hill leads the Wildcats on the glass with a 7.5 rebounding average, while Bayless is tops on the team with 46 assists (4.2 apg). Arizona has three players -- Bayless (44.2 percent), Nic Wise (42.1) and Budinger (40.4) -- that shoot over 40 percent from the arc. The Wildcats are shooting 49.4 percent from the floor, 38.8 percent from the three-point line and 73.9 percent from the free throw line. Arizona is out-rebounding its opponents by an average margin of +4.9 boards per game (35.3-30.4). CALIPARI IN EIGHTH YEAR AT HELM OF TIGER PROGRAM John Calipari (Clarion State, 1982) is in his eighth season at the helm of the Memphis Tiger basketball program. He has a 191-63 record (.752 winning percentage) at Memphis. The 2007-08 season is his 16th as a collegiate head coach. The Moon, Pa., native has an overall collegiate coaching record of 384-134 (.741 winning percentage). While at Memphis, Calipari has led the Tigers to seven-straight 20-win seasons and seven-consecutive postseason berths. ANOTHER TOP-FIVE MATCH-UP? Well, it's not like last Saturday's game between Memphis and Georgetown, with both squads ranked in the top five in both national polls. However, this Saturday's contest between the Tigers and Wildcats offers a match-up between two top-five teams in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). According to the RPI on Dec. 27, Arizona is No. 1 with an RPI of 0.6862. Memphis is No. 3 in the latest ratings with an RPI of 0.6799. The RPI is one of the major factors in determining the NCAA Tournament teams and seeding the field each year. DID YOU KNOW? The last time Memphis lost a regular season game was at Arizona on Dec. 20, 2006, which will be a span of 373 days when the Tigers and Wildcats meet on Saturday. Following last year's 79-71 setback at Arizona, Memphis put together a 25-game win streak that ended to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. If you take out the postseason wins, the Tigers finished the 2006-07 regular season on a 19-game win streak. And, then you add the 10 victories this season, Memphis brings a 29-game regular-season win streak into Saturday's game. REUNION SATURDAY While the Tigers and Wildcats will battle on the court Saturday, the encounter offers a reunion for three players that played on The Patterson School (Lenior, N.C.) squad in 2005-06. The Tigers' Hashim Bailey and Pierre Niles and the Wildcats' Jordan Hill all played at The Patterson School, and the trio helped lead Patterson to a 34-3 record and No. 3 prep school national ranking. ARIZONA'S O'NEILL VS. THE TIGERS When Memphis takes the floor Saturday, Tiger fans will see a familiar face on the Arizona sidelines in head coach Kevin O'Neill, who is taking over the program's reins while legendary coach Lute Olson takes a leave of absence for 2007-08. O'Neill, who coached at Tennessee from 1994-97, faced Memphis all three seasons while in Knoxville. He went 1-2 versus the Tigers. A DIAPER DANDY DUEL Saturday's game offers a "diaper dandy" match-up that would make Dick Vitale go crazy. The Memphis-Arizona contest features a duel between freshmen guards in the Tigers' Derrick Rose and the Wildcats' Jerryd Bayless. Both players were 2007 McDonald's, Parade magazine and EA Sports high school All-Americans, and both participated in the 2007 McDonald's High School All-American Game and the 2007 Jordan Classic. A BATTLE OF WILLS Saturday's contest features an intriguing match-up between the Memphis defense against the Arizona offense. The Tigers enter the game as one of the top field goal percentage defenses in the nation (No. 22 in latest NCAA statistical rankings). Memphis holds its opponents to 39.0 percent shooting from the field. On the other side, the Wildcats are one of the country's top field goal percentage shooting squads, hitting 49.4 percent from the floor (No. 19 in latest NCAA statistical rankings). IF THERE IS AN ADVANTAGE... It may have to go to Arizona at the free throw line. The Wildcats hit 73.9 percent from the charity stripe and are No. 12 in the nation in free throw percentage. On the other side, Memphis shoots only 59.8 percent from the free throw line, which is No. 320 in the country. However, the Tigers picked it up at the foul line versus Georgetown, hitting 75.9 percent from the charity stripe (22-of-29). TIGERS STREAKING AT HOME Don't look now, but the Tigers have put together another homecourt winning streak. Memphis finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 32-game homecourt winning streak, and the Tigers added to that total with five wins in 2007-08 to extend the nation's second-longest homecourt win streak to 37. BYU has the nation's longest homecourt win streak at 38. 37-0 IS SECOND Memphis' current 37-game homecourt win streak is the second-longest in the nation, and it is also the second-longest in Tiger basketball history since the 1970-71 season. The longest homecourt win streak in Memphis hoops history is 39 straight that spanned from the end of the 1983-84 season through the 1986-87 campaign. The previous long home win streak in the John Calipari era was 24 straight that stretched from the middle of the 2002-03 season through the start of the 2004-05 year. NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS Memphis has had a long history of success in non-league games, and that has continued under head coach John Calipari. Since Calipari took over in 2000-01, the Tigers have a non-conference record (including postseason) of 98-32 for a 75.4 winning percentage. The Tigers are 10-0 against non-Conference USA foes this season. DECEMBER RECORD UNDER CALIPARI Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers have a 38-14 record (.731 winning percentage) when playing in the month of December. Memphis was 6-2 last December, and has won 17 of its last 19 December contests dating back to the 2004-05 season. FIRST TIME SINCE, PART I... Memphis jumped up to the No. 2 spot in both national polls on Dec. 3 and have stayed there the past four weeks. The last time the Tigers earned a No. 2 ranking was 22 years ago in the 1985-86 campaign. Memphis was ranked No. 2 for one week in early February 1986. The Tigers also held the No. 2 ranking in the 1982-83 season for two weeks, before claiming the school's first and only No. 1 national ranking in mid-January 1983. Memphis held that No. 1 spot for one week. FIRST TIME SINCE, PART II... The Tigers are off to a 10-0 start this year, and it's been awhile since Memphis began a campaign with 10-straight wins. The last time the Tigers started off 10-0 was the 1985-86 season. That squad began the year with a 20-0 record, the best-ever start in Tiger basketball history. Memphis went 20-0 before losing at Virginia Tech on Feb. 1, 1986. WELCOME BACK, PART I If there was ever a player that Tiger Nation was pulling for, it was Chris Douglas-Roberts in the Dec. 22 Georgetown game. After suffering through a mini-slump in the previous three contests (19 points total/6.3 ppg), the 6-foot-7 guard came alive with a game-best 24 points in the victory over the Hoyas. He also grabbed eight boards. It took 13 minutes into the game, but the Detroit, Mich., native got on the board with two free throws that drew a huge ovation from the Tiger crowd. Douglas-Roberts then got it going in the final 4:48 of the first half, scoring eight of Memphis' 16 points heading into intermission to give the home team a 43-40 lead at the break. After halftime, Douglas-Roberts kept it going. He scored seven-straight points (jumper/trey/dunk) to extend a 47-46 lead to 54-46. The Tigers never trailed the remainder of the game. Prior to the Dec. 22 Georgetown game, Douglas-Roberts scored only five points versus Middle Tennessee Dec. 15, and followed with four points against Cincinnati Dec. 19. It was the first time that he had consecutive single-digit scoring games since the end of the 2005-06 regular season when he was a starter but not a featured player. In the final two regular season games of the 2005-06 campaign, Douglas-Roberts scored six points versus UAB and eight points vs. Houston. He started both games. CLOSING IN ON 1,000 Chris Douglas-Roberts entered 2007-08 with 821 points and needed 179 to reach the 1,000-point milestone. Well, 10 games in, Douglas-Roberts is closing in fast on reaching that goal. He now has 995 career points and needs only five to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career. When he reaches the milestone, he will be the 43rd player in Tiger history to do so. WELCOME BACK, PART II The Matrix trilogy is complete, so that Mr. Anderson will not be making another return. However, Tiger fans are really happy that their Mr. Anderson -- as in Antonio Anderson -- has returned to his old self. Entering the 2007-08 season, the 6-foot-6 guard was Mr. "Do-It-All" for Memphis and had an impressive 2.2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. But, seven contests into 2007-08, the Mr. Anderson Tiger fans have come to know had not been seen, as he had 19 assists and 22 turnovers. That all changed in Memphis' last three games. Anderson averaged 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and only 1.3 turnovers in wins over Middle Tennessee (65-41), Cincinnati (79-69) and Georgetown (85-71). In the win over Middle Tennessee Dec. 15. Mr. Anderson had his "normal" stat line of nine points, six rebounds, six assists and only two miscues. He followed that game with 12 points and three boards versus Cincinnati Dec. 19. He also hit a clutch trey with 1:04 left to put the game out of reach. Against Georgetown, the Lynn, Mass., native had seven points, four boards, five assists, two steals and only one turnover in 33 minutes. DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE For the 19th time in his collegiate career, senior Joey Dorsey posted a double-double in the Tigers' win over Georgetown Dec. 22. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high 13 boards. It was the second time in a week that the Baltimore, Md., native posted a double-double, as he also did so versus Middle Tennessee Dec. 15 (11 points/12 boards).

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12/27/07		No time for Tigers to relax -- Arizona provides different set of challenges for U of M (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Thursday, December 27, 2007 When senior Joey Dorsey arrived in Baltimore on Saturday night, he was welcomed home by a sign his mother and sister hung across the living room reading, "Memphis 85, Georgetown 71." Though the Tigers didn't need a banner to remind them, it further underscored the impact of how well they played last weekend, how thoroughly they dominated a top-10 team in the second half and how important the victory was to their national image. But the schedule has not given No. 2-ranked Memphis much time to revel. Indeed, as the Tigers returned to practice Wednesday evening, they were faced with an even bigger challenge than the one they overcame last Saturday: Doing it again. Though it would be unrealistic to routinely expect a performance as thorough as the one they mustered against Georgetown, the Tigers might need a quick recall Saturday at FedExForum against No. 17 Arizona. "This team is going to be way harder, in my opinion, for us to beat," coach John Calipari said. "They're totally different than Georgetown." Indeed, Arizona (9-2) presents a new set of issues for the Tigers (10-0). While Georgetown is talented, even the Hoyas can't boast two projected 2008 NBA lottery picks like Arizona's Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger. Arizona may be one of the few teams in the country with the personnel to compete with Memphis in an up-tempo game, something Georgetown struggled with in the second half. And unlike the Hoyas, whose Princeton-style offense often hinders their ability to come back quickly from deficits, Arizona has already this season beaten No. 14 Texas A&M and Illinois after falling behind by double-digits. "There's more mano-a-mano challenges in this game," Calipari said. "Can you guard Bayless? We're going to help you, but can you guard him? Can you guard Budinger? We're going to help and play team defense, but the bottom line is, can he guard you better than you can guard him? That's what this will be." The bigger problem for Memphis, however, could be simple physics. The Tigers reached an emotional pinnacle against Georgetown, and what goes up in sports usually comes down. Is it even feasible for Memphis to duplicate the level of execution and intensity that carried it to a win over Georgetown? "That," Dorsey said, "is gonna be tough." Tough, but not impossible. After all, Arizona is one of just four red-letter days on the Tigers' non-conference schedule, along with dates against Tennessee and Gonzaga. And Memphis has, to this point, relished its early-season opportunities against elite opponents. Calipari compared this portion of the schedule to preparing for a conference or NCAA tournament, when you can only enjoy a victory for a short time before turning your attention to the next round. "You've got to be disciplined," junior guard Antonio Anderson said. "Every day we get here, coach tries to keep it disciplined so when we get to that point we'll get to that performance. But it's very hard to do that. Fortunately we got to do it against a great team, and hopefully we can do it against teams aren't as good as Georgetown and teams as good as Georgetown." Though some fans might expect the Tigers to play as well as they did against Georgetown all the time, it's admittedly tougher for them to get as amped up for teams they are heavily favored to beat. The good news for Calipari is that his bench is deep enough that he can usually find someone to help Memphis win. Already this season, the Tigers' reserves have bailed out starters on several occasions, whether it was Andre Allen making 3-pointers in Cincinnati or Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack firing away against Arkansas State. And if Memphis' starters do suffer the dreaded letdown against Arizona, Calipari hopes he has a bench full of players hungry to make an impact after they played sparingly against Georgetown. "They're not robots. They're not machines," Calipari said. "You're not going to play perfect every time out. Things are going to happen; we just hope we have enough guys that we can do it anyway. With a team as deep as ours, if one or two of those starters don't have it, you hope you can plug in two others and you can keep it. That's what you're striving for, and what a game like (Georgetown) does is show you what they're capable of." Next for Tigers Opponent: No.17 Arizona When, where: 9 p.m. Saturday at FedExForum TV: ESPN2

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12/26/07		Over The Edge….. (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by John Stacy, Tiger fan blogger And this time I did go over the edge. This is really long and there might be typos. But frustration leads to me just start typing and not worrying too much about details. After thinking about it some there is something that came to me that has me almost laughing and crying at the same time. I’m a Memphis Tigers fan, supporter and alumnus. The simliarities between the Memphis program’s success since 2003 and my favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim successes since 2002 are quite profound. The responses from the fan bases are also very similar if you look at message boards. Here’s the history of both as I see them. I’ve been a Memphis fan since I was six years old. I have suffered through some really hard times to support this football program. But I did it and loved it in the process. The Tigers football program went to its first bowl game in 31 years in 2003. They finished that season 9-4. They followed it up an 8 win season and the GMAC Bowl. Despite struggling out of the gate in 2005, they finished the regular season winning the last two games to get into their 3rd consecutive bowl when they got invited to the Motor City Bowl. They had a down year in 2006 when they dropped to 2-10. This year had them 2-4 out of the game but they rebounded and finished the regular season 7-5. But they lost the New Orleans Bowl. In the previous decade prior to 2003 the Tigers had not won more than six games in a single season. The last bowl was in 1972 when they went to SoCal to play in the Pasadena Bowl. The program was often considered one of the worst ten in the country. Rip Scherer was fired after the 2000 season after completing six consecutive losing years. You get the point that the school’s football program was terrible. Many of the message board fans are all upset. They want Tigers head coach Tommy West fired. He’s the only Tigers coach to go to 4 bowls. He’s the first Tigers coach to be this successful. Yes, they have lost some games they should have won. And yes Tigers coaches, supporters and fans should expect more. But for them to call for the coach to be fired despite success is down right stupid. They call for all kinds of radical changes despite the formula that is in place working. They want to change everything because they don’t think we’re winning ENOUGH. Winning seasons are not good enough to some of the fans. They forgot what being a losing program is like already. They forgot what being one of the laughing stocks of college football is like. They want more and I can’t blame them for that. But to not recognize that we’re a lot better off today than we are today. My Tigers basketball program was in shambles too. They had coaches who would end up in prison, chase coeds and put crappy teams on the floor. The once proud crown jewel of my school was eroding. We were miserable. Now the Tigers basketball team has two consecutive Elite Eight appearances and are ranked 2nd in the nation with a Final Four almost being assured in 2008. They have had more NCAA appearances under John Calipari than in the previous 10 years. They are on national TV all the time and are considered one of the best 10 programs in the country. But if you read boards you will find fans who aren’t satisfied. They complain about attendance, the fact Cal doesn’t play zone or any other minute detail the can come up with. They are unhappy if the Tigers don’t win every game by 40 points. They say the program is dropping if they don’t blow out any team on any night. Nothing seems to be good enough. Some of them will complain if the Tigers don’t run the table. It is really kind of sad to read sometimes. I’ve been an Angels fans in 1984 when I was stationed at El Toro while in the Navy. I had a friend who had lived there essentially all his life. We had stayed in touch but when I moved there it was the first time we had ever been adults and could hand out. He got me started going to Angels games every weekend series. After one season I was hooked 100%. I would go to games on whims or when the wife wanted me out of the house. I started to take losses seriously. I was a full fledged Angels fan as if I had been following them for my whole life. I was there in 1986 and got to go to all of the playoff games. I suffered through all those losing seasons. I stayed a fan even when I moved back to the Memphis area in 1991. I would follow them via ESPN and newspapers before the internet. Once the internet became common I got to be more involved in following the day to day happenings. I would go to Arlington or Kansas City to see them play. Once message boards became big I have become more involved. I didn’t really post but I did read a lot. So I feel like I’m kinda sorta still connected to them. The Angels have won the World Series in 2002, the AL West in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the ALDS in 2005. Prior to that they went to the playoffs only 3 times in 1979, 1982 and 1986. Y’all know this. Being a fan of the Tigers and Angels was hard if you think about it. The Tigers were often terrible. The Angels never won the division much less go very far in the playoffs. My friends who were fans of other schools or ML teams would have big time bragging rights over me. Rangers, Cardinals and Braves fans I know could call my team losers and I couldn’t argue. Fans of other colleges could do the same, how could I fight them? Since October 2002 I have enjoyed my teams winning like never before. It has been the most fun I’ve had as a fan in the past five plus years as I had ever in my life. Now when I go to message boards I get upset despite all the winning. Both the Tigers and Angels are in uncharted winning waters. And there seems to be more negativity that ever before. Folks complaining about not winning enough. Folks saying that the organizations aren’t doing enough. There seems to be more unhappiness now that the teams are winning than when they were considered “losers.” So what’s the point of all this? Some fans of teams like the Tigers and Angels who like to complain that winning isn’t enough need to remember the hard times. Some need to remember the Angels finishing with sixty or so wins or Tigers going 2-9 in football. Remember showing up to games hoping to win but in the recesses of your mind knowing a loss is about to happen. Knowing that while your hope is that this is the year that the Tigers and Angels turn it around you find yourself not wanting to get too excited because you know disappointment was inevitable. I’m not trying to judge fans. I just wish some would just enjoy the ride. It might not last. I know that boards are for an exchange of ideas. They are like sports bars without having to overpay for drinks. But it seems that the anonymous nature allows for fans to be over-negative about the smallest of things. Don’t you think that the players and coaches you are supporting want to win the championship every year? Do you think they believe that they want the title and do things they believe will make the teams better? Don’t you think they aren’t happy about losing in the first round or losing a bowl game? Sorry for the length but I got frustrated just enough to write this. Firing coaches who have been the most successful in an organization’s history because they haven’t done enough is something that just pisses me off. Mike Scioscia is the best Angels manager ever and his record proves it. Tommy West has been the most successful football coach in Memphis history. John Calipari has the Tigers in the best position they’ve ever been in. I have grown tired of folks complaining that the Angels and Tigers aren’t winning enough so I had to get it off my chest. I have seen in on message boards of the school and the Halos. I just hope that some of the “negative” fans will at least realize some that winning is good enough. And yes, I believe the Angels have done enough to win the World Series. Just like I do every year. So this is what I think will happen: Angels 2008 World Series Champions Memphis Tigers 2008 NCAA Division 1 Basketball Champions Memphis Tigers 2008 C-USA Champions in football Memphis Tigers 2008 in the College World Series

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12/26/07		Toughest game of the year? (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken A number of people have asked me over the last few weeks which game on the Tigers’ schedule will provide their first loss of the season. My answer was never Georgetown — in fact, I predicted a Memphis win on this blog some time ago — but rather Saturday’s game against Arizona. Keep in mind, I’m not predicting that Memphis will lose. But I think it’s the toughest and most dangerous game of the year for a variety of reasons. 1. The “Letdown” effect. Quite simply, it will be difficult if not impossible for the Tigers to bring the same kind of emotion and intensity Saturday that they brought to the Georgetown game. It’s human nature. Especially in college sports, it’s pretty easy to pinpoint when a team will have a letdown. There was such a rush of emotion and satisfaction in beating Georgetown, John Calipari will have a huge task on his hands trying to get the Tigers to get back “up” once again, no matter who the opponent is. 2. Style of play. It will be interesting to see what Arizona tries to do against the Tigers. But in last year’s game, the Wildcats were certainly comfortable getting up and down the court with Memphis. Unlike Georgetown, Arizona has the personnel to play fast and win a game in the 80s. 3. The Killer B’s. The Tigers are a great defensive team. But with guys like Chase Budinger and Jerryd Bayless, you can play good defense and they can still make crazy fallaway jumpers in late shot clock situations. Budinger is a really tough matchup and as pure of a catch-and-shoot guy as you’ll find. 4. Tested team. Even though Georgetown is a top-10 team, I’m not sure the Hoyas were really prepared to play a team like Memphis since their non-conference schedule had been pretty light to that point. Arizona is a different animal. They took Kansas to overtime at Kansas (Arizona really should have won the game in regulation), beat Texas A&M at home, beat Illinois in Chicago and got a nice road win at UNLV. They won’t be shaken by the crowd or by the opponent.

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12/26/07		Tigers' Dozier shines in spotlight -- Consistency sometimes eludes talented junior (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Wednesday, December 26, 2007 Robert Dozier does not have an evil twin, but as perhaps the most candid self-evaluator on the University of Memphis roster, he wouldn't begrudge those suspicions. Even Dozier, a 6-9 junior, acknowledges that the range between his good days and bad can be so vast, there sometimes seems to be an impostor wearing his No. 2 jersey. "I can go out and have a big game and not score any points the next game," Dozier said. "I've got to cut that out and be more of a man." It's a mysterious routine. Against opponents Dozier should dominate simply with his athleticism and 7-3 wingspan, he often lacks aggression, gets pushed around in the post and can't find a way to impact the game. But when the No. 2-ranked Tigers play the very best teams in the country, Dozier transforms into a hulking presence who blocks shots, rips away rebounds in traffic and busts open zone defenses with his work in the middle of the lane. The Tigers saw it last year in the NCAA Tournament, when Dozier outplayed more heralded forwards. And they saw it again last weekend, when Dozier had 19 points and six rebounds in an 85-71 win over Georgetown. Now, they'll hope to see it Saturday, when the Tigers host No. 17 Arizona. "Rob really gets up for these teams; he likes the challenge just like all of us," junior forward Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "We came into the game knowing this was a big team, and they were athletic just like us. He took that challenge. Rob always has been a top-tier player." Indeed, it would not be hard to craft an argument that Dozier has been the key figure in Memphis' biggest victories since the beginning of last season. When the Tigers beat Kentucky last Nov. 22 in the EA Sports Maui Invitational, Dozier led the team in points (15) and rebounds (seven). When Memphis won at Gonzaga, Dozier filled up the box score with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Dozier played arguably the best basketball of his career in the NCAA Tournament. Though had had nine points and eight rebounds in a second-round win over Nevada, his defensive presence harassed All-American Nick Fazekas into a 7-for-18 shooting performance. After Dozier went to the bench with two fouls early in the Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M, the Aggies big men had their way with Memphis and built a 42-37 halftime lead. When Dozier came back in the second half, he immediately blocked Antanas Kavaliauskas twice. Kavaliauskas, who scored 13 first-half points, was never a factor after that. "The reason we're in the Elite Eight is the way Robert Dozier is playing," Calipari said at the time. "Obviously, the other guys are doing their thing, but we have no one else like Robert Dozier." That was evident again Saturday, as Dozier set up camp in the middle of Georgetown's zone and made 6-of-12 field goals, 6-of-6 free throws and stood up to the Hoyas' physical pressure, which was considerable. "When you're a basketball player, you're growing up, you want to be on national television playing the big games," junior guard Antonio Anderson said. "Rob wanted that, and their big guys got all the hype. Everyone was talking about Joey (Dorsey), and they didn't respect Rob, so Rob wanted to make a name for himself." Though it's nice to know Dozier can be a huge presence in important games, last season he often appeared passive against less-talented teams, leaving fans and NBA scouts wondering which player they were watching. Dozier has been more consistent as a junior, averaging 9.8 points and 6.9 rebounds, but he's still working toward the day when he can bring a Georgetown kind of effort against Popcorn State, as Calipari would say. "I just have to put forth that extra effort and make sure I'm more consistent in what I do," Dozier said. "It goes to show what we really can be if guys are more consistent."

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12/25/07		Rose is C-USA's player of week (Commercial Appeal)
		Associated Press Monday, December 24, 2007 MEMPHIS -- Memphis freshman guard Derrick Rose has been named Conference USA Player of the Week after leading the second-ranked Tigers to victories at Cincinnati and against then-No. 4 Georgetown. Rose scored a season-high 26 points against the Bearcats on Wednesday. He followed that performance up with 18 points against the Hoyas on Saturday. It's the first time Rose has earned the honor and the second time a Memphis player has been recognized this season. Teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts won the award the first two weeks of the season. Rose is also the second league freshman to receive the weekly honor, as Houston freshman Brockeith Pane was recognized Nov. 26.

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12/24/07		Merry Christmas (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by John Stacy, Tiger fan blogger Merry Christmas and here’s to Santa being good to you. (imagine me raising a toast of egg nog to you) Grateful Dead did a song called “Truckin’” and it included a lyric that said, “what a long strange trip it’s been.” It even included New Orleans references. Well, to say that this weekend was a long strange trip would be a major understatement. We enjoyed the bowl atmosphere. Bourbon Street, pep rallies, parties and food all make NOLA a fun trip. The game, well that was another story. But in the end I remind myself that this was the 4th bowl in five years and that’s unchartered waters for my university. In my opinion, we need to realize that every road to somewhere has its bumps. The Tigers have had a few of those bumps but they finished the season with a winning record and that’s what it is all about. Do I expect more improvement next year? Oh, yeah. Tommy West does too. New Orleans allowed Tigers fans to see a Tigers great again. He is now the backup QB for the New Orleans Voodoo. That is Danny Wimprine of course. Danny was as he always is, a credit to the school even years after he left. I say that he’s another player who needs his number retired. I really hope I see the day when 18 is put away. Back to the strange trip. We rolled out of the parking lot at the Superdome at about 11:15 or so. The mood was as you would expect a tad bit on the somber side. I hate losing. Some would say I take losses harder than most athletes. But there was a different feeling to this one. We reflected on how this season had started and even losing the bowl game hurt a litle less. The season could have ended the Saturday after Thanksgiving not the Friday before Christmas and that is a good thing. So we we somber yet optimistic. We had a two car convoy in our group that would probably expand to many other cars as the night went on. We got in an early stop so we could load up on caffiene and sugar. I was prepping myself for the Tigers perfect 24 hours, a bowl game and a basketball game between two top five teams all within 19 hours and 400 miles. We crossed into MS. Then it got strange. There was a alternator light. Then a check engine light. Then BAM, the temp needle spiked. The car was going down and going down hard. I got lucky as it happened right at an exit. Well, it was good and bad. It was an exit in the middle of nowhere. The real odyssey was about to begin. We didn’t know where we were. The insurance company, State Farm, had to tell me. They were great in finding me a tow company to call. I love them. We were 10 miles south of McComb, MS. I called the tow company and they had 8 in front of me. That’s right 8 people were ahead of me for a toe on a clear night in rural MS. It was then that I told the 3 guys with me to go with the other car. I would be fine. They all refused to go. They were going to finish this trip with me no matter what. Folks, I feel lucky to have friends like David and Jay Heath and Tony Mullins. But there was no reason to my friend Janice to stay. I insisted her and her son get going. Off they went. They made it home safely. We towed it to a Walmart parking lot. I wanted access to it when I got the tow back to Memphis. The guys got to the hotel about 3 and I finally arrived at 4ish. I did not have a clue as to what I was going to do. You don’t realize how hard it is to move a car 300 miles when it won’t drive. The hotel allowed us to stay until 2 p.m. so we could watch the game. We were really, really loud in cheering on the Tigers that day. I guess now we have to go to McComb for every big game. Nah, I’m kidding. My brother in law finally got there with his truck and a trailer to tow my truck back to OB. In five hours the trip was over. We got home 19 hours after we left NOLA. I was tired and frustrated but I was also happy. The Tigers won and I found out how good my friends were. Onto my game observations. The Tigers were down 14-9 in the first half when Joey Dorsey got his second foul. The Tigers outscored the Hoyas 34-26 to take a lead at the half. All the talk was about Dorsey and his impact. But the Tigers made their first push with JD on the bench. That’s one of the reasons why I love this team. Again, the reason the Tigers have an excellent shot at the national championship is because teams will not be able to shut down one guy and beat them. You may take away one bullet but they’ve got five more to fire. If North Carolina is better than the Tigers then they must be ready for the NBA. It is hard to believe that anyone is better than this team. I know I’m biased but the proof is in the pudding. The Tigers manhandled the Hoyas who will be the class of the Big East. It was if they toyed with them in the 2nd half. It goes to show you that when they focus they are simply unstoppable. Can this team go unbeaten? Boy it would be easy to say that they are going to do it. They will be up for AZ this weekend. Gonzaga will be a battle. Tennessee will be another tough one but I think that is another of those games where the Tigers will be 100% focused because of last year’s result. So is it possible? Yeah, and I’d say that if they get through the non-conference schedule unblemished then it is about a 95% chance it will happen. In closing, if you want Tommy West fired then you’re lost. We’re not like other schools who fire winning coaches. We have more class than that. Memphis fans need to appreciate what we’ve got going. There will be rough patches but we fans need to do as REO Speedwagon said many years ago and let’s get to “Ridin’ The Storm Out.” Merry Christmas to all and to all, good night.

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12/24/07		Rose Named Conference USA Player Of The Week -- Tiger freshman received first league weekly honor (GoTigersGo.com)
		IRVING, Texas - University of Memphis' Derrick Rose has been named Conference USA Player of the Week for Dec. 17-23, the league office announced Monday. It is the first conference weekly honor for Rose this season. Rose is the second Tiger this year to earn the league's weekly accolade, as junior Chris Douglas-Roberts was selected C-USA Player of the Week twice in November. Last week, Rose helped lead No. 2/2 Memphis to a pair of victories over Cincinnati 79-69 and No. 5/4 Georgetown 85-71. He averaged 22.0 points and 6.0 assists in the two wins. Rose shot 44.4 percent from the floor, 50 percent from the arc and 76.5 percent from the free throw line in the two contests. Against the Bearcats, the 6-foot-3 freshman guard scored a season-high 26 points, and also posted season bests for three-pointers made (5) and attempted (8). He also added four rebounds and six assists. Rose hit a three-pointer late in the game to help the Tigers maintain their lead. He followed up the Cincinnati game with an 18-point, three-board and six-assist performance versus Georgetown. The Chicago, Ill., native had a key assist to Antonio Anderson to give Memphis a 69-56 lead in the second half. Rose also hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. For the season, Rose is averaging 15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 10 starts. He is shooting 46.8 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from the three-point line and 73 percent from the charity stripe. Earlier this year, Rose was named the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic/Memphis Regional MVP, and also picked up 2K Sports College Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team honors. The No. 2/2 Tigers (10-0) return to action Saturday, Dec. 29 when they host No. 17/19 Arizona (9-2). The game, to be televised by ESPN2, is slated for a 9:00 p.m. (CT) start at FedExForum.

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12/24/07		Calipari opts to stick with starters longer (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Monday, December 24, 2007 Every time the University of Memphis takes the court, there is a game within the game, a set of circumstances or challenges that coach John Calipari uses to build toward March. In a world where the No. 2-ranked Tigers must try to win a national championship out of a still-maturing Conference USA, it simply must be that way. The example Calipari often cites from last season is the Tigers' 79-71 loss to Arizona on Dec. 20. That night, the Tigers employed a number of defensive strategies against Mustafa Shakur, the kind of big point guard Memphis would not see often during the regular season. After Shakur scored 23 points with five assists, while being guarded mostly by Andre Allen and Willie Kemp, the Tigers made a fateful personnel decision. If Memphis ever encountered that kind of opponent in the NCAA Tournament, 6-foot-6 Antonio Anderson would get the defensive assignment instead of Kemp or Allen. And that discovery in Arizona made a big difference once the Tigers got to the Sweet 16, when Anderson's defense against 6-4 Acie Law of Texas A&M propelled the Tigers to a 65-64 win. Though it is still too early to know exactly what Memphis will cull from Saturday's 85-71 victory over No. 5 Georgetown, a possible answer can be found in the far right-hand column of the box score where minutes are tallied. Against the Hoyas, Calipari tightened his playing rotation about as tight as he could and far more than most coaches would for a December game that may or may not have that much impact on Selection Sunday. In fact, as Calipari paced the sideline in the second half, he barely even looked at his bench much less considered making substitutions. Was it almost as though Calipari coached the way he would coach in, say, an Elite Eight game? "Oh, yeah," junior Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "That was an Elite Eight atmosphere, and it felt like an Elite Eight game. Hopefully, we can get past the Elite Eight like we did (Saturday)." Memphis came into the game with fairly even minute distribution, which has been a hallmark of the past three seasons. Derrick Rose had led the team at 28.8 minutes per game, but 10 players were averaging double-digits in playing time. Though rotations naturally tighten up in big games, it was beyond NCAA Tournament-like to see a Memphis box score with nobody off the bench playing more than Kemp and forward Shawn Taggart's eight minutes. Though Calipari said he was not necessarily trying to simulate those kind of conditions, what the Tigers' starters did Saturday certainly will be in the back of his mind come March. In a fast-paced, high-energy game against a top-5 opponent, the front line of Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier played the entire second half. Douglas-Roberts did not come off the floor until the final minute and only so he could get a standing ovation from the overflow crowd of 18,864. Guards Rose and Anderson got breathers in the second half, but only for one minute apiece. And though the Tigers certainly have depth, Saturday was clearly a showcase for the starters, who out-scored Georgetown 42-31 in the second half and dominated practically every aspect of the game. "I didn't go to the bench as much because, I'll be honest, some guys were breaking down defensively and the second thing was, (the starters) had it rolling," Calipari said. "They were on a roll, and I was just going to let them ride it out. It's like I was pitching a pitcher that probably needed to come out in the seventh inning, and I said, 'Let them go; he's got a no hitter. I'm not taking him out.'" What made the effort more impressive was that Georgetown kept shuffling bodies in and out of the game, with nine players on the floor for at least 12 minutes apiece. Still, the Tigers appeared to be the fresher team. "They kept bringing guys in and out," Anderson said. "The five guys in there, we told (Calipari), 'We're OK,' and he just stuck with us." "We were tired," Dorsey said. "But we were so excited, so we kept on playing through it." Despite the way the second half played out, the Tigers' reserves did contribute. Sophomore big man Pierre Niles ate up minutes when Dorsey was in foul trouble early. Freshman Jeff Robinson was fairly effective in his three minutes, and Kemp had two points and two assists in eight minutes. On the other hand, Calipari decided against playing Taggart in the second half, as the 6-foot-11 transfer from Iowa State got beat three times on backdoor cuts that produced easy baskets. And sophomore Doneal Mack had some breakdowns that limited him to just three minutes. All those players, however, will likely have bigger roles as the season wears on, perhaps as early as Saturday's game against No. 17 Arizona. Or even, perhaps, in an Elite Eight game. "I coached like I always coach," Calipari said. "I just wanted to win the game. I'll deal with personalities or egos after the game. We wanted to win, and I told those guys after the game, we were on a roll and there was no reason for me to sub and screw it up. The shoe may be on the other foot another game when those starters are out and we're making a run with the guys coming off the bench." Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365

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12/23/07		Tigers-Georgetown Wrapup ... (Memphis Flyer)
		DECEMBER 23, 2007 - 11:26 AM If University of Memphis fans felt hung over after their football team's loss Friday night in the New Orleans Bowl, they didn't sound like it Saturday morning as the second-ranked men's basketball Tigers overwhelmed the number 5 Georgetown Hoyas in FedExForum with a little help from the sixth man. The first top-5 college basketball match-up in the city's history excited and delighted the announced crowd of 18,864. Georgetown players appeared unfazed by the huge, loud crowd early on. Hoyas senior forward Patrick Ewing Jr., was seen bopping his head along to the beat of the catchy U of M fight song as the Mighty Sound of the South thundered through a chorus during pre-game warm-ups. Tigers head coach John Calipari enjoyed a laugh and a handshake with Georgetown coach John Thompson III. In game action, each team's style of play reflected their coach’s sideline demeanor. The frenetic Calipari stomped, paced, and hollered at his squad from the Memphis bench, while Thompson gestured for his side to take it slow and remain calm. The patient Hoyas picked the Tiger defense apart for first half leads as large as 8 points. A specter of a Hoya upset seemed imminent at the 12:08 mark of the first half, when Tigers forward Joey Dorsey hit the bench with two quick personal fouls. While Dorsey smacked his gum on the sidelines, though, the Tigers stormed even with the Hoyas, and then pulled ahead 43-40 by halftime with a late flurry forwards Chris Douglass-Roberts and Robert Dozier. The second half belonged to the Tigers as Douglas-Roberts put them ahead 54-46 with a breakaway slam-dunk at the 12:16 mark. Tiger athleticism kept the Hoyas at arm's length the rest of the way. Dorsey pulled down 11 second-half rebounds and scored 9 points, including a follow-up slam of an air ball at the shot clock buzzer with about 10 minutes to go. The crowd poured it on the Hoyas throughout. The visitors appeared increasingly rattled as the volume and points escalated. Calipari unleashed the Tigers full court press, and the Hoyas might have thought someone kicked a beehive with defenders flying across the floor and buzzing around the ball. Georgetown’s All-American center Roy Hibbert finished with a mere six points as the Tigers swarmed and double-teamed the big man, forcing him into poor shots and awkward passes. Conversely, Calipari's killer D's, Derrick Rose, Dorsey, Douglas-Roberts, and Dozier all scored in double figures. The final score of 85-71 reflected more than a homecourt advantage. Thompson admitted after the game that, "you have to look at them as one of the best, if not the best team in the country…because they can hurt you in so many ways." At least for today, the Tigers are the toast of college basketball. --Preston Lauterbach

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12/23/07		Strnadova and Schwab Do It Again -- Pair named to Soccer Buzz All-Central Region teams (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Women's soccer midfielders Vendula Strnadova and Emiko Schwab were both named to Soccer Buzz All-Central Region teams. Both midfielders played an important part on the team this year and have been awarded for their dominance on the field this season due to their performances. Strnadova was named to the Soccer Buzz first team. She was also named to the NSCAA All-Central Region second team for her performance this season. The freshman was named C-USA Freshman of the Year and the only freshmen to be named to the All-C-USA first team this season. She had six goals and two assists this season, three gamewinners including the championship game-winning goal. Schwab received second team accolades for her presence on the field this season. She was also named to the NSCAA All-Central Region second team as she was a dominate figure in the midfield for the Lady Tigers this season. She also earned All-C-USA Championship team honors, as she helped to lead Memphis to its first championship title. Schwab had seven goals and five assists this season, with two gamewinners. She was the second leading point scorer for Memphis this season.

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12/23/07		West optimistic about Tigers' future -- Plenty of talent returning, but defense needs work (Commercial Appeal)
		By Phil Stukenborg (Contact) Sunday, December 23, 2007 As he was whisked from one postgame interview session to another following Friday's loss to Florida Atlantic in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, University of Memphis football coach Tommy West's responses didn't change. If anything, they became more polished. He expressed his disappointment with a defense and special teams that broke down during FAU's 44-27 victory at the Louisiana Superdome, while expressing his excitement about laying the groundwork for another postseason run in 2008. ''If we didn't have to take time off, I wouldn't,'' West said. ''We finished the way I thought we would play all year (winning five of the last seven). I'm not going to let this game take away from that. I'm really excited to get back to work with this team.'' Those remaining will take a break for the Christmas holidays and resume offseason workouts in January. That group will be without 14 seniors, including prolific quarterback Martin Hankins, starting running back Joe Doss and all-Conference USA linebacker Jake Kasser, yet West, looking ahead to his eighth season, is convinced the Tigers will be in position for an extra game next December. A talented corps of receivers -- led by potential league player of the year candidate Duke Calhoun -- returns its top five contributors, all of whom caught at least 30 passes. Tight end Brett Russell, who finished with 22 catches for 157 yards, also is back. On the other side of the ball, every member of the two-deep on the defensive front returns, led by left tackle Clinton McDonald. Injured starting linebackers Winston Bowens and Greg Jackson, who missed a large portion of 2007, should be ready for spring practice in March. Reserve quarterbacks Will Hudgens and Matt Malouf will battle for Hankins' vacated starting spot along with junior college transfer Arkelon Hall, who signed a letter of intent last week. Hall, a former prep standout in California, was ranked among the nation's top 10 quarterbacks by ESPN.com coming out of high school. The running game returns T.J. Pitts and welcomes Curtis Steele, a talented junior college transfer West redshirted, but whom he considered playing late in the season. The foundation is there, West said, for a move to another level ... with some alterations. ''Two years ago I thought we could stay at that seven- or eight-win level where we were -- we had won 24 games in three years (from 2003-05),'' West said. ''I didn't feel like we were going to the nine-, 10-, 11-win level. It wasn't there. It wasn't right. ''So we rebuilt (the defense). We restructured. Now, I know we are back where we were, and I have all the confidence in the world we can go to another place. We've got some things we've got to do now. It's going to take a major commitment. You don't just all of a sudden go to a 10-win team. It's going to take a huge commitment from all of us.'' The defense will undergo intense scrutiny. After the unit was shredded by FAU quarterback Rusty Smith, the Sun Belt Conference's Player of the Year, West speaks as if changes are imminent. ''I've got to come up with the answers,'' West said. ''I've got some time on my hands now. I've got to come up with the answers to get us better defensively.'' Smith set three New Orleans Bowl records, including most passing yards (336) and touchdowns (five). Several of his touchdown passes were to wide-open receivers. He tossed four TD passes in the first half alone. As for the UofM special teams, they were a disaster. FAU's first two kickoff returns went for 42 and 63 yards and set up scores. The Owls' third-quarter block of a Memphis punt led to a game-clinching touchdown. ''We're not going to compete for our conference championship if we can't play defense and special teams,'' West said. ''That's how you get there. Right now, I'm disappointed. I'm afraid we've taken a step backwards from a year ago defensively. ''We're not a good cover team at all. We don't play man well. We don't play zone well. It's not what we're doing (schematically), it's that we're not doing it well. We've got to get better there.'' In their final two games of the season -- a triple-overtime win against SMU and Friday's loss to FAU -- the Tigers allowed 1,029 yards. When the disappointment from Friday's bowl loss subsides, West will recall fondly a team that bounced back from a 2-4 start, overcame the death of teammate and closed the regular season by winning five of its final six games, including several in the fourth quarter or in overtime. ''It's been a rewarding year,'' West said. ''This team went through a lot, but we brought on some of it ourselves because we didn't play good enough. But I love how this team came back. I love how we came from behind in games and I love we came from behind (against FAU) ... it was a good year.'' Defensive lineman Jada Brown said he was encouraged by the team's recovery and he's intrigued by what will be an influx of young talent in 2008. ''As you know at one time we were 2-4,'' Brown said. ''Now everybody knows we can come back from being on the bottom and rise to the top like cream.'' -- Phil Stukenborg: 529-2543

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12/23/07		On a day to remember at the Forum, Tigers and Tiger fans can take a bow (Commercial Appeal)
		By Geoff Calkins (Contact) Sunday, December 23, 2007 So that's what it looks like when the Memphis Tigers put it all together. So that's what it looks like when Chris Douglas-Roberts is scoring and Joey Dorsey is pounding and Robert Dozier is hitting that little jumper inside the zone and Derrick Rose is firing on all turbojets. "Pretty scary," said Douglas-Roberts, beaming. Or just plain pretty. As in beautiful. As in No. 2 Memphis over No. 5 Georgetown, 85-71, in front of a raucous and delighted crowd of 18,864. "How about the environment?" said Calipari and, absolutely, how about it? The place was packed. With people and emotion and scouts and national media. Even Joe Theismann couldn't find a seat. Theismann wandered down to the FedEx section just before tipoff and, um, sorry Joe, can't help you. The one empty seat was reserved for Keith Lee. "He's bigger than Joe," said FedEx's Dan Mullally. Also, Theismann didn't put up 28 and 15 against Georgetown in the 1983 NCAA Tournament. Theismann wandered off to the FedEx suite. Not that many noticed. Everyone was standing, and everyone was screaming and some said it felt just like the Coliseum used to feel, only with higher concession prices. And then Georgetown went up by eight. Well, dang it. Every Georgetown basket was easy as a sugar plum. Every Memphis basket was an effort. Keith Lee, care to step in and help the cause? Oh, wait. Never mind. Because at that moment, the Tigers showed why they have a chance to win it all this year. Down by eight points, struggling to get good shots, the Tigers hung with and ultimately overwhelmed Georgetown by taking turns, almost, by sharing the responsibility for achieving greatness. "We got down eight and Rose just said, 'I'm making plays.'" Calipari said. "Then all of a sudden CDR starts making plays." The next thing you know, Dozier is getting open inside the zone for easy jumpers and Pierre Niles -- Pierre Niles! -- is throwing backdoor bounce passes. This last bit happened after Dorsey went out with two fouls. In came the hefty one for four glorious minutes. OK, Niles did tip in a basket for Georgetown. But he was good! He helped Memphis survive 12 minutes without Dorsey. And that backdoor bounce pass to Douglas-Roberts with 1:56 left in the half -- take that, Georgetown -- helped Memphis to a 3-point lead at intermission. At which point, well, let's listen to Dorsey's explanation. "We just got a big spark from -- me," he said. Someone had to say it. Dorsey had seven rebounds in the first 4:01 of the second half. Seven rebounds in four minutes. Georgetown's Roy Hibbert finished with six rebounds total. A close game became comfortable. A comfortable game became a beat-down. Memphis by 10. Memphis by 13. Memphis by 15. "I said telling Roy to be more vocal, tell them to throw him the ball," Dorsey said. You were helping Hibbert? "He's my friend. They were down by 18," said Dorsey. Actually, it never made it past 17. But that's how persuasive this was, how utterly emphatic. Calipari let his five starters play pretty much the whole second half. He wasn't tinkering with complete domination. "I wasn't coming out," said Dorsey. Would you want to be the one to ask him? By the end, it was less a basketball game than a celebration, of the day, of the city, of the team and of the moment. The Tigers are now a perfect 10-0. They've beaten Oklahoma and UConn and Southern Cal and Georgetown. After the game, one of the ESPN types said he expected Memphis to go undefeated. It's a fun idea to think about but, on this day, it seemed almost beside the point. The game was enough. The game was everything it promised. It was two great teams, and it was a densely packed gym, and it was close for a while, and it was thrilling, and then the home team won and the home fans danced and the whole place brimmed with happy bedlam. Up in the stands, Benson Bland blinked and burped at the commotion. Benson is six months old. It was his very first Tigers game. His mother, Jennifer Bland, was asked if she had warned the little guy that every game won't be like this. Jennifer smiled at the question. Some people just have no faith. "Sure they will be," she said. To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or e-mail calkins@commercial appeal.com. You can hear his radio show, "The Geoff & Gary Show," starting on Jan. 2, from 7 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN 730.

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12/23/07		Tigers beat Hoyas by TKO -- U of M gets tough in the paint, thumps Georgetown for 10th straight victory (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Sunday, December 23, 2007 With five minutes, 12 seconds remaining, University of Memphis coach John Calipari peered toward the far end of the court at FedExForum and called for the attention of freshman point guard Derrick Rose. Calipari told Rose to ask junior forward Robert Dozier if he needed a rest, which would have been a reasonable request given that Dozier had already played 16 minutes of the first half Saturday against No. 5-ranked Georgetown and had not come out to catch his breath. But when Rose delivered the message, Dozier immediately shot a look of disgust toward the Memphis bench and waved his arms to make the point clear. No matter how long they had to play, no matter how hard they had to fight, the five Tigers on the floor were going the distance. "No, no, no," junior forward Chris Douglas-Roberts said. "Can't get winded in a game like this. No way." Indeed, No. 2-ranked Memphis just keeps going and going, and in an 85-71 victory over Georgetown, the Tigers looked like a team that might just go all the way to the Final Four. In one of the most anticipated regular-season games in school history, the Tigers delivered plenty of holiday cheer for the raucous, overflow crowd of 18,864, which saw Memphis execute its offense at an NCAA Tournament level, dominate the paint on both ends of the floor and control the final 25 minutes by defending with passion and intelligence. Moreover, the Tigers (10-0) proved -- to a national audience but more importantly, to themselves -- that their preseason ambitions were not a mirage. "It's a big win for us, but there's a bigger goal at the end of the day," Dozier said. "We're looking toward March and April. We're happy we won. That was a good team. They're probably going to finish in the top four in the country at the end of the year, and hopefully we'll get to see them again." Th