Trip's Tigers: News Archives January 2008

01/31/08		Memphis still perfect, not Kansas (Commercial Appeal)
		Memphis is pursuing perfection all by itself now. As the top-ranked Tigers improved to 20-0 with an 89-77 victory at Houston on Wednesday night, No. 2 Kansas took its first loss of the season against Kansas State in Manhattan. The Jayhawks hadn't lost in the Little Apple in 24 years, but Michael Beasley, who wasn't even alive when Kansas began its 24-game winning streak on K-State's homecourt, scored 25 points and led the No. 22 Wildcats to an 84-75 victory. Kansas, two victories short of matching the best start in its storied basketball history, lost on its rival's homecourt for the first time since 1983. The 24-game streak in an opponent's gym came up one short of tying the NCAA Division I record, which UCLA set against California from 1961-85. "We weren't going to run the table," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "As much as I wish we could, that wasn't going to happen. So this could be a good thing for us in the long run. But certainly it stings." Kansas State freshman guard Jacob Pullen had 20 points and freshman forward Bill Walker had 22, making sure that Beasley, who had guaranteed a Kansas State victory, did not have to eat his words. "I knew my team was capable of beating anybody," Beasley said. "And we showed it tonight." Always double- and sometimes triple-teamed when he touched the ball inside, Beasley was held to only eight points in the first half but scored six in a row in the first few minutes after intermission and Kansas (20-1, 5-1 Big 12) never caught up. Beasley was 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point arc as the Wildcats (15-4, 5-0) took over first place in a Big 12 conference they've never even competed in, let alone won. "It doesn't sting because of the streak," Self said. "It stings because it's our rival. I could care less about the streak. But I do care about beating our rivals. So, yeah, this one stings more than what most would sting." Memphis coach John Calipari shrugged when he learned Kansas lost, leaving the Tigers as the nation's only unbeaten team. "It's nice, I guess," he said. "Are we getting better? We got better today." Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed a 22 rebounds, matching a career high, as Memphis equaled the best start in school history. Robert Dozier scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and the Tigers (20-0, 6-0 Conference USA) overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to extend their regular-season winning streak to 39 games. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game. The Tigers countered their turnover total by shooting 58.5 percent, outrebounding the smaller Cougars 49-29 and scoring 44 points in the paint. "We turned it over a few too many times, but we played well," Calipari said. "What you saw was one of our best efforts." Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Houston coach Tom Penders was also denied his 600th career victory. Penders was more resigned than disappointed afterward, conceding the Cougars were simply overmatched. "They're just a great team," Penders said. "You're going to have to play an extremely strong, efficient game, and hope they're not playing at their highest level, to knock them off."

01/31/08		Cohen to give Calipari hat signed by Bush (Commercial Appeal)
		By Bartholomew Sullivan (Contact) Originally published 05:14 p.m., January 31, 2008 Updated 05:14 p.m., January 31, 2008 WASHINGTON -- The University of Memphis basketball cap President Bush signed after the State of the Union address Monday night will be handed over to Coach John Calipari just minutes before the noon tip-off in the University of Texas-El Paso game Saturday. Bob Winn, associate athletic director for external affairs, confirmed U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., will present the hat to Calipari before player introductions for the televised game. Cohen asked President Bush to sign the hat Monday night and elicited the president's prediction that Memphis would beat Houston in Wednesday night's 89-77 game. The Tigers are 20-0 and remain ranked No. 1 in the country. UTEP is in Memphis' Conference USA.

01/31/08		Need Tiger-UT tickets? Prepare to bid (Daily Helmsman)
		By: Megan Harris Staff Reporter Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Other Stories Last-chance tickets are a pretty pricey business. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, tickets for the upcoming Tigers versus Volunteers game were being sold via ticket exchange Web sites for more than their face value. They ranged anywhere from $50-$3,000 a pop. Bob Winn, associate assistant director of external affairs for the athletic department, said he hasn't received any complaints. "The athletic department sells tickets to any fan that wants them," Winn said. "We live in a free enterprise society, and once someone is in possession of his or her tickets, they have the right to get whatever the market demands. All the buyer has to do is meet our requirements. Once we've sold the ticket, it's up to the buyer to determine the value." Associate Assistant Director of Finance Bill Lofton said The University doesn't set the guidelines or monitor sales, but he sees a problem with students selling tickets that were specifically set aside for the family and friends of University attendees. "I hate to see tickets designated for students end up in the hands of people who have nothing to do with Memphis students," Lofton said. "I also hate that students are buying tickets for the sole purpose of scalping them. A few are going to make it tough on the masses." Three hundred and fifty guest tickets for the Tigers versus Volunteers game Feb. 23 went on sale at 8 a.m. Monday. The $10 tickets were sold out within two hours and 15 minutes. The last remaining Memphis Tiger tickets can only be found on ticket exchange Web sites such as eBay.com, StubHub.com, TicketExchange.com and others. Each host advertises the ease and efficiency of selling an unwanted ticket to potential buyers with little to no restrictions. Unlike the Bursar's Office, where students must show their University ID, money is the only requirement. Some University officials don't see a problem with these impromptu student auctions. "Ticket exchange sites operate outside the parameters of The University and serve as a valuable service for persons who, for whatever reason, cannot attend the event," Winn said. "It isn't our job to judge their reasons. Those sites are simply the middle man, and it really doesn't have anything to do with The University of Memphis." Bill Lansden, associate assistant director of development for The U of M's athletic department, said he wasn't upset but wasn't surprised either. "I've heard that scalping has become an issue, and it's probably just because of the popularity of the UT game," Lansden said. "Our office has gotten so many phone calls asking for tickets we simply don't have. This game has been sold out since October so it's no surprise that student guest tickets are going for such a large price. These tickets are a fan's last resort, period."

01/31/08		SELA Hands Men's Tennis First Loss of Season, 4-3 -- Memphis sweeps doubles point, but drops four singles matches (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Southeastern Louisiana University (2-1) came back from a 1-0 deficit and used wins at 1, 2, 3 and 5 singles to hand the University of Memphis (2-1) its first loss of the season, 4-3, in non-conference action at WellWorx, Thursday. Memphis won all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead in the match and got singles wins from Jordan Smith and Benedikt Fischer at No. 4 and 6 singles, respectively, but the Lions claimed the remainder of the singles matches to power past Memphis for a 4-3 victory. The Tigers will not have much time to recover from their first loss of the season, as Memphis opens its 2008 road schedule, Sunday, at No. 33 Vanderbilt. Southeastern Louisiana 4, Memphis 3 Doubles No. 1 - Amrit Narasimhan/Charlie Ramsay (UM) def. Ondrej Krivka/Matthieu Leboucher, 8-5 No. 2 - Leon Naseman/Spencer Heflin (UM) def. Julien Roussel/Medhi Darlis, 8-3 No. 3 - Benedikt Fischer/Jordan Smith (UM) def. Alexis Biarneix/Vladimir Paunic, 8-5 Singles No. 1 - Matthieu Leboucher def. Amrit Narasimhan (UM), 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 No. 2 - Vladimir Paunic def. Michael Gaerthoeffner (UM), 6-1, 6-4 No. 3 - Ondrej Krivka def. Leon Naseman (UM), 7-5, 6-4 No. 4 - Jordan Smith (UM) def. Medhi Darlis, 7-5, 7-5 No. 5 - Julien Roussel def. Charlie Ramsay (UM), 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 No. 6 - Benedikt Fischer (UM) def. Alexis Biarneix, 6-2, 6-3 Memphis: 2-1 Southeastern Louisiana: 2-1

01/31/08		Men's Soccer to Play FC Dallas -- Tigers to take on MLS team (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS-- The University of Memphis men's soccer team has been invited to play FC Dallas in an exhibition match on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, head coach Richie Grant announced Thursday. "We're real pleased to have the game," Grant said. "It's a fantastic opportunity for our players to play against professionals and a great way to keep spring training exciting." Playing a professional team in exhibition play has become a spring tradition for the program. Memphis has played against FC Dallas in three of the last four springs. The squads last met in 2006 and Dallas came away with a 2-0 win. The Tigers have also faced professional teams in Kansas City and Atlanta in recent years. The match will begin at 5 p.m.

01/31/08		Houston challenges Tigers, but U of M holds on for victory (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Wednesday, January 30, 2008 HOUSTON -- The first time senior forward Joey Dorsey came to the bench for a rest, University of Memphis coach John Calipari bent down in front of him and screamed over the noise in a jam-packed Hofheinz Pavilion. "C'mon!" Calipari shouted, trying to cajole more effort out of his big man. "This is an NCAA Tournament game!" Though all the trappings of this special season, the run of victories and the No. 1 ranking have been nice for the Tigers, nights like Wednesday aren't really about taking the lead in Conference USA or beating the closest thing they have to a real league rival. For Calipari, it's about being the last team standing in April. And though it may not mean much, the Tigers are now the last team standing in January, thanks to an 89-77 victory over Houston on a night when Kansas lost to Kansas State, leaving No. 1 Memphis as the lone undefeated men's college basketball team. "We're not worried about that," junior forward Robert Dozier said. "We're happy to be undefeated, don't get me wrong, but our focus is on March and April." And to that end, Memphis probably won't have much better practice than what it encountered here. Though the Tigers will play better opposition on Feb. 23 against Tennessee, they probably won't face a team as desperate as Houston was Wednesday, playing for its NCAA Tournament life. But the Tigers turned back the Cougars and their crowd of 8,918 by shooting 58.5 percent from the field, pulling in a 49-29 advantage on the boards and using a deep bench to turn around the game with a 13-0 run in the first half. Meanwhile, the victory gave Memphis a one-game lead over Houston in the C-USA race and practically crushed the Cougars' hopes of landing an at-large bid to the NCAAs, unless they can upset the Tigers at FedExForum on Feb. 13. "It's nice, I guess," Calipari said, regarding the idea of Memphis being the last undefeated team left. "I'm just worried about, are we getting better? We got better today." The reason? It wasn't just that Memphis got 30 points from Chris Douglas-Roberts on 9-of-13 shooting, or that Dozier broke out of a weeklong slump with 21 points and seven rebounds, or that senior forward Joey Dorsey grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds. It was that Memphis, for once, encountered real adversity early in a game, yet bounced back quickly and maturely by using all of its weapons. On their first four possessions, the Tigers committed three turnovers and took a contested shot, prompting Calipari to call a quick timeout just 1:22 into the game. "It's what we expected coming in," Dozier said. "We knew they were coming in with the fans going crazy and knocking down shots and playing aggressive. We just had to weather that first punch, and we did that." With 12 minutes left in the first half, however, the Tigers still hadn't pulled themselves together and trailed 18-11. So Calipari took out some of his starters and turned to the bench, where he found exactly the spark he was looking for. Sophomore guard Willie Kemp, who played just six combined minutes the previous two games, came in early and helped with a drive to the basket, feeding Dorsey for a dunk. That basket seemed to take the edge off, and Kemp then fired in two timely 3-pointers, which led to a couple of 3-pointers by Antonio Anderson, and all of a sudden the Tigers were up 11 points at halftime. "It feels good; I'm just trying to do what I can do to help my team win," Kemp said. "The last two games I wasn't playing as much, and I wasn't playing as good, but coach told me I just need to go in there and make the open shot and get some (loose) balls." Memphis then scored the first eight points of the second half to lead 54-35, but Houston didn't make it easy for the Tigers to finish off the game. The Cougars crawled back within 70-62 with 8minutes left, but Memphis never let it slip further, thanks to a defense that held Houston to 35.3 percent from the floor and 5-of-22 from 3-point range. Douglas-Roberts gave the Tigers two straight baskets -- a tough baseline runner and a transition dunk -- to push the edge back to 12. The Tigers finally finished it off with 3:23 to go when Dorsey's dunk gave them an 80-65 lead. Dozier scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including consecutive buckets that gave the Tigers a 78-63 lead. "I was disappointed with a couple guys, and I kind of counseled them aggressively and wasn't happy with how it started because they out-scrapped us," Calipari said. "But I went to the bench and the game changed. Then when I went back to the starters, we created a gap and that's what should happen."

01/31/08		Tigers replay (Commercial Appeal)
		AS The Game Turned Houston put the Tigers on their heels early and led 18-11, but sophomore guard Willie Kemp seemed to settle their nerves with a drive-and-dish to senior forward Joey Dorsey for a dunk. Then, after the Tigers forced Houston to turn it over on consecutive possessions, junior Antonio Anderson drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two. In the 1:08 that followed, Kemp made back-to-back 3-pointers, putting the Tigers in front with a run that eventually extended to 13-0. Memphis took a double-digit lead later in the half and had a 13-point edge until Houston got a putback dunk from Dion Dowell just before the halftime buzzer to get within 46-35. AS THE ROTATION TURNED After the Tigers fell behind early, coach John Calipari made a key personnel switch, choosing to go with smaller lineups the rest of the half. Usually, Memphis will play two of its three big men at one time; against Houston, however, the Tigers were more successful rotating in the big men. Though Dorsey was on the floor for 16 first-half minutes, Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart played just six and seven minutes, respectively. When the Tigers started their run to the lead, Dorsey and Anderson were the only starters on the floor, with Andre Allen running the point, and Kemp and Doneal Mack on the wings. That lineup effectively made Anderson the power forward. Later in the run, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose replaced Mack and Allen. RIM GEMS A frantic sequence early in the first half began when Rose airballed a 3-pointer -- it might have been partially blocked, though no block was credited in the box score -- allowing Houston to get its transition offense cranked up. But senior point guard Lanny Smith lost the ball on the way to the rim, Douglas-Roberts came up with it and quickly sent a long outlet pass to Anderson, who went two steps toward the rim and stuffed it with his right hand. Anderson was also fouled on the way up by Dowell, made the free throw and closed Houston's lead to 12-9 with 13:49 to go in the half. HIDE YOUR EYES For Memphis, the only smudge on an otherwise clean box score was its 22 turnovers. For some perspective, the Tigers turned the ball over 27 times in the previous three games combined. It was just the third time this season Memphis has committed 20-plus turnovers in a game and the first since the 22-turnover game against Southern California on Dec. 4. SCORER'S TABLE Dozier and Douglas-Roberts combined for 51 points, accounting for 57.3 percent of the Tigers' offense Wednesday. It was the highest output of the season from that combination. Against Georgetown, they combined for 43 points, with Douglas-Roberts scoring 24. Against Arizona, they had 35 points, with Dozier chipping in 17 of them. LOCKERROOM CHATTER "CDR is a great player, but they also have guys like Dozier, who when he needs to step up can step up, and the thing about their team from watching them closely and playing, they play with great intensity on defense, and they're very unselfish offensively. Chris can make some shots that are just flat-out acrobatic. When he takes them you go, that's gonna be a brick. And the brick goes in. I don't know how he does it." Houston coach Tom Penders ODDS and ENDS Taggart played 8 minutes, all but one of which came in the first half. Calipari said that was because of the roll Dozier was on in the second half. Dozier had 17 points and six rebounds in the 16 minutes he played after intermission. Dowell, who was not a factor in any of the three meetings with Memphis last season, led the Cougars with 23 points. He made 8-of-16 field goals and grabbed six rebounds. The Tigers did a good job guarding the perimeter on senior guard "Fluff" McKiver, the Cougars' leading scorer. Though McKiver finished with 20 points, most of it came on free throws (11-for-11). McKiver went just 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range The crowd of 8,918 was the largest in Hofheinz Pavilion since it was reconfigured in 1998. The Tigers play four straight games at home beginning Saturday against UTEP. The UofM athletic department sent out a release Wednesday announcing that a luxury suite is available for purchase. The cost is $1,500 and includes 20 tickets. Interested parties should contact the Tiger Scholarship Fund office at 678-2334. -- Dan Wolken

01/31/08		College basketball: Memphis match school's best start (Jackson Sun)
		By CHRIS DUNCAN The Associated Press HOUSTON - Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 22 rebounds, matching a career high, as top-ranked Memphis equaled the best start in school history with an 89-77 win over Houston on Wednesday night. Robert Dozier scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and the Tigers (20-0, 6-0 Conference USA) overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to extend their regular-season winning streak to 39 games. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game. Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Houston coach Tom Penders was also denied his 600th career victory. Memphis outrebounded the smaller Cougars 49-29 and scored 44 points in the paint. The Tigers led 46-35 at the break and started the second half with a 10-4 spurt. Dowell hit three free throws and a 3-pointer over the next two minutes as Houston pulled within 13. Memphis pushed the lead to 17, but the Cougars' scrambling, full-court pressure forced five turnovers in four minutes during a 12-3 burst that closed the gap to 66-58. Memphis' lead hovered between eight and 10 until Douglas-Roberts finished a fast break with a dunk for a 74-62 lead. Dozier added two baskets down low as the Tigers finally pulled away. Dorsey swiped a rebound with one hand and threw down a dunk in the closing minutes, sealing the Tigers' 29th consecutive victory in Conference USA.

01/31/08		Memphis stays undefeated -- Win makes Tigers nation's only team without a loss (Nashville Tennessean)
		By CHRIS DUNCAN Associated Press January 31, 2008 HOUSTON � Coach John Calipari shrugged when he learned Kansas lost Wednesday, leaving his top-ranked Memphis Tigers as the last undefeated men's team in the country. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 22 rebounds, matching a career high, as Memphis equaled the best start in school history with an 89-77 win over Houston. Advertisement About the same time the Tigers closed out the Cougars, the Jayhawks lost 84-75 to Kansas State. Calipari cares only that his team seems to be improving with each game. "It's nice, I guess," he said. "Are we getting better? We got better today." Robert Dozier scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and the Tigers (20-0, 6-0 Conference USA) overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to extend their regular-season winning streak to 39 games. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game. The Tigers countered their turnover total by shooting 58.5 percent, outrebounding the smaller Cougars 49-29 and scoring 44 points in the paint. "We turned it over a few too many times, but we played well," Calipari said. "What you saw was one of our best efforts." Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Houston Coach Tom Penders also was denied his 600th career victory. "They're just a great team," Penders said. "You're going to have to play an extremely strong, efficient game, and hope they're not playing at their highest level, to knock them off." Second-half surge The Tigers led 46-35 at the break and started the second half with a 10-4 spurt. Dowell hit three free throws and a 3-pointer over the next two minutes as Houston pulled within 13. Memphis pushed the lead to 17, but the Cougars' scrambling, full-court pressure forced five turnovers in four minutes during a 12-3 burst that closed the gap to 66-58. Memphis' lead hovered from eight to 10 until Douglas-Roberts finished a fast break with a dunk for a 74-62 lead. Dozier hadn't scored in double figures in three weeks before hitting nine of 13 shots Wednesday. He also grabbed seven rebounds. "Dozier had a breakout game," Calipari said. Memphis, the league's best defensive team, held high-scoring Houston to 35 percent shooting from the field (24-of-68). The Cougars average 10 3-pointers per game but went 6-for-24 from long range against the bigger, faster Tigers. "We didn't have enough offense, at times, to stay with them," Penders said.

01/30/08		Lady Tigers to Host Houston Friday Night -- All children wearing jerseys receive free admission (GoTigersGo.com)
		The University of Memphis women's basketball team will host a pair of West Division C-USA foes this weekend, beginning with a Friday night game against Houston. That game will be Memphis' `Pack the House' night, where all children wearing a jersey receive free admission. `Pack the House' is a single game attendance contest between all C-USA schools. The game against Houston means that the Lady Tigers will have faced the top three teams in the league in their last three games. Memphis led, but fell, at league-leading UTEP to begin the three-game stretch, then led, but fell, to UAB, the team Houston is tied with for second in the league standings. Houston has won six of their last eight games and carries a five-game winning streak in to Friday night's match-up. Led by All-American candidates Tye Jackson and Twiggy McIntyre. McIntyre leads Houston with 15.3 ppg, including 20.5 ppg in six previous C-USA games, while Jackson, the 2007-08 C-USA Pre-Season Player of the Year, averages 11.9 ppg and 9.0 ppg in league play. But if the formidable backcourt were not enough of a scoring threat, the Cougars have two freshmen who have emerged up front to keep defenses honest. Center forward Courtney Taylor has found a lot of scoring success against league foes, averaging 11.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Taylor is a load on the offensive glass, grabbing 22 of the team's 77 offensive boards so far in league play, while fellow freshman Cobilyn Hill, a 6-3 center who ranks fourth in the league with 2.15 blocked shots per game, averages 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The magic number for Memphis against Houston may be a number bigger than 70. When the Cougars have held their opponents to under 70 points, they are 10-3. When their opponents score 70 or more points, Houston is 1-6. Memphis has scored 70 or more points in just one previous league game, scoring 74 in the win at Tulane and is 1-11 when scoring under 70 points on the season. Memphis is looking to snap a two-game losing streak heading in to the Friday night contest. It's been a tale of two teams for Memphis through the first six conference games. In the previous three games played at home, the Lady Tigers are led in scoring by junior Jessica Hall (16.0 ppg), senior Aroha Jennings (12.0) and junior Paris Leonard (11.7). Sophomore Latoya Bullard also averages 11.7 ppg in the first three C-USA home games, but the remainder of the team is averaging just 8.4 ppg combined (Ashley Thornton, 4.0 ppg; Shekeira Copeland 2.7 ppg; Alex Winchell 1.7 ppg; Savannah Ellis, 1.0 ppg; Jessica Jackson 0.0 ppg, Shae Seagraves 0.0 ppg). That's a very different story than the Lady Tigers on the road, where seven different Lady Tigers average over 5.0 ppg, led by Latoya Bullard's 16.7 ppg and Jessica Jackson's 10.3 ppg. Memphis vs. UAB This is the 19th meeting between Memphis and Houston. Memphis leads the all-time series 11-7, but has lost the last four meetings between the two programs, dating back to 2003-04. Memphis is 5-3 in games in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse against the Cougars, who are without head coach Joe Curl, who suffered a heart-attack in October. While Curl is recuperating, assistant Danny Hughes has been elevated to the interim head coaching spot for the Cougars. Hughes has the Cougars surging at the right time after a difficult pre-season schedule that included games against LSU, Texas Tech, and Duke. Houston has won five straight games and seven of its last nine games, including an overtime win against Lamar which saw the Cougars come back from 26 points down in the second half to win the game 82-75 in overtime. Houston trailed 46-22 at the half and took the lead with 2:29 remaining in the game. The 26-point comeback is the second-largest deficit overcome in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball history. A Tale of Two Teams? Memphis has been two different teams in the first six C-USA games. When Memphis is playing on the road against league foes, the Lady Tigers have seven different players averaging 6.0 or more points per game led by 16.7 ppg from Latoya Bullard and 10.3 ppg from Jessica Jackson. But at home in league games, Memphis is led in scoring by Jessica Hall with 16.0 ppg and Aroha Jenninsg with 12.0 ppg. Paris Leonard and Latoya Bullard add 11.7 ppg, but the remainder of the Lady Tiger roster averages a combined 9.4 ppg among seven players. Three Lady Tigers are still scoreless at home in league play (Valencia Tucker, Jessica Jackson, and Shae Seagraves). Memphis is also being out-rebounded by 10.0 rebounds per game at home, while keeping closer on the road under the glass, being out-rebounded by 4.3 rpg. Leonard Scores 20 For Fourth Time Junior guard Paris Leonard had her best shooting night of the season in Memphis' last game, hitting 57.1 percent of her shots from the field against UAB and finishing with 22 points. The 22-point effort is her fourth 20+ point game of the season, the eighth of her career (she had four 20+ games as a freshman and none last year as a sophomore). Leonard 27 Away From 800 Following the 22-point night against UAB, Leonard now has 773 career points. She needs just 27 more points to hit the 800-point mark and to tie Lady Tiger assistant coach Jennifer Sullivan for 25th on the Memphis all-time scoring charts. Leonard's 87 career three-point field goals also means she is just 13 treys shy of becoming the sixth player in Memphis history to pass the 100-career three-point field goal mark. Jennings Adds Double-Double in 50th Career Game Senior Aroha Jennings made her 50th career game at Memphis a memorable one, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss to UAB. The double-double is the third of her young Lady Tiger career. She also added three assists and two steals in 31 minutes of play. The 10 rebounds marks the third time in her career and the second time this season she has had double-digit rebounds. Her last double-double was a 16 point, 11-rebound effort in the win over Alabama A&M. Winchell Scoring Streak Snapped Freshman Alex Winchell was 0-for-2 against UAB as league opponents have learned to look for the freshman to shoot the ball. The scoreless night snapped a 12-game scoring streak for the true freshman, who scored 10 points on the road at Tulane. Hall Uncharacteristic at Free-Throw Line Junior Jessica Hall is one of Memphis' top scorers and already ranks among the career top 10 at Memphis in career free-throw percentage. But the junior, who is shooting 72.7 percent from the free-throw line, has gone a combined 0-for-6 in the last two games. Hall has never gone more than three attempts from the line before a make prior to the UAB game (0-for-4). Bullard Working Toward 50th Career Steal Sophomore point guard Latoya Bullard has only been eligible for 10 games so far this season, but is now just 12 steals shy of her 50th career steal. Having a point guard who can pressure the ball has helped the Memphis defense as Bullard settles in to the line-up. With 10 regular season games remaining, Bullard is also on pace to possibly hit the 100 single season assist mark. Bullard is averaging 5.8 assists per game and needs 42 more to hit the 100 single assist mark in just one semester of eligibility. She would need to average 4.2 assists per game to hit the single season 100 assist mark, a feat that has been accomplished just 23 other times in Lady Tiger history. Bullard Double Digit Streak Snapped After she scored 23 on UAB in the first meeting, UAB made sure that Latoya Bullard didn't hurt them in the second meeting, holding her to just 2-for-8 shooting and six points. That snapped a five-game double-digit scoring streak for the sophomore point guard. Copeland Gives Big Effort Off Bench Freshman forward Shekeira Copeland played just eight minutes against UAB, but scored six points on 3-of-6 shooting. The eight minutes also saw Copeland force Britney Jones to turn the ball over as Copeland rotated over on defense and forces Jones, who was about to shoot, to bring the ball back down after going up for a lay-up. Thornton Held to Career-Low Two Rebounds Playing in her 50th career game at Memphis, Ashley Thornton has already established a reputation in the league as being a force on the boards. But the junior struggled Sunday against UAB, managing just two defensive rebounds in the loss to the Blazers. Thornton posted double-digit rebounds in five of the first 11 games this season, but hasn't gotten to the double-digit mark since a Dec. 21st game at Florida Gulf Coast. Jackson Posts Block for Third Straight Game Junior center Jessica Jackson has posted a block in three straight league games coming in to the Houston contest. She now has 18 blocks on the season in 10 career games, but has struggled on the offensive end as of late, going scoreless in three of the last five games for Memphis after scoring double-digit points in three of her first six games as a Lady Tiger. Having to Close Out Leads Memphis has been much more competitive in league play this season, having held a lead in the second half of all but one league game so far this season (Marshall). The Lady Tigers have sent notice to league foes that they are ready to compete this season, but now need to work on turning leads in to victories. At Tulane, Memphis held on to a six-point lead for a majority of the game, but had trouble getting the lead to double-digits and holding it there, allowing Tulane to cut it to two with less than two minutes remaining. Six straight points from Jessica Hall helped close out that road win.

01/30/08		Tigers Win at Houston, 89-77, for Best Start in School History -- Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 22 rebounds (GoTigersGo.com)
		HOUSTON (AP) -- Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 30 points and Joey Dorsey grabbed 22 rebounds, matching a career high, as Memphis equaled the best start in school history with an 89-77 win over Houston. About the same time the Tigers closed out the Cougars, the Jayhawks lost 84-75 to Kansas State. Calipari only cares that his team seems to be improving with each game. "It's nice, I guess," he said. "Are we getting better? We got better today." Robert Dozier scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half and the Tigers (20-0, 6-0 Conference USA) overcame a season-high 22 turnovers to extend their regular-season winning streak to 39 games. Memphis matched its best start since 1985-86 and won its 15th consecutive road game. The Tigers countered their turnover total by shooting 58.5 percent, outrebounding the smaller Cougars 49-29 and scoring 44 points in the paint. "We turned it over a few too many times, but we played well," Calipari said. "What you saw was one of our best efforts." Dion Dowell scored 23 points and Robert McKiver scored 20 for the Cougars (15-4, 4-1), who dropped to 2-10 all-time against the No. 1 team. Houston coach Tom Penders was also denied his 600th career victory. Penders was more resigned than disappointed afterward, conceding that the Cougars were simply overmatched. "They're just a great team," Penders said. "You're going to have to play an extremely strong, efficient game, and hope they're not playing at their highest level, to knock them off." The Tigers led 46-35 at the break and started the second half with a 10-4 spurt. Dowell hit three free throws and a 3-pointer over the next two minutes as Houston pulled within 13. Memphis pushed the lead to 17, but the Cougars' scrambling, full-court pressure forced five turnovers in four minutes during a 12-3 burst that closed the gap to 66-58. Memphis' lead hovered between eight and 10 until Douglas-Roberts finished a fast break with a dunk for a 74-62 lead. Dozier added two baskets down low as the Tigers finally pulled away. Dozier hadn't scored in double figures in three weeks before hitting nine of 13 shots on Wednesday. He also grabbed seven rebounds. "Dozier had a breakout game," Calipari said. Dorsey swiped a rebound with one hand and threw down a dunk in the closing minutes, sealing the Tigers' 29th consecutive victory in Conference USA. The 6-foot-9, 265-pound Dorsey also blocked four shots. "As we run down this season, when he does that, we become a really good team," Calipari said. "Even if you break us down on the dribble, he's standing in there. If he doesn't adjust a shot, he's grabbing balls." Memphis, the league's best defensive team, held high-scoring Houston to 35 percent shooting from the field (24-of-68). The Cougars average 10 3-pointers per game, but went 6-for-24 from long range against the bigger, faster Tigers. "We didn't have enough offense, at times, to stay with them," Penders said. "When you play a team like that, you have to have your 'A' game. We didn't have our 'A' game offensively, but I give our kids an 'A' for effort." The Tigers struggled early with Houston's trapping defense and trailed 11-4 after giving away four turnovers in the first four minutes. Memphis quickened the pace and charged ahead with an 13-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Willie Kemp. The Cougars were suddenly sloppy and went three minutes without scoring. Kelvin Lewis sank two free throws to cut Houston's deficit to 24-20, but the Tigers stayed in control. Douglas-Roberts scored eight quick points and Kemp drove through the Cougars' defense for a layup to stretch the lead to 36-25. McKiver's long jumper with 7:46 left before halftime was Houston's only field goal for six minutes. After a hot start, the Cougars ended up 12-of-37 (32 percent) from the field in the first half with only three 3-pointers. The Cougars were facing the No. 1 team for the first time since a 77-65 loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 17, 2000.

01/30/08		Lady Tiger Tennis Battles But Falls Short at UALR, 5-2 -- Lady Tigers fall to 1-1 on the season (GoTigersGo.com)
		LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The University of Memphis women's tennis team won the doubles point to open the match, but fell 5-2 in a non-conference match at UALR, Wednesday. Memphis used wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles to go up early, 1-0, in the match. The team of Amanda Brown and Ekin Zafir downed the duo of Laetitia Bourgeon and Marta Gomez Jordana, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles, while the tandem of Ashley Murdock and Marjorie Ondeck defeated Anne Weijenborg and Rebecca Van Den Houte, 8-6, at No. 2. UALR then answered back with straight set wins at No. 1, 2 and 6 singles, but then had their hands full in trying to close out the match. Ashley Murdock gave Memphis its first singles point with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles. Teammates Marjorie Ondeck and Dara Toulch also split sets to force a third set. Ondeck fell 7-6 (3) in her opening set, but bounced back with a 6-2 win at No. 3 singles before falling 6-4 in the third. Toulch split a pair of 6-3 opening sets, but fell short, 6-3, in the third, giving UALR its final two points for the win. Memphis will have over a week to recover from the grueling match, before hosting Southern Illinois, Friday, Feb. 8th at WellWorx at 3 p.m. UALR 5, Memphis 2 Singles No. 1 -- Laetitia Bourgeon def. Amanda Brown (UM), 6-3, 6-1 No. 2 -- Anne Weijenborg def. Kristin Chamberlain (UM), 6-2, 6-1 No. 3 -- Patricia Cortes def. Marjorie Ondeck (UM), 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4 No. 4 -- Ashley Murdock (UM) def. Marta Gomez Jordana, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 No. 5 -- Nathalia Garay def. Dara Toulch (UM), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 No. 6 -- Rebecca Van Den Houte def. Ekin Zafir (UM), 6-1, 6-1 Doubles No. 1 -- Amanda Brown/Ekin Zafir (UM) def. Laetitia Bourgeon/Marta Gomez Jordana, 8-6 No. 2 -- Ashley Murdock/Marjorie Ondeck (UM), def. Anne Weijenborg/Rebecca Van Den Houte, 8-6 No. 3 -- Patricia Cortes/Nathalia Garay def. Lindsey Wiseman/Kristin Chamberlain (UM), 8-2

01/30/08		Baseball Picked to Finish Seventh in C-USA Preseason Poll -- K.K. Chalmers tabbed preseason All-C-USA (GoTigersGo.com)
		IRVING, Texas - The University of Memphis baseball was picked to finish seventh in this year's C-USA preseason poll as selected by the league coaches. Senior centerfielder and team co-captain K.K. Chalmers was named to the 2008 Preseason All C-USA team. Chalmers will highlight a team that returns just three position starters--Chalmers, catcher Chris Kirkland and leftfielder Tyler Huelsing--after losing its entire infield from the 2007 season. The Southaven, Miss., native returns as the leader in batting average (.289), hits (67), runs (58), doubles (15), home runs (7) and RBI (38) after leading the squad with 33 stolen bases a year ago. Chalmers is the program's all-time leader in stolen bases with 89. Kirkland hit .275 with eight double and 25 RBI, while Huelsing hit a stout .345 in 22 starts. Despite what it lost in the field, Memphis returns an experienced group of pitchers, including getting back three starting pitchers that were lost to season-ending injury early in the 2007 campaign. Juniors Scott McGregor and Matt Yokley will lead the pitching staff. McGregor has pitched in a starting role for three seasons, while Yokley has settled into the closer role. The righthander from Collierville, Tenn. holds both the Tigers' all-time and single-season saves mark with 11 and nine saves, respectively. The Tigers also return Will Hudgens (5-2, 5.17 ERA), Brennon Martin (4-1, 4.73 ERA) and senior Neil Schenk. Head Coach Daron Schoenrock welcomes a group of 13 talented newcomers, nine of which a freshmen. Coming off a second straight trip to the College World Series, Rice has been selected as the preseason favorite. Owls junior outfielder/designated hitter Aaron Luna, a preseason All-American, is the Preseason C-USA Player of the Year. Rice hurler Ryan Berry, a national Freshman of the Year selection by Collegiate Baseball last season, was named as the league's preseason Pitcher of the Year. After spending time ranked No.1 in each of the past two seasons, Rice is ranked among the nation's top 10 in the preseason again this year. The Owls return 18 lettermen, five position starters and six experienced pitchers from last year's 56-14 club and placed a league-high four members on the preseason All-Conference team. In addition to Luna (.315, 15 2B, 13 HR, 66 RBI) and Berry (11-3, 3.01 ERA, 125 K, 34 BB), catcher Adam Zornes (2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI in just 17 starts) and pitcher Cole St.Clair (1.91 ERA, 26 K, 8 BB and 9 saves in 16 appearances), a 2006 All-American, earned All-C-USA recognition. After placing second in the regular season and tournament last season with a 40-23 overall record, East Carolina was chosen to finish in second place again this spring. The Pirates return 15 lettermen, including eight starters, from last year's NCAA regional team and add 11 newcomers. Of the returning players, ECU brings back three players that earned preseason all-league honors. Senior starter T.J. Hose (6-5, 3.97 ERA, 70 K, 45 BB) is joined by a pair of first team All-C-USA performers in infielder Stephen Batts (.323, 15 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 56 RBI), who hit safely in the final 29 games last season, and outfielder Harrison Eldridge (.295, team-leading 19 2B, 6 HR, 28 RBI, team-best 15 SB) on the squad. Southern Miss, which is coming off a fifth consecutive NCAA appearance and welcomes back 20 letterwinners and seven starters, was picked to finish third according to the league's coaches. Two Golden Eagle infielders, senior first baseman Trey Sutton, who led the team in batting (.368), runs scored (69), doubles (18) and triples (3), while hitting eight homers and driving in 38 runs, is joined by junior shortstop Brian Dozier (.339, 57 runs scored, 17 2B, 4 HR, 28 RBI) in being listed on the preseason All-Conference team. Tulane, which opens a completely-renovated Turchin Stadium this season, was chosen fourth, just ahead of Houston. The Green Wave is represented on the preseason team by junior righthander Shooter Hunt, who was 6-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 104 strikeouts with just 30 walks in 15 starts last season. The Cougars are led by preseason all-league infielder Jimmy Cesario, a junior who earned the conference's inaugural Newcomer of the Year award last season after batting a team-high .352 with 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, three homers and 35 RBI. Memphis will begin the 2008 season at 4 p.m. on Feb. 22 when it takes on Seton Hall in the 2008 Service Academies Spring Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. 2008 PRESEASON BASEBALL COACHES POLL (as selected by C-USA's head coaches) PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH Rank School (First Place Votes) Pts. 1. Rice (8) 80 2. East Carolina (1) 61 3. Southern Miss 57 4. Tulane 52 5. Houston 38 PLAYER OF THE YEAR Aaron Luna, Rice (Junior, Outfielder/Designated Hitter) PITCHER OF THE YEAR Ryan Berry, Rice (Sophomore, Righthander) ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM P Ryan Berry So. Rice P T.J. Hose Sr. East Carolina P Shooter Hunt Jr. Tulane RP Cole St.Clair Sr. Rice C Adam Zornes Sr. Rice IF Stephen Batts Jr. East Carolina IF Jimmy Cesario Jr. Houston IF Brian Dozier Jr. Southern Miss IF Trey Sutton Sr. Southern Miss IF Kiko Vasquez Jr. UCF OF Tyson Auer Sr. UCF OF K.K. Chalmers Sr. Memphis OF Harrison Eldridge Sr. East Carolina DH Aaron Luna Jr. Rice

01/30/08		Lady Tigers Track and Field Ranked No. 12 in USTFCCCA -- Lady Tigers are making history (GoTigersGo.com)
		NEW ORLEANS, La. - The University of Memphis women's track and field program enters the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I rankings as No. 12, in the first regular-season poll of 2008. This is the first time in school history that the women's program has ever been ranked. The women's track and field program has started off the 2008 indoor season remarkably well. After being ranked preseason No.89, the Lady Tigers climbed to No. 12, by the time the first poll of the season came out. "To my knowledge this is the first time the women's team has been ranked," said Head Coach Kevin Robinson. "So, to debut at No. 12, definitely shows that we're on the right track. With Susan (King), Sivan (Aballi) and Charlotte (Abrahamsen) all being in the Top 10, it's a good solid core group of elite athletes. I still do not think that they have reached their potential for the season. I expect bigger and better performances from all three and I hope that they will be joined by a few others." Susan King has an NCAA automatic qualifying mark o 17.13 meters in the shot put, where she is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. Sivan Aballi has an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 15.79 meters in the shot put where she sits in the No. 9 spot. Charlotte Abrahamsen has a NCAA provisional qualifying point total of 3858 in the pentathlon, where she is ranked No. 4. Memphis has never had three female track and field athletes ranked in the nation at the same time. They are the only Conference USA team ranked in the Top 25. The 2008 USTFCCCA Division I Rankings are compiled strictly from the NCAA descending order lists. The USTFCCCA indoor rankings are based on the descending order lists of the 2008 season. The 2008 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark. USTFCCCA Division I women's indoor track and field rankings Jan. 30, 2008 Rank School Preseason 1 LSU 1 2 Tennessee 3 3 Texas A&M 8 4 Arkansas 9 5 Michigan 4 6 Virginia Tech 10 7 Mississippi 17 8 Minnesota 15 9 Penn State 12 10 South Carolina 6 11 Florida 13 12 Memphis 89 13 Baylor 35 14 Southern Illinois 20 15 Purdue 57 16 Texas 11 17 Georgia Tech 42 18 Kansas 27 19 Kansas State 31 20 Arizona 56 21 Arizona State 2 22 Indiana 7 23 Oregon 45 24 Florida State -- 25 Texas Tech 7

01/30/08		Live CSTV Online Video Available For Tonight's C-USA Showdown at Houston -- Annual subscribers to Memphis Tigers All-Access will be able to watch for free, while others can purchase as a pay-per-view (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS - When the #1-ranked Memphis men's basketball team (19-0, 5-0 C-USA) travels to Houston (15-3, 4-0 C-USA) to take on the only other squad still unbeaten in Conference USA play tonight at 7 p.m., it will continue a series of nine Tigers games to be televised live by CSTV (Comcast cable channel 222 in the Memphis area; DirecTV channel 610; Dish Network channel 152). Fans also are able to watch a video stream of the television feed live online, as annual subscribers to Memphis Tigers All-Access can watch ALL Tigers games on CSTV for FREE as part of their subscriptions. Others are able to access games on a pay-per-view basis at a rate of $9.95 per game. Current annual subscribers to Memphis Tigers All-Access can just log in with their normal account and begin watching. Please note that monthly subscribers will have to purchase the pay-per-views. Annual subscriptions are $79.95 for a 12-month subscription. Annual subscribers will be able to watch all CSTV pay-per-view games that any Memphis team participates in for the remainder of their subscription - which could also include as many as two games in the Conference USA men's basketball tournament. Fans who wish to purchase an annual subscription to Memphis Tigers All-Access can do so by clicking here. Other Content In Memphis Tigers All-Access Annual Subscription: * Live and archived men's basketball game audio * Weekly video of Coach Calipari show * Live and archived women's basketball game audio for all games and video for most games * Live and archived football game audio for all games and video for most games * Football weekly press luncheon video and coach's show audio * Various CSTV features, highlights and press conferences of Memphis athletics * Selected other features, press conferences and game coverage Note: Broadcast schedule is tentative and subject to change. Remaining Memphis Men's Basketball Games on CSTV (All Games Also Available Online) Memphis at Houston - Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 p.m. CT UCF at Memphis - Saturday, February 9, 3:00 p.m. CT Houston at Memphis - Wednesday, February 13, 8:00 p.m. CT Memphis at Tulane - Wednesday, February 20, 7:00 p.m. CT Tulsa at Memphis - Wednesday, February 27, 8:00 p.m. CT Memphis at Southern Miss - Saturday, March 1, 3:00 p.m. CT Memphis at SMU - Wednesday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. CT UAB at Memphis - Saturday, March 8, Noon CT All of these broadcasts also will be available to current annual subscribers to CSTV XXL - which gives fans access to content from many schools across several sports. For more information on CSTV XXL, click here. Details On Accessing the Games as an Online Pay-Per-View * Available nationwide. * Pricing for these games is $9.95 each. * Each pay-per-view event is a one-time special online video presentation. Purchase price of an event entitles viewer to that game only. * Full pay-per-view schedule and easy sign-up online at cstvppv.com. About CSTV Networks CSTV Networks, Inc., part of the CBS Corporation, is the leading digital and cable programming company dedicated to college sports. Connecting more fans to more college sports than any other company, its many platforms for programming distribution include CSTV, the 24-memr college sports network from CBS Sports, televising regular-season and championship events for 35 men's and women's college sports; CSTV.com and its network of nearly 215 official athletic sites; CSTV All Access and XXL, broadband services providing live audio and video of more than 10,000 events annually. Further information is available at www.cstv.com. CSTV, the experts in college sports, is seen in more than 20 million homes via cable and satellite. CSTV is widely available on cable systems across the country, including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Cablevision, Charter, Insight, Bright House Networks, Mediacom, Insight, RCN, Advanced Cable and Bresnan. It is also available as part of DIRECTV's Total Choice Premier Package (channel 610) and DISH Network's America's Top 120 Package (channel 152). For information on getting CSTV, click here.

01/30/08		Sotball to Hold First Ever Diamond Club Meeting -- Fans interested in joining club asked to attend (GoTigersGo.com)
		The University of Memphis softball team will hold its first ever Diamond Club meeting on Tuesday, February 5 at 6 p.m. in the Athletic Office Building lobby. All Diamond Club members and those interested in joining are encouraged to attend the event. The Diamond Club has been organized to help build the infant softball program at Memphis into a top national contender. The goals of the club are to allow parents, alumni and members of the community to show their support for the Tiger softball program. In its first two seasons of existence, Memphis head coach Windy Thees has guided the Tigers to a 64-51 overall record. The team reached its first Conference USA Championship Tournament last season in dramatic fashion, winning its final six conference games to earn one of six spots. Under Thees' direction, Memphis players have earned seven All-Conference awards and one NFCA All-South Region selection. Her players have also found success in the classroom with all six of her seniors earning their diploma. Last season, the Tigers opened a new $1.7 million stadium on the university's Park Avenue Campus, and 2008 will mark the first full year in the complex. A link to join the Diamond Club can be found above. Interested applicants have the choice of three levels of membership; Silver Glove, Gold Glove and Platinum Glove.

01/30/08		Pregame blog: Houston (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by Dan Wolken Upset in the making? It wouldn�t shock me. Houston just needs this one bad enough; it�s basically an NCAA Tournament game for the Cougars. If Memphis has just a slight lapse in concentration or effort tonight, the Tigers could suffere their first loss of the season. We�ll see how they get up for this game. I predict the Tigers will be down at halftime. I�m sitting even closer to the bench here than I do at home games, so I�ll be able to get all the little ins and outs during the game. I might even be able to sneak into the huddle. A player to watch for Houston tonight is Dion Dowell. He choked big-time agianst the Tigers last year, but he�s been a key 3-point shooter this season. H�e�s a tough cover for a guy like Robert Dozier, who isn�t used to playing his man out on the perimeter. Doneal Mack played well in this building last season and made a couple big 3-pointers in the first half that helped eht Tigers grab control of the game. He could be big again. This place is starting to fill up. The line to let students in was crazy when I pulled up. Also, props to Houston SID staff for getting wireless Internet this season. Big, big plus. In a place like Hofheinz Pavilion, which doesn�t look like it�s been touched since about 1975, that�s a big amenity. I only recognize two of the officials: Duke Edsell and David Hall. Hall is a notorious homer, and he loves to be The Show when he refs. We�ll see how that plays out tonight.

01/30/08		Houston's Penders understands beating Tigers best NCAA shot (Commercial Appeal)
		By Dan Wolken (Contact) Wednesday, January 30, 2008 In Tom Penders' second year as the head coach at Columbia University, his team drew Indiana as the first-round opponent in the Holiday Festival Tournament in New York. On the day after Christmas in 1975, Penders' team lost, 106-63. Though Penders could not know it at the time, that 1975-76 Indiana team would be the best opponent he's ever seen in 34 years of college coaching, and perhaps the greatest team ever. But when Penders watches the University of Memphis, he sees similarities between these Tigers and the 1976 Indiana squad, whose 32-0 record stands as the historical benchmark for all of college basketball. "I'm not trying to blow smoke; I just look at the comparisons," Penders said. "The motion offense is different, but it's the same concept: A bunch of different weapons and depth, and the thing that isn't mentioned enough about Memphis is they play great defense. They don't take possessions off. "I've coached against Temple when they were No. 1, and I think they lost one game all season, and then I remember coaching against St. John's in 1983 when they had Chris Mullin and Walter Berry and Bill Wennington and Mark Jackson, so I've had experiences, but I think this is a team that's very comparable." Penders, of course, has every reason to mention No. 1-ranked Memphis in the pantheon of all-time greats. Should his Houston team beat the Tigers tonight at Hofheinz Pavilion or on Feb. 13 at FedExForum, it would be a singular achievement to perhaps launch the Cougars into the NCAA Tournament. On the other hand, without a victory over Memphis this season, Houston may not make it at all. In other words, the Cougars need this one, as bad as any team has needed a victory over Memphis since UAB on March 2, 2006. And coincidentally, that was the last time the Tigers lost a Conference USA game, helping the Blazers earn an NCAA at-large bid. "They're desperate," Tigers coach John Calipari said. "Any time you play a desperate team, they're not going away. You get a 10-point lead, they're not going away. You get a 20-point lead, the way they shoot the ball, they'll make three 3-pointers and all the sudden it's 11 and the crowd's going nuts. "So we understand. I'm excited about going down there and playing a team I know, if we're not ready, we lose." The situation for Houston, at this point in the season, is fairly clear-cut. At No. 76 in the Ratings Percentage Index as of Monday, the Cougars (15-3) have a lot of ground to make up with the selection committee. Despite beating Kentucky on Dec. 18, their best RPI win was Marist (No. 86). Earlier this month, the Cougars lost key games against Massachusetts and Arizona; winning those two would have put them in prime position for their first NCAA bid since 1992. And since C-USA won't afford Houston any other opportunities for quality wins, it's pretty much down to beating Memphis or using the rest of the season to prepare for the league tournament. "I just know that if we can beat Memphis once and win over 20 games, we've got a great chance to make the tournament, there's no question about that," Penders said. "But I don't make it a big deal." But it is a big deal, especially for a Houston team that has played Memphis competitively each time but lost the last five meetings by an average of 11.2 points. With so much on the line for Houston, tonight would be a logical time for the Cougars to break through. "It's tough; they play us hard," sophomore Doneal Mack said. "They're going to play hard for 40 minutes trying to win. We're No. 1, and we know Houston has always played us tough. We just go in and try to make it tough for 40 minutes. All we care about is winning right now." Though Penders is well aware of the opportunity tonight, he's not banking on a win over Memphis to get into the NCAA mix. He thinks a strong second-place finish in C-USA might do it, especially if the Cougars play well toward the end of the year and get to the tournament championship game. His rationale is that Memphis would "terrorize any league" and might go unbeaten in most of them. So Penders hopes his team can simply let it fly tonight and hope for the best. "As I told them, if this is Xs and Os, I might as well go home," Penders said. "This is about having fun and going out and having an opportunity to play a great basketball team. We have five seniors, and they all know. You have to be careful not to scare your team, in my opinion. That's my experience, and I've had many opportunities to coach against some great teams, and the worst thing you can do is fill their heads with stuff like Chris Douglas-Roberts shooting 50 percent from three. So you can't give him a three, but you can't let him drive. You can go bananas with that stuff." Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.

01/30/08		Tigers vs. Cougars preview (Commercial Appeal)
		Matchup to watch Robert Dozier vs. Dion Dowell After playing the best ball of his career for a stretch, Dozier is coming off a poor week in which he went 1-for-12 from the field and scored just seven total points in two games. He'll have to match up against another long wing player in Dowell, who is looking for redemption after going 3-for-13 from the field in three games with Memphis last season. Dowell shoots the 3-pointer well so Dozier will have to wander out to the perimeter more often than usual. Catching up with the Tigers With a win tonight, Memphis would tie the best start in a school history at 20-0, last accomplished by the 1985-86 team. Memphis is also trying to complete a second straight perfect January. The Tigers went 8-0 last January, and they are 8-0 since the start of 2008. ... Junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts can pass a slew of players on the all-time scoring list tonight. Currently 30th with 1,141 points, he needs just 14 points to move up to 25th, past James Douglas, Jeremy Hunt, Phil Hodson, Ronnie Robinson and Otis Jackson. ... Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose were two of 30 collegiate players named to the 2008 Naismith Trophy Mid-Season List, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club announced Tuesday. Douglas-Roberts and Rose were selected to the Wooden Award Mid-Season List earlier this week. ... In conference play, Memphis is out-rebounding opponents by 9.4 boards per game. Joey Dorsey is averaging 11.8 rebounds, and Robert Dozier is pulling in 9.0 rebounds since the league schedule began. ... Sophomore guard Willie Kemp has played just six minutes total the last two games, by far his lowest of the season. In road games, he is 2-for-13 from the field. ... Memphis won, 79-69, at Hofheinz Pavilion last Jan. 11. The Tigers made 10-of-16 from 3-point range and 30-of-50 field goals overall. Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points to lead four players in double-figures. Introducing the Cougars Houston has won four straight games, all in league play, since dropping two in a row to Massachusetts and Arizona. The Cougars won 10 straight games earlier this season and rank 76th in the RPI, second-best in C-USA. The Cougars' only home loss was to Arizona, 85-71, on Jan. 12. ... Houston has attempted 513 shots from 3-point range this year, nearly half of its total (1,134). The Cougars shoot 35.3 percent from the arc, with Kelvin Lewis (41.8 percent) and Dion Dowell (41.7) the top threats. ... Robert "Fluff" McKiver, a member of the all-C-USA first team last season, is shooting 37.1 percent from the 3-point line and leads the league in steals (1.8 per game). ... Houston is the league's best free-throw shooting team at 75.4 percent and is second to Memphis in total offense at 78.6 points per game. ... Houston is improved defensively, ranking fifth in C-USA in defensive field goal percentage (41.0) and second in steals (8.9). ... Point guard Lanny Smith, who sat out last year with a foot injury, is fourth in the league in assists at 4.8 per game and second in free-throw percentage (84.6). -- Dan Wolken

01/30/08		Patriots kicker on Super stage thanks to childhood chum (Commercial Appeal)
		GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Miss Nevada wanted a picture. Now, some of you might be wondering what Miss Nevada was doing at Super Bowl media day. If so, you have never been to Super Bowl media day. A reporter from TV Azteca wore a wedding gown to the event and asked seven different New York Giants to marry her. A reporter from Telemundo came dressed as a fortune teller. So why wouldn't Miss Nevada want a picture with Stephen Gostkowski? And why wouldn't Gostkowski unblinkingly oblige? "I see your last name is Gostkowski," she said. "I bet that's Polish." Miss Nevada is plainly a whiz. "My last name is Grabowski," she said. "Ahhhh," said Gostkowski. So we were witnessing a rare Grabowski-Gostkowski exchange. "Well, thanks!" she said. "Thank you," he said. She pranced off. He shook his head. "This is pretty wild," he said. * * * Shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, the New England Patriots will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII and try to make history. They could go 19-0. They could establish themselves as one of the greatest teams of all time. If the game goes anything like the Patriots' previous three Super Bowl wins -- all decided by three points -- the outcome could be determined by the right foot of Gostkowski, the former Memphis Tiger, and even he can't quite believe it. "Not in my wildest dreams," he said. Think about the history of kickers in Super Bowls; they've been responsible for some of the most memorable moments in the games. Jim O'Brien, winning the game for the Colts. Garo Yepremian, trying to throw a pass. Adam Vinatieri, unerring for the Pats. Scott Norwood, missing wide right. The Gostkowski family remembers that last one, especially. They lived in Buffalo back then. "My dad was mad," said Gostkowski. Of course he was. "But I don't think about that," said Gostkowski. "I'm lucky to be here." Gostkowski doesn't just throw that out to be cliche, either; the guy really does think he's lucky to be here. What if he hadn't sat next to a boy named John Skelton in elementary school the year his family moved from Buffalo to Madison, Miss.? What if he and Skelton hadn't become best pals? What if Skelton hadn't tried out for kicker in ninth grade? What if Gostkwoski hadn't figured, gee, I can do that? "He wouldn't be in the Super Bowl," said Skelton, laughing, on the phone back in Mississippi. "You can write that down. I can guarantee you he wouldn't be in the Super Bowl because he wouldn't have tried out at all." Skelton said Gostkowski didn't even like football, really. He preferred baseball. But he liked the attention Skelton was getting for kicking the ball a long way. "He came out, and we both made varsity," said Skelton. "But John did all the kicking that year," said Cindy Gostkowski, Stephen's mom. "I don't think Stephen kicked a single field goal." Which is when luck intervened again, this time in the form of a broken bone. Skelton smashed his foot right before sophomore year. Gostkowski had to handle the entire job. "He figured a lot out that year," said Skelton. "He got a lot better." Even then, Gostkowski had to split duties when Skelton returned. He had the bigger leg; Skelton was more accurate. "We pretty much split the kicks," Gostkowski said. Big schools never came through with scholarships. Disillusioned, Gostkowski wanted to give up football. But then Dave Anderson, then the baseball coach at Memphis, told Gostkowski he could come to Memphis and do both. "We persuaded him to keep at it," said Cindy. See how this luck thing operates? "It's worked out pretty well," she said. Ya think? Gostkowski had a magnificent career at Memphis. The Patriots -- having just lost Vinatieri to free agency -- drafted Gostkowski in the fourth round. So less than two years after he finished at Memphis, Gostkowski was standing on the field at the Super Bowl stadium, posing for pictures with Miss Nevada, and answering the three questions everyone wanted to ask. "Let's see," he said. "They want to know what it's like replacing Adam Vinatieri. And how I feel about kicking in a Super Bowl. And whether I watched (Giants kicker) Lawrence Tynes." It was remarkable to watch, really. Almost every reporter asked these exact questions. Only the order changed. And the phrasing. Some were at least self-effacing about it. "So, how many times have you been asked about kicking pressure kicks in the Super Bowl?" said Len Berman, a television reporter from New York. "About 1,000," Gostkowski said. "What did you tell the first 999?" said Berman. "I told them I take it one kick at a time." Just for the record, Gostkowski wasn't paying attention when Tynes was kicking. And he doesn't think about Vinatieri and has only met him once or twice before games. Gostkowski did admit to entertaining a Super Bowl fantasy from time to time. It involves the game's opening kickoff. "I'm running to the ball," he said. "And all the flashbulbs start going off and I just stop." Psyche. "So everybody has to do it all again." Well, it would be funny, wouldn't it? Right about then, a reporter from Japan wandered up. Gostkowski got a lot of attention from the international press. "I'm a kicker," he said, "they must think I'm more like them." Yes, but how much did he know about Japan? The reporter wanted to administer a quiz. Gostkowski said he'd do his best. "What's the capital of Japan?" "Tokyo." (Correct!) "Who is the most famous Japanese person you know? "Daisuke Matsuzaka." (No wrong answer to that one). Who is the prime minister of Japan? The reporter offered three choices. Gostkowski nailed it, straight through the uprights, like a game-winning kick in the Super ... "I really don't think about that," said Gostkowski. "I just want to win." You could say that he already has. To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or e-mail calkins@commercialappeal.com

01/30/08		Big year for kicker includes spring nuptials (Commercial Appeal)
		By Geoff Calkins (Contact) Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Win or lose Sunday, Stephen Gostkowski is going to be getting a ring. On April 19, he'll be back in Memphis to marry Hallie Swearingen, whom he met when he played for the Tigers. "I met her in anatomy class," said Gostkowski. Go ahead, insert anatomy joke here. Gostkowski flew back to Memphis last spring and took Swearingen out for a picnic. "She thought I was going to ask her then," Gostkowski said. Nope. The surprise was waiting back at her house. "We opened up the garage door and there was a big banner that said, 'Hallie will you marry me?'" Gostkowski said. She said "yes." He said "great." So this could be a big year. A Super Bowl and a wedding. Oh, and maybe something else. "I'm hoping Memphis can make it to the Final Four," he said. -- Geoff Calkins

01/30/08		Mayor OK with Liberty Bowl upgrade; now eyes conventions (Commercial Appeal)
		By Jacinthia Jones (Contact) Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton told a Rotary Club of Memphis audience Tuesday that he has dropped plans for a new football stadium and now favors upgrading the current one. A better economic move for the city overall, Herenton said, is to build a new convention center or expand Memphis Cook Convention Center. "I have listened to a large segment of the population of Memphis," he said. "I have heard you and to build a new stadium is not in the best interest according to the sentiments that I'm getting from the Memphis community." The mayor didn't offer any financial projections for either project, except to say that the city will invest "heavily" to upgrade the Liberty Bowl, including renovated restrooms, locker rooms and the media center. Herenton said the city is still awaiting word from the federal government about how much it will cost to bring the 44-year-old fairgrounds stadium into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said plans for the convention center are still in the "exploration stage." On New Year's Day 2007, Herenton pitched the idea of a new stadium over "wasting $50million" to modernize the Liberty Bowl and tear down the Mid-South Coliseum. Projections for a new stadium had ranged from $150 million to $180 million to seat 45,000 to 50,000. Herenton said his stadium suggestion initiated "healthy" community debate, but now he hopes that revised plans to upgrade the stadium will put to bed talk of building a facility on the University of Memphis campus. "I started this. I got (University of Memphis president) Dr. (Shirley) Raines in this trouble and today I want to get her out of it," he said. But that debate isn't likely to die anytime soon. University booster Harold Byrd, a chief proponent for a campus stadium, said he's waiting for the results of feasibility study that's expected to be completed next month. "If the results of that feasibility study come back and say it's feasible for the university to put a stadium on campus, then that puts the university in the position of answering the question: If the University of Central Florida and the University of Louisville can do it -- and it does not interfere with their academic programs -- why can't we do it?" But Byrd, who didn't attend the Rotary speech, wondered whether new talk of upgrading the stadium would lead the city to hold the university "hostage" to the Liberty Bowl by forcing the school to sign a long-term lease agreement. Memphis City Councilman Scott McCormick said he liked what he heard Tuesday from Herenton. But, he said, if the UofM decides that it's feasible to build its own stadium, "then I think we should abandon plans to renovate and exit the stadium business." However, the mayor's call for a new convention center or expanding the current Memphis Cook Convention Center is a "totally different story," McCormick said. "You can book a convention center every day. That could be a big money-making thing," he said. Herenton said more convention space, along with a new 1,000-room hotel, is necessary for the city to compete for tourism convention business. Now, the city's largest hotel is the adjacent 600-room Marriott. He said he'll appoint a committee within 30 days to study the issue, adding that officials already have located some "great sites" near Downtown. The convention center was renovated at a cost of $92 million just five years ago -- two years behind schedule at nearly double the original cost estimate. The project included construction of the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, as well as a new exhibition hall, ballroom, kitchen facilities and meeting rooms. The city hosted about a dozen conventions and trade shows a year before the renovation, facilities general manager Pierre Landaiche III said. Now, that's almost tripled, he said, generating a $70 million economic impact to the city in hotel stays and other revenue. "That's money coming into the city. That's not locals turning money over." -- Jacinthia Jones: 529-2780 Changed plans Bowing to public sentiment, Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton now favors renovating Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium instead of building a new stadium. The mayor also advocates building a new convention center or expanding Memphis Cook Convention Center. He'll appoint a committee in 30 days to study the issue. "I have listened to a large segment of the population of Memphis. I have heard you and to build a new stadium is not in the best interest according to the sentiments that I'm getting from the Memphis community." Willie Herenton, Memphis mayor

01/30/08		Cohen gets Bush to sign Tigers cap (Commercial Appeal)
		By Bartholomew Sullivan (Contact) Wednesday, January 30, 2008 WASHINGTON -- President Bush talked Tiger basketball Monday night. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., called The Commercial Appeal just before midnight Monday night to report that he had persuaded President Bush to sign a white Memphis Tigers basketball cap. On PBS, the exchange of words as the president left the House chamber after delivering his State of the Union address was partially obscured, but it was clear that Cohen told the President that the Tigers are the No. 1 team in the country at the moment and that they are playing Houston tonight. Cohen said the President said, "Yeah, you all have a great team" and that Houston wouldn't beat them. Cohen said he originally received the hat as a gift from Steve Meacham (Tigers 1979-80) and he'll give the hat to Calipari when he returns to Memphis. Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan can be reached at (202) 408-2726. Coach Cal's response As soon as he left the House chamber after listening to President Bush's State of the Union speech, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen checked his voicemail and heard a message from University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari. Cohen shared Calipari's reply from his voicemail Tuesday morning. Calipari's message: "Congressman! John Calipari. I saw it all. Showed him the hat. 'Our team's No. 1. Get that right. Who we play next: Houston. They could beat us. They shoot threes.' He turns back and says, 'They're not going to beat ya.' Lovely. Lovely. You're the best. Nobody represents us better than you. Cal."

01/30/08		College basketball: Memphis' Calipari trying to learn from Pats (Jackson Sun)
		The Associated Press MEMPHIS - John Calipari wanted to clear something up Tuesday. No, the Memphis coach is not trying to compare his undefeated and top-ranked Tigers to the New England Patriots. That doesn't mean he's not watching and studying the Patriots' chase of perfection hoping to pick up some tips. "We're not trying to compare ourselves. Come on. They're the Patriots. They have won world championships, they've got Tom Brady, and they've got one of the best football minds and coaches, maybe one of the best ever," Calipari said Tuesday during a conference call. "So, no, were not comparing to the Patriots, but what a great lesson to learn from. There are great things that they have done. The Patriots (18-0) are trying to become the first NFL team to win 19 straight games and a Super Bowl title Sunday against the New York Giants. Calipari's Tigers (19-0) are one of only two undefeated Division I teams with No. 2 Kansas the other, and Memphis is enjoying only the second No. 1 ranking in school history. Calipari cited NFL MVP Tom Brady's talk of the Patriots' true friendship and linebacker Junior Seau discussing how they focus on issues that really matter. "We're watching real closely but it's just to learn. And whether we go undefeated or not, I'd still be watching closely, to learn from what they are doing," Calipari said. Memphis visits Houston (15-3, 4-0) tonight in a game expected to be the Tigers' toughest road challenge in Conference USA. The last Division I team to go undefeated was Indiana in 1976, and Calipari said his Massachusetts team that reached the Final Four felt the pressure of trying to go undefeated in winning its first 26 before losing. He said he wasn't sure that team could have gotten to the Final Four without losing. Calipari said his current team is different. "The only time we'll worry about another undefeated season is on April 7," Calipari said, referring to the day of the national title game. "If we're undefeated at the time, we are all going to be really happy."

01/30/08		Tigers travel to hostile Houston (Daily Helmsman)
		By: Shari Lofton Sports Editor Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: Sports The biggest criticism of the Memphis Tigers (19-0, 5-0 Conference USA) so far this season has been that they have not really been tested on the road. Despite winning a hard-fought contest in Cincinnati and beating USC and Connecticut in Madison Square Garden, Tiger haters on almost every forum have said Memphis hasn't won tough games on the road. However, that is expected to change tonight when the Tigers face the No. 2 team in C-USA on one of the more hostile home courts in the league. "For a team to beat us, I think the first thing is that they have to believe they can," said Coach John Calipari. "And (Houston) does. Houston (15-3, 4-0 C-USA) gave us great games last year. They got up on us in both games. They make deep shots. They make unbelievably bad shots, and they have the free reign to shoot those balls. "It's going to be a packed house and their biggest crowd of the year, and it's going to be an interesting game. We know it's going to be a challenge because they don't play conventional defense. We may not run a single play the whole game." Calipari said he doesn't really know what kind of defense the Cougars will use against them. Last season, Houston ran a conventional, man-to-man defense, but the Cougars have yet to use that defense against any other opponents so this season. "If they run a trap, you throw it to somebody, and they score the ball," he said. "That may be the game. If you're not used to playing that way, that's not easy. We'll try to simulate those things in practice, but you can't play these guys in the locker room, or else they'll score 100." The Cougars have won four of their last five games. This streak includes four straight wins against conference foes. The Cougars last lost to Arizona 85-71. The Cougars are led by top scorers and senior guard duo Rob McKiver and Dion Dowell. McKiver averages 19.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while Dowell averages 12.4 points and 7.6 boards a game. The Cougars will also have the services of senior Lanny Smith, who was out all but four games last season with a foot injury. Thanks to a new NCAA provision, Smith received a medical waiver to play a fifth season with the Cougars and now leads the team with 82 assists on the year. "Lanny Smith has always played well against us," Calipari said. "Their big guy is pretty good, and he wasn't as effective a year ago. They've added some other kids that can shoot the three. They're a deeper team, a better team than they were a year ago." Last season, the Tigers defeated the Cougars twice. In January, Memphis won at Houston 79-69. In February, the Tigers won 77-64. If the Tigers beat Houston tomorrow, that would make their record 6-0 against teams in the top 100 of the RPI. The Tigers are currently second in the RPI, 0.0127 points behind RPI No. 1 Tennessee and Houston is No. 74, with marquee games against Marist, Kentucky and Arizona. Though they have maintained the national No. 1 ranking for a second straight week, the Tigers said that even with a No. 1 next to their name, paranoia and pressure are not factors when it comes to day-to-day preparation. "Regardless of who we play or the situation, we go out and prepare the same way," said Memphis guard Antonio Anderson. "We want to win every game we play. We're trying to, but into what anybody else says except the guy behind me (Calipari). If a loss comes, then it comes. There's nothing to it but to just play the way we've been playing." Following the Tigers' win over Gonzaga Saturday, ESPN's Pat Forte wrote that Calipari was paranoid when it came to other teams waiting for them and watching them just to lose, and that this paranoia has worn off on his team. However, Calipari did not see it that way at all. He said that there is a fine line between paranoia and the truth. "I'm not paranoid, I'm pragmatic," Calipari said. "I think you all know that I tell the truth. And I know there were some people who came to that (Gonzaga) game to see us lose. Now those people are calling me paranoid. I'm just excited going down there and playing a team that I know if we're not prepared to play, we will lose. "(Houston) is desperate. They're in a desperation mode. Anytime you play a desperate team, they're not going away. If you get a 10-point lead, they're not going away. If you get a 20 point lead, they shoot three threes, it's down to 11 and the crowd is going crazy. They say I'm paranoid, okay I'm paranoid." Paranoid or not, the Tigers will tip-off in Houston at 7 p.m. on CSTV in front of what will almost certainly be a sold-out Hofheinz Pavilion. However, for the Tigers, this will be the norm from here on as arenas will sell out with the hopes of watching their team take down the No. 1 team in the country. "We're not really worried about that," sophomore guard Doneal Mack said. "We know that they're going to make it tough for us for 40 minutes, but we just want to win. All we care about right now is winning. I'll always think of us as No. 1, but we can't let the hype get to us. We have to take it one game at a time."

01/30/08		Herenton pulls the plug (Daily Helmsman)
		By: Mikea James and Nikki Bussey Issue date: 1/30/08 Section: News While The University is paying a firm $131,380 to explore the possibility of an on-campus stadium, Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton said the city should give The Liberty Bowl a facelift. At a Rotary Club meeting Tuesday, Herenton said the city plans to renovate The Liberty Bowl, and he hopes this will put the on-campus stadium debate to rest. "To build a new stadium is not in the best interests (of the city), according to the sentiments I'm getting from the Memphis community," Herenton said. This change in position comes more than a year after the mayor's January 2007 announcement that the city was considering the construction of a new football stadium to replace the aging Liberty Bowl. His remarks last year sparked a debate on the possibility of an on-campus stadium. The biggest push for a stadium on campus came from a group of University supporters - most notably, banker Harold Byrd. After weeks of questioning the need for a new stadium, U of M President Shirley Raines started singing a different tune as public fervor for the project grew. Raines then became silent on the issue and hired someone else to do the talking. Enter Heery International, an Atlanta-based consulting firm brought in to conduct a feasibility study on the issue. The $131,380 study, which began Dec. 21, should be completed by Feb. 15. The University Foundation paid the bill and is still raising private donations to cover the cost, said Bill Lansden of The University athletic department. Bob Winn, associate director of external affairs for the athletic department, said that despite Herenton's announcement, The University will complete the study. "We've already started a work in progress that we want to see come to fruition. Of course, we'll still have to pay for it, so we're going to wait until the conclusion of the feasibility study in February," Winn said. Heery International was selected from a pool of six firms to perform the study. But they weren't the lowest bid. According to University records, estimates for the study ranged from $92,500 to $145, 222. Heery was the third most expensive applicant of the six. Barrett Sports Group was the least expensive at $92, 500. Lansden said that they chose Heery to conduct the study because of their experience and the quality of their proposal to administrators. "It was unanimous that Heery gave the best presentation," Lansden said. "Heery's track record, obviously, is very impressive. That was one of the things that was discussed in the meetings." Heery contributed to planning and design for the 20,000-seat expansion of The University of Arkansas Razorback Stadium between 1998 and 2001. The company also contributed to renovation and expansion at the University of Texas at Austin Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. One of the researchers not selected, Brailsford and Dunlavey, is currently working with The U of M on The University Center replacement project. Athletic Director RC Johnson was not available for comment Tuesday afternoon. Following Herenton's announcement, Alexie Akah, a sophomore accounting major, said the money spent on the feasibility study should have never happened. "Honestly, I thought the feasibility study was a waste of money," Akah said. "It's a nice stadium. I don't think we should have a new stadium." Other students seemed disappointed when they heard Herenton had changed the stadium plans. "New is always better," Ronnie Byrd, an exercise science major said. "You could look at it as a whole new beginning as far as the program goes." Several students expressed a desire to simply improve The Liberty Bowl. "It seems like any time there is major construction, our tuition goes up," said Rhamella Pierce, a graphic arts and communications major. "It's better to update than to rebuild a new one. It's a waste of money. If they did, the old one would sit there just like the Pyramid." Lansden, who is the University official responsible for questions concerning the issue, said researchers are examining possible funding sources, for an on-campus stadium. In the event that a stadium ever is built on campus, Lansden said funding will most likely be supplied by outside sources and will not come from students. But some students expressed concern over the amount of money Memphis has spent on stadium projects in the past. Tim Morgan, foreign language major, said he thinks the City of Memphis should spend money more carefully. "Memphis is broke. We have lots of uneducated folks ... Money should go more to something we use," Morgan said. "We act like we always need the newest thing. Herenton keeps spending money on stuff he wants. We don't need a new one. I mean, the Pyramid sits there collecting dust, roaches, and (stuff)."

01/29/08		Just when I thought nothing could get me upset (Memphis Edge)
		Posted by John Stacy, Tiger fan blogger Then I see where some stupid students have put their guest tickets up for sale on EBay. This is an atrocity. The guest tickets are sold so you can take your friends to games. They are for you to take family members to games. The student has to have some dignity about them to do just that. That section isn�t for scalpers. It should be filled with Tigers. And there were students who didn�t get to buy guest tickets because slimeballs like that used the privilege to scalp them. I�ll give you a little history on guest tickets from my personal experiences with them. When I was a kid my Dad wanted to take me to a Memphis football game. He was a retired Marine attending MSU at the time. So he goes up to the ticket office and says he wants to buy a �date ticket� for his son to attend the Tigers-Mississippi football game. Well, they refused to sell it because his son couldn�t be his �date.� He fought this all the way to the President. And from then on they were called �guest tickets.� When I was in school. I used guest tickets to take family and friends to games. We weren�t allowed to buy more than one. So if I wanted to take two family members I had to get another student to buy one for me. But never did we ever consider selling those tickets. Now I see on EBay where students are selling them to the highest bidder. This should result in the student�s loss of the privilege to purchase guest tickets. That�s right it is a privilege not a right to buy these tickets. The reason they are there is for you bring people you know to the games with you. With that said the policy regarding these tickets needs to be changed. Every guest ticket should be sold to a student ID. That student ID must be presented with the ticket for entry into the game. The first student/guest pairs will be allowed to both sit in the lower bowl. After that both student and guest must sit up top. In the event you or the guest can�t attend the game you must return the ticket. You will be refunded and the ticket can be resold to someone that will use it. Sorry if you don�t like that, but tough. And finally, any student who has abused this privilege needs to be ashamed of themselves. You are given a gift and you use it for all the wrong reasons. I am ashamed to consider you a member of the same school that I love so much.

01/29/08		Douglas-Roberts, Rose Named To Naismith Trophy Mid-Season List -- Both players were also selected to the Wooden Award list earlier this week (GoTigersGo.com)
		ATLANTA, Ga. - University of Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose were two of 30 collegiate players from across the country named to the 2008 Naismith Trophy Mid-Season List, the Atlanta Tip-Off Club announced Tuesday. The Naismith Trophy has been given to the nation's top collegiate player since 1969. Douglas-Roberts and Rose were selected to the 2008 John R. Wooden Award Mid-Season List earlier this week. Memphis is one of five schools with at least two players on the Naismith Trophy Mid-Season List. The other four schools were Indiana (D.J. White and Eric Gordon), North Carolina (Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson), Texas (A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin) and UCLA (Kevin Love and Josh Shipp). Beginning Feb. 9, CBS Sports "AT&T At The Half" will feature a candidate each week. On Mar. 23, CBS will announce the four Naismith Trophy finalists, and the 2008 Naismith Trophy recipient will be announced Apr. 6 during the NCAA Final Four. Fans will be able to cast their vote until Apr. 5. For more information on the Naismith Trophy and how to vote, go to www.naismithawards.com. The 2007-08 Conference USA preseason Player of the Year, Douglas-Roberts leads the Tigers in scoring with a 16.8 average. He also averages 4.6 boards and is shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line. The Detroit, Mich., native became the 43rd Tiger in the program's history to score 1,000 points in a career earlier this year, and is in the No. 30 spot on the Memphis all-time scoring list with 1,141 points. The 6-foot-7 guard ranks among the Conference USA leaders in scoring (6th), field goal percentage (7th) and three-point field goal percentage (1st). Douglas-Roberts earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors twice earlier this season. Rose is second on the team with a 14.3 scoring average and leads the squad with 84 assists (4.4 apg). The 6-foot-3 guard also averages 4.1 boards per game and shoots 48.5 percent from the floor and 68 percent from the free throw line. Rose is ranked among Conference USA leaders in scoring (8th), field goal percentage (13th), assists (5th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (11th). The Chicago, Ill., native also is a nominee for the 2007-08 Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard. In mid-December, Rose earned his first C-USA Player of the Week honor. The Tigers (19-0, 5-0 C-USA), ranked No. 1 in both national polls, return to action Wednesday, Jan. 30 when they travel to Houston to take on the Cougars (15-3, 4-0 C-USA). The game, to be televised by CSTV (Memphis Comcast digital cable 222), is slated for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) start.

01/29/08		Memphis Head Coach John Calipari Teleconference Quotes -- January 29, 2007 Teleconference (GoTigersGo.com)
		Opening Comments We're still standing I guess to say and the guys are working hard and trying. They are trying to see how they are going to get better and focus on what we're trying to do. It's been a good run. The game with Gonzaga, my team walked off the court and said that's a Top 20 team easy. What I told them before the game is what happened. If you make a mistake against a good team, they are going to make baskets, and Gonzaga did. Jeremy Pargo and the other guys, they're terrific players. I would expect that team to make another run in the NCAA Tournament like they have the past few years. Have you guys thought about going undefeated next season? Well first of all, the only time we'll worry about another undefeated season is on April 7. If we're undefeated at the time, we are all going to all really be really happy. Two years ago Florida lost four straight games and went on to win the national title. So, winning every game is not what we are trying to do. We're trying to win a national title. Now the reason it's harder is if you look back at it, their run in the NCAA Tournament was shorter because there wasn't as many teams in there. And I think they did some home sites, I can't remember exactly. But the parity right now in college basketball to have a team like Coach Knight had, which I believe all five starters were first round draft picks. Nowadays what happens is, if a kid is that good, he does not stay and I don't care if he's at North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky; if he's good enough, he's going to leave. For you to have five first round draft picks, it was unusual that Billy (Donovan) got those guys to stay in Florida. It was just an unusual thing because three of them could have left, and there would have never been a back-to-back. So the dynamics of that have changed. Another thing is the media tension that everything has changed. When we were at UMass and we started winning those games my last year that we won our first 26, I can't begin to tell you the pressure that our team was under and our staff was under to try to keep winning games. When we lost it was like a relief, and then we went on to the Final Four, because of that loss. I am not sure we could have gotten to a Final Four without that loss. But this team is different. We won 25 straight last year. On the Patriots attempting to go undefeated I'm following it closely, you know what was funny, somebody told me that the New York tabloids said that I'm comparing us to the Patriots, and they like to do that to me. I never would do that. What we're doing is trying to learn from what we're doing. We're not trying to compare ourselves. Come on. They're the Patriots. They have won world championships, they've got Tom Brady, and they've got one of the best football minds and coaches, maybe one of the best ever. So, no, were not comparing to the Patriots, but what a great lesson to learn from. There are great things that they have done. One. Truly, truly a bunch of good guys, and Tom Brady said, his statement was, `The reason we're better this year is friendship. There's true friendship amongst this team,' which means there's a respect and love that he can feel, that everybody's got each others back and that they are truly pulling one way. To have that in a team is very, very unusual. The second thing they talk about, Junior Seau, said. That `major in the major and we minor in the minor here in New England.' What he is saying is if something's not real important, we don't dwell on it. If someone is telling their opinion, so what, if someone is wants to say that were not this or were that or the only reason we're this is that. So what, why does that matter, major in the important things. The most important things are the things that we focus on in here. So I talk to our team, because there are many experts out there saying that our team is not that good. Now, some of them come back and say, `O, well you're good, you're just not as good as this team, that team, that team and Cal you're being paranoid. No, I'm not, I'm just telling the truth. If they weren't in that league and they were this and that and their schedule. You know, but those are all minor things. Who cares, who cares. I have never tried to make it us against the world; I've never coached that way, because the physiology between that and fear is very, very close. Then you start being a fearful team, and I don't want us to be a fearful team. We want to be unleashed and be an aggressive team that's a confident team. We're watching real closely but it's just to learn. And whether we go undefeated or not, I'd still be watching closely, to learn from what they are doing. The biggest thing is that we are swarming. Our team defense has been really good. There are times that our individual defense has been lacking, but our team defense has been so good it's made us more aggressive, where players are not afraid to take chances and go after people because they know other players have their back, so when you look at our field goal percentage. Defense. When you look at our steals, blocked shots, rebounds and rebound margins it's all really good. And that is why we are what we are. Yes, we have an offense that makes people play defense different. In other words, a lot of teams are not going to play their normal man-to-man. They just won't. If they play a man-to-man they are going to play it different, or they're just going to play zone. We play Houston coming up. They play a lot of zone and they're trapping and they're scrambling and they're doing stuff. They may do that against us, but we're really big and we can really finish so maybe he (Tom Penders) doesn't want to take those chances. They played us pretty good man-to-man in the past so he may want to do that. We just have to be ready for whatever anybody throws at us, from triangle and two, which is what USC threw at us and kind of stunned us earlier in the year, to 1-3-1, 2-3, 3-2, two man zone, one man zone we've seen just about everything. One of the things that we try to work with him (Derrick Rose) on is, he's so fast, but we wanted him to be very, very fast, but imbalanced. Play fast, but don't be in a hurry. Play fast, but be in control of you and what's happening on the court. And so we work really hard in pre-practice stuff, doing things that are very, very high level intensity and forcing him to be imbalance and controlled. Now the biggest thing I'm going to tell you is he's getting more comfortable playing and more comfortable being aggressive offensively. Yet, he's still a point guard that tries to get everyone involved. He really cares about how people on the court feel. If someone gets it going, he's going to be the first to congratulate them. And more importantly his will to win is enormous.

01/29/08		Abrahamsen Earns Track and Field Athlete of the Week -- A new school record and a NCAA qualifying mark earn Abrahamsen C-USA honors (GoTigersGo.com)
		IRVING, Texas - University of Memphis track and field stand out, Charlotte Abrahamsen was named Conference USA Female Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week. This is Abrahamsen's first honor, as she is the second Tiger in row honored by the conference. She broke the school indoor pentathlon record over the weekend and qualified for the NCAA's. She is the first Memphis female to be honored by C-USA this season and the second freshman. Abrahamsen won the women's pentathlon at the Arkansas State Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark. Her point total of 3,858 was an NCAA provisional mark and a new school record and ranks her at third in the nation. She also went on to place third in both the high jump and shot put the following day. Abrahamsen jumped 1.63 meters (5-04.25) in the high jump and threw 14.34 meters (47-00.75) in the shot. She ranks second and third, respectively, in Conference USA in both events.

01/29/08		Narasimhan Named C-USA Player of the Week -- Senior earns second career honor (GoTigersGo.com)
		DALLAS - - Senior men's tennis player Amrit Narasimhan (Richmond, Texas/William P. Clements/Tyler JC) was named the Conference USA men's tennis player of the week by the league office on Tuesday. The honor is the second of Narasimhan's two-year Tiger tennis career and the first for the 2007-08 season. Narasimhan was the 2006-07 C-USA Newcomer of the Year last year and was a second team All-C-USA honoree. Narasimhan was 2-0 at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles while helping Memphis to a 2-0 record to start the spring over the weekend. He defeated Austin Peay's Lucas de Brito and UT Martin's Andre Yesipov in straight sets, and teamed with sophomore Charlie Ramsay for wins over Leandro Tolosa-Zenklusen/Leonardo Locatelli of APSU and Andrew Yesipov/Stephan Bruwer of UT Martin. Memphis' 2-0 start is its best start since 2005-06. The Tigers will put their undefeated mark on the line Thursday morning at 11 a.m. by hosting Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are 1-1 on the season, having defeated Prairie View A&M, 6-1, before falling to No. 4 Baylor, 7-0. In the Baylor match, No. 2 singles player Vladimir Paunic took the No. 10 ranked singles player, Denes Lukacs, all the way to 7-5 in a first set loss, while No. 3 singles player Ondrej Krivka faced No. 80 ranked David Galic in a straight set loss. The Thursday morning match will be played at WellWorx Fitness Center at 6161 Shelby Oaks Drive.

01/29/08		Women's Tennis To Open Road Schedule Wednesday at UALR -- Memphis looking to snap nine-match losing streak to Trojans (GoTigersGo.com)
		MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - The University of Memphis women's tennis team (1-0) will open its 2008 road schedule Wednesday at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2-1), at 11 a.m. Memphis is coming off a 5-2 win over UT Martin on Sunday, and the UALR road match will be the only match of the next four that the Lady Tigers will play away from the Bluff City. The Lady Tigers will host Southern Illinois next Friday, Samford next Saturday and Rhodes College Sunday. The Lady Tigers have some experience against UALR from earlier this season, as the Trojans competed in the fall-ending Lady Tiger Classic back in November. The Trojans bring a young roster in to the Wednesday meeting, with just one senior, Laetitia Bourgeon, who won the Division I singles title at the Memphis fall tournament. Bourgeon is 2-1 at No. 1 singles so far this season, having won two straight matches after losing her season-opening match at C-USA foe Tulsa to begin the spring. Sophomore Patricia Cortes has played three matches at No. 2 singles for UALR, but has only gotten to finish one match, winning 6-1, 6-1, in a match against Central Arkansas. Freshman Anne Weijenborg has played the No. 3 singles spot in the last two matches, while junior Marta Gomez-Jordana opened the spring playing at the No. 3 spot before moving to the No. 4 spot in the last two matches. Freshman Rebecca Van Den Houte played that first match at No. 4, but has played No. 5 singles in the last two matches. Freshman Nathalia Garay is 2-1 at the No. 6 singles spot, carrying a two-match winning streak in to Wednesday's match-up, and was the Division 4 singles title at the Memphis fall tournament in November. With just six players on the roster, UALR was short-handed in the season-opener at Tulsa, but has fielded three doubles teams in each of the last two matches. The duo of Bourgeon and Jordana is 3-0 at No. 1, while the team of Van Den Houte and Weijenborg is 2-0 at No. 2. Cortes and Garay missed the first match of the year in doubles, but have won No. 3 doubles matches in the next two matches. Memphis also sports a young roster heading in to the Wednesday line-up, with no senior on the roster for Lee Taylor Walker's first season. Sophomore Amanda Brown provided the game-winning point with a straight set win at No. 1 singles on Sunday against UT Martin. Brown also teamed with junior Ekin Zafir at the No. 1 doubles slot, reuniting a tandem that won the Memphis Division II doubles titles in the fall over the No. 3 doubles team from UALR. Junior Kristin Chamberlain fell at the No. 2 singles spot against UT Martin, but teamed with Lindsey Wiseman to win the No. 3 doubles match, helping Memphis bounce back from the loss at No. 1 doubles. Sophomore Marjorie Ondeck helped secure that doubles point win for Memphis by teaming with newcomer Ashley Murdock for a deciding 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles, then helped Memphis score the final point of the match by coming back from a second set loss to win her super tiebreak at No. 3 singles, 10-8. Ondeck has a lot of big match experience for the Lady Tigers after playing the majority of last season at No. 1 singles and doubles. Ashley Murdock, a transfer from LSU in January, shook out the jitters in her first career Lady Tiger singles match, winning at No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles, while freshman Lindsey Wiseman battled at No. 5 singles, losing a first set tiebreak, then falling 6-3 after helping Memphis get its first point of the match with the doubles win at No. 3. Sophomore Dara Toulch used a straight set win at No. 6 singles to start her spring off on a winning foot and to help Memphis open its season with a 1-0 mark for the first time since 2005-06. UALR has traditionally been one of the toughest matches on the Lady Tigers' spring slate. Memphis is 1-9 against the Trojans in the last 10 matches and last defeated UALR in Little Rock, 4-3, on Feb. 6, 2003. The two teams meet home-and-home each season, and the Trojans have a nine-match winning streak against the Lady Tigers heading in to Wednesday's match.

01/29/08		Memphis Basketball Notes -- No. 1/1 Tigers to meet the Cougars in Houston on Wednesday (GoTigersGo.com)
		TOP-RANKED TIGERS TO BATTLE HOUSTON WEDNESDAY FOR C-USA TOP SPOT The University of Memphis squad (19-0, 5-0 C-USA), ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and No. 1 in ESPN/USA Today poll, takes to the road Wednesday, Jan. 30 when it travels to Houston, Texas, to meet the Cougars (15-3, 4-0 C-USA) in a Conference USA match-up. The game, to be televised by CSTV, is slated for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) start. Wednesday's game is a showdown for Conference USA's top spot, as both Memphis and Houston are the league's only two unbeaten squads in conference play. Memphis returns to the road after an 81-73 home victory over Gonzaga Jan. 26. In addition to the win over Gonzaga, the Tigers defeated East Carolina Jan. 9, Marshall Jan. 12, Rice Jan. 16, Southern Miss Jan. 23 and Tulsa Jan. 23 in C-USA play. Prior to opening league play, Memphis posted late December/early January wins over No. 5/4 Georgetown Dec. 22, No. 17/18 Arizona Dec. 29, Siena Jan. 3 and Pepperdine Jan. 5. The Cougars are on a four-game Conference USA win streak entering Wednesday's encounter. Houston defeated SMU, UTEP, Rice and Marshall in that stretch. The Cougars' last setback was a home loss to Arizona on Jan. 12. SCOUTING THE COUGARS Houston enters Wednesday's C-USA encounter with a 15-3 overall record and a perfect 4-0 conference mark. The Cougars are on a four-game win streak with victories over SMU, UTEP, Rice and Marshall. The Cougars' last setback was a home loss to Arizona on Jan. 12. The tandem of Robert McKiver (19.8 ppg) and Dion Dowell (12.4 ppg) paces the Cougar offense. Dowell leads Houston on the glass with a 7.6 rebounding average, while Tafari Toney pulls down 5.9 boards per game. Lanny Smith leads the squad with 82 assists (4.8 apg), while Dowell is tops on the team with 37 blocks. Kelvin Lewis (41.8 percent) and Dowell (41.7 percent) are the Cougars' top threats from the three-point line. Houston is shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, 35.3 percent from the arc and 75.4 percent from the foul line. Opponents are out-rebounding the Cougars by an average margin of +0.7 boards per game (38.3-39.0). BATTLE FOR EARLY LEAD IN C-USA Wednesday's game will be a battle for the top spot in the Conference USA standings. Memphis and Houston are the league's only two unbeaten teams in C-USA entering Wednesday's conference action. The Tigers are 5-0, while the Cougars are 4-0. HISTORY MADE, PART I The Tigers were ranked No. 1 in both Jan. 28 polls, marking the second-straight week they sit at the top. It is the first time Memphis stayed atop both polls for more than one week. The previous time the Tigers made it to No. 1 was in the 1982-83 campaign, and they stayed at that No. 1 position for only one week. HISTORY MADE, PART II For those in attendance at FedExForum Jan. 26, they witnessed history for the Memphis Tiger basketball program. The Tigers played their first home game as the No. 1 team in the nation in the program's history. Memphis defeated Gonzaga 81-73 last Saturday at FedExForum, also marking the first home win by the Tigers as the nation's No. 1 team. The last time Memphis was No. 1 came in the 1982-83 season, with the Tigers earning the top spot on Jan. 10. However, Memphis lost at Virginia Tech that same day and then played at Cincinnati later that week (an 80-63 win). The Tigers returned home Jan. 19, but had dropped to No. 6 in the polls when they took the court for that contest. HISTORY MADE, PART III With its win over Tulsa Jan. 23, the 2007-08 Memphis squad made program history when it posted its first-ever victory as the nation's No. 1 team. The Tigers defeated Tulsa 56-41. The last time Memphis earned the No. 1 national ranking was Jan. 10, 1983, and later that same day, lost at Virginia Tech. NO. 1 IN POLLS, NO. 2 IN RPI The Tigers are No. 1 in both national polls, and this week, jumped up to No. 2 in the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) released Jan. 28. The Tigers' RPI is No. 2 at 0.6715, while Tennessee at No. 1 at 0.6842. Memphis opponents ranked in the top 100 in the current RPI are Tennessee (No. 1), Arizona (No. 7), Georgetown (No. 9), Connecticut (No. 23), Oklahoma (No. 24), Gonzaga (No. 30), Southern Cal (No. 37) and Houston (No. 74). The RPI is one of the major factors in determining the NCAA Tournament teams and seeding the field each year. COMMON FOES Memphis and Houston have played four common foes this year. The Tigers are 4-0 versus the common foes, while the Cougars are 3-1. The following shows those common opponents and the results: UofM Common Foe UH 65-41, W Middle Tennessee 83-68, W 76-63, W Arizona 71-85, L 68-45, W Marshall 71-58, W 77-50, W Rice 69-60, W A BATTLE OF TURNOVER WILLS Wednesday's encounter features a battle between two teams that force opponents to turn the ball over, while taking care of the ball themselves. The Tigers average only 13.2 turnovers per game (third in C-USA), and they force opponents to turn the ball over 17.5 times a contest (third in C-USA). The Cougars are first in Conference USA in turnovers committed at 11.5 per game and is second in turnovers forced at 17.8 a game. Houston leads the league in turnover margin at +6.28 and Memphis is third at +4.37. In assist-to-turnover ratio, the Tigers lead C-USA at 1.30, while Houston is second at 1.14. TIGERS' NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION: TOUGHER DEFENSE As if they didn't play solid defense before the New Year, the Tigers have turned it up a notch on the defensive end in 2008. Since the New Year started, only one opponent (Gonzaga) has scored more than 60 points versus Memphis. The following shows how the Tiger defense improved from 2007 to 2008: 2007 Stat 2008 64.0 Scoring Def. 53.1 39.7 FG Pct. Def. 34.0 30.9 3-pt. FG Pct. Def. 26.4 +5.5 Rebound Margin +10.0 6.3 Blocks/Game 6.9 8.9 Steals/Game 9.5 18.5 TO Forced/Game 16.3 GET YOUR TRACK SHOES ON! When Memphis and Houston meet Wednesday, it may seem more like a track meet than a basketball game. Both squads like to push the ball, and that can be seen in the scoring numbers. The Tigers lead Conference USA in scoring at 80.9 ppg, while the Cougars are second at 78.6 ppg. Both teams also like to shoot it from the arc. Houston leads C-USA in treys made per game at 10.06, while Memphis is second at 8.00. STREAKING IN C-USA The Tigers have their current 19-game win streak, and most everyone in the nation knows about the 43-game homecourt win streak. However, Memphis has another two streaks going in Conference USA play. The Tigers have won 22-straight regular season Conference USA games and 28-straight C-USA overall contests, including the league's postseason tournaments. The last time Memphis suffered a setback to a C-USA foe was Mar. 2, 2006, when the Tigers fell at UAB 80-74. The 28-game win streak (includes C-USA Tournaments) is the longest in C-USA history. The 22-game regular-season win streak is also tops in C-USA history, moving past Cincinnati's 21-game regular season win streak from 1998-99 through 2000-01. TIGERS AT THE TOP!! With its 19-0 start to 2007-08, Memphis has set a new Conference USA mark for the best start by a school in the league's history. With their win over Rice Jan. 16, the Tigers moved past the 1998-99 Cincinnati squad (15-0) for the best start in the conference's history. The following shows the top-five best starts by a C-USA school: Year Team Start 2007-08 Memphis 19-0 1998-99 Cincinnati 15-0 2003-04 Cincinnati 13-0 1995-96 Cincinnati 12-0 2004-05 Cincinnati 11-0 DORSEY GOING FOR WINS RECORD While many Tiger fans know Joey Dorsey's climb up the career rebounding chart, there is another career list the 6-foot-9 forward is moving up. With Memphis' win over Siena Jan. 3, Dorsey won his 100th game as a Tiger, and his record now stands at 107-24 (22-16 in 2004-05; 33-4 in 2005-06 and 2006-07; 19-0 in 2007-08). The most wins by a four-year class is the 1986-87 seniors that won 111 games. Clyde Wade, who finished up his career in 2006-07, also won 111 games in his four years. The following shows the winningest four-year classes in Tiger history: Class Wins 1983-84 to 1986-87 111 2002-03; 2004-05 to 2006-07 111 1982-83 to 1985-86 108 2004-05 to present 107 1984-85 to 1987-88 105 1981-82 to 1984-85 104 DORSEY HITS 1,000 BOARD MILESTONE With his career-high 19-board performance versus