March 22, 2008
• NCAA Tournament Central
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NO. 1 SEED TIGERS TO FACE MISSISSIPPI STATE IN NCAA TOURNEY SECOND ROUND ON SUNDAY
The University of Memphis squad (34-1, 16-0 C-USA), ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 3 in ESPN/USA Today poll, continues its quest for the 2008 NCAA title Sunday, Mar. 23 when it meets No. 8 seed Mississippi State (23-10, 12-4 SEC) in a second-round contest in Little Rock's Alltel Arena. The game, to be televised by CBS Sports, is slated to start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the afternoon session's first game between the South Region No. 2 seed Texas and No. 7 seed Miami.
Memphis swept the Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns for a third-straight year in 2007-08. The Tigers posted a perfect 16-0 league mark in regular season play for a second-consecutive year.
The Tigers enter NCAA Tournament second-round play on an eight-game win streak after a Feb. 23 setback to then-No. 2 Tennessee. Memphis defeated Tulsa, Southern Miss, SMU and UAB to close the regular season and then posted victories over Tulane, Southern Miss and Tulsa in the C-USA Tournament. The Tigers defeated Texas-Arlington in the NCAA Tournament first round Mar. 21.
The Bulldogs enter Sunday's second-round contest having won six of their last eight, including two overtime victories. Mississippi State's two setbacks in that stretch were by a total of five points (86-85 OT loss at Vanderbilt; 64-60 loss to Georgia in SEC Tournament). The Bulldogs defeated Oregon 76-69 in the NCAA Tournament first round on Mar. 21.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs bring a 23-10 overall record into Sunday's second-round contest. Mississippi State has won six of its last eight, including two overtime victories over South Carolina and Alabama. The Bulldogs' two setbacks in that stretch were by a total of five points (86-85 OT loss at Vanderbilt; 64-60 loss to Georgia in SEC Tournament). Mississippi State defeated Oregon 76-69 in the NCAA Tournament first round on Mar. 21.
The Bulldogs have four players averaging double figures in Charles Rhodes (17.5 ppg), Jamont Gordon (17.1 ppg), Barry Stewart (11.7 ppg) and Ben Hansbrough (10.2 ppg). Jarvis Varnado (7.9 rpg) and Rhodes (7.7 rpg) lead Mississippi State on the glass. Gordon, who averages 6.5 rebounds per game from his guard spot, leads the team with 163 assists (4.9 apg). Hansbrough (35.1 percent) and Stewart (34.4 percent) are the Bulldogs' top threat from the three-point line.
Mississippi State is shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, 33.2 percent from the arc and 64.5 percent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs are out-rebounding their opponents by an average margin of +4.4 boards per game (40.8-36.4). Mississippi State averages nearly eight blocks per contest (7.9 bpg).
AND THE WINNER GETS...
Sunday's Memphis/Mississippi State NCAA Tournament second-round winner will meet the Pittsburgh/Michigan State winner in a South Region semifinal contest on Friday, Mar. 28 in Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Pittsburgh is the South Region No. 4 seed, while Michigan State is the region's No. 5 seed.
WINS IN THREE-YEAR PERIOD
With its win over Texas-Arlington Mar. 21 in the NCAA Tournament first-round game, Memphis has won an incredible 100 games the last three seasons. The 100 victories since 2005-06 places Memphis in the No. 5 spot on the all-time NCAA Division I list for most wins in three years. Kentucky tops the list with 104 wins from 1996-98.
The following shows the top six teams on that list and where Memphis stands:
Most Wins In a Three-Year Period
NCAA Division I
1. Kentucky 1994-96 104
2. Kentucky 1947-49 102
t. Montana St. 1927-29 102
4. Duke 1999-2001 101
5. Memphis 2006-pres. 100
6. 7 teams tied 98
MEMPHIS VS. THE SEC
The Tigers have an all-time record of 87-65 (.572 winning pct.) against members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Memphis has played Alabama (5-2), Arkansas (10-11), Auburn (0-1), Florida (0-1), Georgia (1-1), Kentucky (1-0), LSU (2-2), Ole Miss (26-11), Mississippi State (12-11), South Carolina (18-5), Tennessee (7-12) and Vanderbilt (5-8).
Memphis has won six of its last eight contests against SEC opponents, and 11 of its last 14 games against the league. The following shows the Tigers' recent success against SEC foes:
Year SEC Opponent Result
2007-08 Tennessee 62-66, L
2006-07 Ole Miss 82-70, W
2006-07 at Tennessee 58-76, L
2006-07 Kentucky (Maui) 80-63,W
2005-06 Tennessee 88-79, W
2005-06 at Ole Miss 72-49, W
2005-06 at Alabama 87-76, W
2004-05 Vanderbilt (NIT) 81-68, W
2004-05 Ole Miss 53-65, L
2003-04 South Carolina (NCAA) 59-43, W
2003-04 at Ole Miss 73-62, W
2002-03 at Arkansas 72-67, W
2002-03 Ole Miss 58-51, W
2001-02 South Carolina (NIT title) 72-62, W
CAL VS. THE SEC
Head coach John Calipari has a 17-13 record (.567 winning pct.) against Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents. Calipari has coached against Alabama (1-1), Arkansas (3-2), Florida (1-0), Kentucky (2-4), Ole Miss (4-3), South Carolina (3-0), Tennessee (2-3) and Vanderbilt (1-0). Calipari has never faced Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State
Calipari has won 11 of his last 14 games against SEC opponents.
COULD GET DEFENSIVE SUNDAY
Although both teams average over 70 points on the offensive end, Memphis and Mississippi State could wage a defensive battle Sunday.
Entering NCAA Tournament play, the Bulldogs ranked No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 36.8 percent (now is 36.7 percent following the NCAA Tournament first round game). The Tigers ranked eighth in the country in field goal percentage defense entering the tournament at 38.3 percent (now is 38.4 percent after NCAA Tournament first round game).
Even though the NCAA doesn't keep stats on three-point field goal percentage defense, both squads defend the arc well. Memphis holds opponents to 29.9 percent from the three-point line, while Mississippi State limits its foes to 31.6 percent from the arc. The Tigers lead Conference USA in three-point field goal percentage defense, and Mississippi State is third in the SEC in that statistical category.
IT'S A BLOCK PARTY
Fans may want to take cover Sunday afternoon, as both Memphis and Mississippi State will send some shots into the stands. Both teams rank among the top 10 in the nation in blocked shots per game.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs were second in the nation with 7.9 blocks per game, while the Tigers were 10th at 6.1 bpg. In their NCAA Tournament first round games, Memphis had five blocks and Mississippi State blocked six shots.
The Bulldogs' Jarvis Varnado leads the nation and SEC in blocks per game at 4.6 swats. Memphis' Joey Dorsey is fourth in C-USA with 1.9 blocks per game.
TIGERS' NCAA TOURNEY FIRST-ROUND GAME NOTES
The following are some notes from Memphis' NCAA Tournament first-round game versus Texas-Arlington:
• Improved its three-year record to 100-9 (since 2005-06); 33-4 in 2005-06 and 2006-07; 34-1 in 2007-08
• Shot 50 percent or better from the field for the 10th time this season (10-0 record)
• Had five double figure scorers for the sixth time this year (6-0 record)
• Four players set scoring highs in NCAA Tournament play -- Robert Dozier 12 points (previous high: 11 vs. North Texas, 2007); Antonio Anderson 17 points (14 vs. Nevada, 2007); Chris Douglas-Roberts 23 points (16 vs. Nevada, North Texas, 2007); Doneal Mack 10 points (8 vs. North Texas, 2007)
TIGERS PICKING IT UP AT THE LINE
Don't like to jinx things, but the Tigers have improved their percentage from the charity stripe in the postseason -- just as CBS hoops analyst Billy Packer said they would do.
In the three Conference USA Tournament games and its NCAA Tournament first round game, Memphis hit 68.2 percent from the foul line (60-of-88). During the regular season, the Tigers shot 58.7 percent from the foul line.
Packer was the color analyst for the Tigers' Feb. 27 game versus Tulsa at FedExForum. During that game, Packer mentioned that the Tigers would shoot a better percentage from the free throw line in the postseason. To date, Memphis has proven Packer a prophet.
ONE OF ONLY TWO ROAD WARRIORS
Memphis finished the 2007-08 season with a perfect 10-0 record in road games, and is one of two teams in the nation to have an undefeated mark on the road. North Carolina is the other team that went unbeaten in road games this season with a 13-0 record.
Memphis and North Carolina both had perfect record in neutral site games this year. The Tigers were 3-0 in neutral site contests, while the Tar Heels went 5-0 in neutral games.
Both squads continued their road/neutral site perfection with NCAA Tournament first-round victories Mar. 21.
MARCH IS WHAT'S IT'S ALL ABOUT
John Calipari's teams always improve as the season progresses toward March, which is the month all college teams play for. And, Calipari's teams are ready to play in March and that can be seen in his career record in the month.
Calipari has an 82-27 record (.752 winning percentage) in games played in March. In his 16 years as a collegiate head coach, Calipari has guided his teams to 15 postseasons (10 NCAA, five NIT). He led UMass to the 1996 NCAA Final Four and Memphis to the 2002 NIT championship and 2006 and 2007 NCAA Tournament Elite Eights.
2007-08 TIGERS HAVE THE RECORD
As if Memphis needed to set more marks. However, with the Tigers' win Mar. 21, they set a school record for wins in a season with 34. The 34 victories surpassed the previous single-season mark of 33 wins by the 2005-06 and 2006-07 squads.
The following shows the top-five winningest teams in Tigers hoops history:
Year No. of Wins
2007-08 34
2006-07 33
2005-06 33
1984-85 31
1985-86 28
2007-08 TIGERS HAVE C-USA RECORD
The Mar. 21 win not only set the single-season victory mark for Memphis history, but also for Conference USA history. The 34 victories surpassed the 33 wins by the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Tiger squads (33-4 record) and the 2004-05 Louisville team (33-5) for the single-season mark.
The following shows the top-five winningest teams in Conference USA hoops history:
Team/Year No. of Wins
Memphis/2007-08 34
Memphis/2006-07 33
Memphis/2005-06 33
Louisville/2004-05 33
Cincinnati/2001-02 31
HE'S IN THE CLUB!
Well, it took a little longer than expected in the Dec. 29 Arizona game, but Chris Douglas-Roberts reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career. He entered the contest needing only five points to reach the goal, and with 2:07 in the first half, the 6-foot-7 guard scored his 1,000th point on an emphatic dunk off an assist from Derrick Rose. Douglas-Roberts is the 43rd player in Tiger history to accomplish the feat.
He now has 1,428 career points, and the Detroit, Mich., is in the No. 12 spot on the Tiger career scoring chart, and the following shows that:
1. Keith Lee/1981-85 2,408
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10. Phillip Haynes/1980-84 1,479
11. Andre Turner/1982-86 1,442
12. Chris Douglas-Roberts/2005-pres. 1,428
13. Mike Butler/1965-68 1,409
ROSE NEARING FROSH ASSISTS MARK
Derrick Rose entered collegiate play as a guard that could distribute the rock, and he hasn't disappointed. The 6-foot-3 guard goes into the NCAA Tournament second round with 156 assists, which are the second-most dimes for a freshman in school history.
Vincent Askew holds the Tiger freshman mamrk for assists with 170 in the 1984-85 campaign. Head coach John Calipari has coached two other Tiger freshmen ranked in the top six for assists in school history (144 by Darius Washington Jr. in 2004-05; 128 by Dajuan Wagner in 2001-02).
For more notes on the Memphis-Mississippi State NCAA Tournament second round match-up, click on the pdf link at the top of the page.
