Final Four Dark Horse: University of Memphis

[Emongmai]

John Calipari has put together an unbelievable team of players this year. After seven games they are at 6-1 defeating three ranked teams and their only loss to #1 ranked Duke was by only 3 points.

Darius Washington, Jr. is one of the best college point guards in the country. D Wash can score as well as create plays for the tremendous talent around him. He has a bright NBA future. Many people viewed Shawn Williams as a player to go straight to the NBA, and he has looked like an NBA player in the first seven games of the season. Rodney Carney has an offensive style that has been compared to Tracy McGrady's, but his real strength is on defense. Carney held J.J. Redick scoreless in the 2nd half of the preseason NIT final. The Tigers have 2 great big men in Dorsey and Anderson. Four of our freshmen played together at the same prep school last year and went undefeated. All four of whom were among the top 50 recruits in the nation.

The Tigers main strength is their depth. Calapari plays 12 men. 9 of which receive double digit minutes. Their philosophy is to be unrelentless on both sides of the ball. They look to run the ball every play. They also pressure the ball all the way down the court for 40 minutes. Being able to sub guys in and out so frequently creates alot of fresh legs against worn down opponents. It also creates an environment where the players aren't afraid of picking up fouls early. This allows the Tigers to be even more aggressive.

Don't overlook the Tigers this season. Currently ranked 9th in the nation Memphis plays in an incredibly weak conference but has scheduled a few very big out of conference games. Today they beat Cincinnati. They already took down UCLA and 'Bama. On Dec. 27 they will be tested against the very strong Gonzaga. They play Texas in January. Wins in those games would push them to the top 5. With a 4 or higher seed in the March tournament Memphis would be a serious threat.

[Phlegm]

Gonzaga for the win.

[Emongmai]

Well the Tigers turned out to be a better team than I ever expected them to be this season. This team surpasses our 94-95 team that went to the elite eight led by Penny Hardeway.
We certainly aren't a dark horse. However I am curious to hear what NCAA Basketball fans who haven't been lifelong Tiger fans think about Memphis's chances at a National Title. I believe we could beat Duke in the final four if we had to. Memphis has already beaten both UCLA and Gonzaga this year. Our loss to Duke was only by 3 points. The only challenge that worries me would be facing UConn in the championship game.
There is still plenty of basketball to be played. As we all know by our busted brackets ANYTHING can happen in the tourney. Hell we could lose to Bradley Thursday.

Go Tigers!

[Lyion]

Memphis is in good shape.