ORUTerry Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Not a lot of respect.... Memphis sure looks good on that bracket . Geoff Calkins March 13, 2006 Slightly past 5 p.m., in the big pink house on Galloway, the Memphis Tigers tipped forward on their chairs and their couches. CBS had revealed three of the four No. 1 seeds. Just one remained. "Memphis!" said CBS announcer Greg Gumbel, and whatever he said next was drowned out by the din. "How about that?" said John Calipari. "That's the first time in the history of the school." Memphis has played basketball for 85 years. It's been to Final Fours and Elite Eights and Sweet 16s. But the Tigers have never before earned one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament. This team did. Go ahead, see for yourself, pick up any newspaper, click on any Web site. (1) Memphis. Ha. How great is that? It doesn't say: (3) Memphis. It's not even: (2) Memphis. It's: (1) Memphis! OK, the exclamation point is mine. But you are allowed to supply your own, to glory in the team's accomplishment, to use one bracket for your office pool and save for posterity. This might be just another day at Duke or Connecticut. Here, it's history. There's nothing wrong with celebrating. For all the talk about the NCAA Tournament as the last refuge of the little guys, the Selection Committee has an undeniable bias in favor of the power conferences. In the previous 15 tournaments, only four teams that don't play in a BCS conference have been awarded No. 1 seeds. That's 4 of a possible 60. St. Joseph in 2004, Cincinnati in 2002, UMass in 1996 and UNLV in 1991. Now add Memphis to the list. Or maybe you forgot: (1) Memphis. "We had to perform for two months," Calipari said. "We had no room for error." Which is still true now that they're in the tournament, of course, but at least they've had some practice. And the draw is more than fair, and oddly familiar. UCLA is the No. 2 seed in the Tigers' region; Memphis has already beaten UCLA. Gonzaga is the No. 3 seed in the Tigers' region; Memphis has already beaten Gonzaga. "We can't look at it that way," said Rodney Carney. "To play those teams, we first have to take care of business in Dallas." That's where the Tigers will open Friday with a game against Oral Roberts. So, Darius Washington, what do you know about Oral Roberts? "Nothing," he said. Oral Roberts Fact No. 1: The school hasn't been in the tournament since 1984, when it lost to Memphis in the Mid-South Coliseum. Oral Roberts Fact No. 2: In 1980, Oral Roberts, the preacher and founder, said he had a vision of a 900-foot tall Jesus. So Joey Dorsey isn't going to intimidate them at least. But no No. 1 seed has ever lost in the first round. If history holds, Memphis would then play the winner of Bucknell-Arkansas. That's right, Arkansas. One of those regional schools Calipari vowed never to play again. The committee has a knack for creating entertaining matchups, doesn't it? Calipari wouldn't be drawn into any of that. He was justifiably proud and justifiably happy. His team went 30-3. His team played any and all comers. His team won the conference, won the conference tournament, and got the reward it richly deserved. "For us to get a No. 1 seed, that just doesn't happen," he said. Sure it does, Coach. (1) Memphis. http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/sports_columnists/article/0,1426,MCA_468_4537170,00.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasgrip Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTex Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 You know, when everyone was talking about someone "loking past" us, I really didn't think it would happen in the NCAA tournament. But with quotes like this and the one from Calipari, and the possible second-round matchup with Arkansas, it just might. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted March 13, 2006 Author Share Posted March 13, 2006 Tigers land No. 1 seed Photo Jim Weber The Commercial Appeal Reflected in the TV screen, University of Memphis coach John Calipari watches with his team and family as the brackets are announced Sunday evening for the NCAA Tournament. U of M will open against Oral Roberts Friday in Dallas By Gary Parrish March 13, 2006 When it flashed on the screen, everybody clapped. Darius Washington. Shawne Williams. Everybody. Because the wait was finally over. All the speculation and debate had come to a conclusion and the University of Memphis was declared a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. "Chasing greatness, guys," John Calipari said to his players, repeating the words that have turned into the motto of this season. "Chasing greatness." The Tigers (30-3) were joined on the first line of the bracket by Duke, Connecticut and Villanova, and if all the top seeds advance to the Final Four they'd get a rematch in the national semifinals with the Blue Devils, who beat Memphis by a 70-67 margin back in November. But first things first. Off to Dallas. That's where the Tigers will play Oral Roberts (21-11) at 1:50 p.m., Friday in the first round. Assuming they win, next would be a second-round game against either eighth-seeded Arkansas (22-9) or ninth-seeded Bucknell (26-4) for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Oakland where -- if the seeds hold -- No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 Kansas would be waiting. "But first we have to get past the first part of the bracket," said freshman guard Antonio Anderson. "We can't look forward to Gonzaga or UCLA. We just have to be ready to play in the first tournament." And that's how the Tigers are tackling this task. As three little tournaments. One in Dallas. One in Oakland. One in Indianapolis. Each event features four teams, and you have to win Dallas to get to Oakland and Oakland to get to Indianapolis, which is the site of the Final Four and the ultimate destination, one that is reasonably attainable according to the record books. Consider that 100 percent of all-time No. 1 seeds have advanced to the second round, 86 percent have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, 69 percent have advanced to the Elite Eight and 43 percent have advanced to the Final Four. In other words, based solely on that trend Memphis has only a little worse than a coin-flip of a chance to play in the Final Four for just the third time in history. Still, Calipari wasn't interested in such numbers, though he acknowledged the advantage. "(The No. 1) seed gives you a better opportunity," said Calipari, who will be coaching in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six years at Memphis. "But if we get by Oral Roberts then we have either Arkansas or Bucknell. Those are terrific teams. And whoever gets past that, then you're looking at Pittsburgh and Kansas, and those two are probably thinking they should have been No. 2 seeds. So you're playing No. 2 seeds that are No. 4 and No. 5. But that's in every region." Rodney Carney agreed. "There's no easy bracket out there," said the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year. "I'm sitting here wondering which one is a hard bracket, and all of them are hard brackets. It's going to be a hard-fought tournament." One that can't get started soon enough. At least that's the impression. "Hey, Coach, when are we leaving?" Anderson yelled right after the bracket was announced. "I can't wait to get to Dallas." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKC Eagle Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 One benefit we have to not being on TV much is that Memphis won't get a good look at us. And if they look at the Mid Con Championship game, they will see that they have to defend against 3 or 4 guys that can shoot the three and 3 guys that can play inside (LO in both groups--man I love him). I did read some reviews that say Memphis probably has the best athletes in the tourney and play a suffocating defense. That has given us trouble in the past. Time for some more of those 5 on 8 practices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darrenjj Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Memphis and UConn are probably the most athletic teams in the tourney. Memphis has 2 or 3 first round NBA guys and Carney is a top 10 pick this year at small forward. They will really push the ball and have a very good point guard. Larry and Caleb will have to stay out of foul trouble. But, they will probably look past ORU and should enable them to stay close and maybe steal one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Oral Roberts Fact No. 2: In 1980, Oral Roberts, the preacher and founder, said he had a vision of a 900-foot tall Jesus. CHEAP shot. I really get sick of that line. That happened twenty six years ago, before the kids playing on this team were even born. It really is meaningless at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU Eli Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 I take solace in the fact that we aren't oversized. Their starters range from 6'2" to 6'9" and their 4 main backups range from 5'10" to 6'11" so hopefully we'll be able to stay with them on the boards and effectively score down low. Obviously Caleb has to bring the 'A' game and not having to match up with somebody 2-3 inches taller will be nice, though I can't read anything about Memphis w/o hearing how athletic they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darrenjj Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 You have to be really physical with them because you will see a lot of high flyers. They have probably 5 or 6 Larry Owens on their team. Texas was able to just pack it in and make them miss shots and also rebound. I am really looking forward to the game and glad it is in Dallas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyO Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 So, Darius Washington, what do you know about Oral Roberts? "Nothing," he said. I need a TU fan to help me out here: Remember when TU beat UCLA in the first round several years back? (I'm sure no one has forgotten about that.) There was an interview with Ed O'Bannon, I believe, several days before the game and they asked him about Tulsa and he said something along the lines of, "I don't even know where Tulsa is." This quote really reminded me of that -- not really arrogant, but not really complimentary either. We all know what happened next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umbluegray Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 CHEAP shot. I really get sick of that line. That happened twenty six years ago, before the kids playing on this team were even born. It really is meaningless at this point. Cheap shot by the author of the article, a harvard law grad from the northeast. Here in Memphis we're in the buckle of the Bible Belt. Nothing wrong with a 900-foot tall Jesus. I go to Bellevue Baptist Church here in Memphis. It gets picked on because as you drive down I-40 you see 3 giant crosses -- the middle stands 15 stories and the 2 on either side stand 12 stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKC Eagle Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 Someone on this board previously had a signature line dealing with the 900 foot Jesus that I thought was great, but I can't remember it exactly. Something along the lines of I'd rather have a 900 foot Jesus for me than against me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeyO Posted March 13, 2006 Share Posted March 13, 2006 That church is absolutely monstrous. I really don't mind people saying that kind of stuff about Oral Roberts. He said it and I'm sure he still stands by it. We could really use that 900 ft. Jesus this Friday. Does anyone know if he has any elgibility left? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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