Tigers proved they deserved the top seeding - TW (3-18-06)

[ORUTerry]

Tigers proved they deserved the top seeding

By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

3/18/2006

DALLAS -- Expect a Miracle, the slogan of Oral Roberts basketball, is a lot different than seeing one.

The Golden Eagles, an NCAA Tournament wait of 22 years finally over, needed some divine intervention against top-seeded Memphis.

But there would be no upset of biblical proportions.

Reality was far more powerful than spiritual hope on Friday at the American Airlines Center.

The return of Oral Roberts to the NCAA Tournament was short-lived, a victim of the pure athleticism of Memphis.

"We haven't played a team like that in my seven years at ORU," said Oral Rob erts coach Scott Sutton.

The Tigers, tired of hearing how they will be the first No. 1 seed ousted in the first round of the tournament, made sure they would live to play again on Sunday.

Memphis peppered the Golden Eagles with a variety of styles, pounding it inside, knocking down 3s and getting out for easy transition baskets, as ORU was eliminated, 94-78.

The Golden Eagles played better than their No. 16 seed, pushing the heavily favored Tigers for about the first 30 minutes. Caleb Green may have gained enough in this game to put his name on some preseason All-America lists next fall.

But when Memphis plays to its potential, as it did against ORU, the Tigers are a powerful and overwhelming team.

"We played awfully well for about a 10-minute period in the middle of the first half," said Sutton. "Then, we got the lead and kind of collapsed."

Memphis lived up to its billing, playing as it did early in the season against a difficult nonconference schedule.

That's more than enough to beat most teams, Oral Roberts included.

"When they play as well as they did in this game, we don't have a chance to beat them," said Sutton. "We needed them to have an off night. From what I've seen, they played one of the best games they played all year.

"We did what we needed to do in this game. We shot the ball awfully well. We only had 13 turnovers and only gave up 12 offensive rebounds. But they were awfully good in this game."

Yes, Memphis was good enough in this game to have the analysts rethinking their appraisal of the Tigers. Memphis shot 60 percent, including 50 percent of its 22 3-pointers.

"I think we played with a chip on our shoulder," said Memphis' Antonio Anderson, one of five Tigers in double figures. "We do feel like we've got something to prove."

Still, ORU led for a good portion of the first half, after erasing an early 12-point deficit. Green's two free throws with about four minutes gave the Eagles their last lead at 35-34.

ORU would never get close enough to make it a serious threat. The Tigers hit a barrage of 3s, four in the final four minutes of the first half and their first two 3-pointers of the second half.

That made it a 14-point lead and Oral Roberts kept chipping away but could get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

"I'm not sure either team was happy with their defense," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "It made for some exciting basketball."

It was just the third NCAA Tournament appearance for the south Tulsa school.

However, it signaled the return of ORU to the national stage. The Golden Eagles were a national power, built around high-scoring, high-flying teams in the 1970s.

The two best players on the Oral Roberts team, forward Caleb Green and guard Ken Tutt, will be back for their senior years next season.

If ORU can find some new complementary players, the Golden Eagles should be even better next year.

"They are going to have a good squad next year," said ORU senior Larry Owens. "They are going to be real deep, and they have a good chance to come back here next year."

Given how well ORU has played for much of the past two years, the quick ouster was not welcomed.

Even though a No. 1 seed had never lost to the No. 16 team, many had given some hope that ORU might be able to pull off a stunner.

The theory was that ORU was much better than a 16 seed and Memphis was the weakest of the No. 1 seeds.

That's not the way the game played out. ORU did play above its seed, but Memphis played to its billing.

"I wasn't surprised how tough it was," said Memphis star Rodney Carney. "It is a tournament game. There's going to be a lot of intensity for both teams. This wasn't going to be a blowout."

The Tigers, who had not played well down the stretch of the Conference USA season, took the cynicism of national analysts to heart. They reverted to the earlier season form that had earned them a spot in the top five of the national polls.

What Tulsa saw in an 84-61 loss at the Reynolds Center is what Oral Roberts saw in this game.

Memphis in full flight is a thing of beauty, capable of reaching the top of this tournament.

"Memphis is a great team," said Sutton. "If they continue to shoot the ball like that, then it will not surprise me if they win the national championship."