Memphis pulls away from Oral Roberts - DMN (3-18-06)

[ORUTerry]

Memphis pulls away from Oral Roberts

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

Oral Roberts was scrappy, bothersome and competitive against Memphis on Friday afternoon.

That's nice and all, but top-seeded Memphis was more talented in a 94-78 first-round NCAA victory at American Airlines Center.

No. 16 Oral Roberts, the small Christian school in Tulsa, took the lead several times in the first half by playing a physical style.

But a 17-4 run to close the first half, fueled by reserve guard Andre Allen, gave Memphis a 51-39 lead at the break and the cushion needed to cruise the rest of the way.

It was the most points scored by Memphis in the first half this season.

"It was in my mind to go into halftime with the lead so we can feel comfortable," said Allen, who scored nine points during the run. "I just wanted to do what was asked of me. Now that we're here [in the NCAA Tournament], it's time for us to play at a higher level."

Memphis was led by senior Rodney Carney and his 19 points in 29 effective minutes.

Young players also delivered for the Tigers (31-3). Darius Washington, the sophomore point guard, and freshman forward Shawne Williams added 14 points each. Freshman guard Antonio Anderson scored 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, and Allen, a sophomore, scored 11 points.

"I like the balance that we had," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "We played nine guys a lot of minutes, and they all performed."

Forward Caleb Green led Oral Roberts with 19 points while talking smack with Memphis' sophomore power forward Joey Dorsey (five points and four rebounds in 20 minutes).

Green and fellow big man Mickey Michalec, a 6-11 center, battled an athletic and long Memphis front court all day.

Green had 19 points, but his team could never dig out from a 12-point halftime deficit. Cooper had five rebounds in 15 minutes.

The Golden Eagles shot 52.8 percent from the field but couldn't stop the Tigers inside, allowing 46 points in the paint. Memphis shot a season-high 60.7 percent from the field.

"We had to play them physical," Green said. "That was probably the only way you could beat them."

Memphis entered this game hearing about how it might become the first top-seeded team to lose in the NCAA Tournament. Calipari answered questions, as early as Monday, about a 16 seed knocking off a No. 1.

Calipari said Oral Roberts (21-12) wasn't a true No. 16 seed, and he was right for a while. Memphis, however, is a No. 1 seed and played like a team with something to prove.

"We've been doubted since the season started," Anderson said. "We rubbed that off and we're playing with a chip on our shoulder.

"We do feel like we proved something [by beating Oral Roberts]. But there are a lot of games to play until we get to that Final Four."

[ORUTerry]

Very interesting that ORU was on the front page (not just in the Sports section) but the top fold of the first page of the Dallas Morning News. Friday's story was on Ken Tutt and today had a picture of Eric Fowlkes battling a Memphis player for a loose ball. The Fowlkes pic was only in the paper (not internet) version. Simply incredible exposure for ORU. Can't help but give our coaches more leverage in their recruiting efforts.

[orumom]

If any of you haven't listed to the game on CBS, please do. They bragged on ORU's talent all the way to the end, saying that in soe ways we had played better against Memphis than anyone this year.

I know Voice would be happy to see Memphis make it to at last the Final Four, hopefully winning the Championship Game. But, I feel the same way now. It would make ORU look even better and Memphis does deserve more respect that they were given before the game!

This was a GREAT SEASON for ORU!!