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Memphis Vs. Tennessee Preview 2/22/08

Is Memphis Better Off Not Finishing the Regular Season Undefeated?

By Jeremy Zoll

In NCAA history, the top-ranked team has played number two thirty-eight times. According to ESPN, the last five times the #1 has played #2, and the teams have been from different conferences, #1 has been the victor.

John Calipari has led the Tigers through a magical season. In fact, Calipari’s career has been saved by coaching in Memphis. The Tigers have just improved to 26-0, most recently beating conference opponent Tulane. On Saturday they will be hosting Tennessee–most recently bumped up to number 2 due to losses by Duke and Kansas.

The question is: Should Memphis be worried if they lose this game? Many believe that the Tigers weak conference schedules sets them up for doom come tournament time. These nay-sayers do not need much proof-Memphis has had 30+ win seasons the last two years but have not brought home a title. While this could be their year, history is against them in several facets.

1) In the last six meetings, #2 has won five times. The exception: Duke vs. Texas in 2005. Duke blew the Longhorns out 97-66.

2) The last team to run the table and go on to win the NCAA tournament was Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers of Indiana…in 1976.

There have only been six teams to win the tournament with unblemished records (including UCLA four times under John Wooden). And only two teams, Texas Western and North Carolina State (in 1966 and 1974, respectively) won the tournament going in with one loss.

The point is that it is very hard to maintain excessively long winning streaks during the college basketball season. Pressure is the first reason. The media blows the stories out of proportion, and it is difficult for college kids to handle this day in and day out. The second reason would be the fact that these players are student-athletes. They deal with many strains academically, athletically, and socially. After all, these athletes are only 18-22 year old; something has to give. Lastly, college basketball is still a sport. On any given day, any team can win. And it makes it that much harder to win when a team is the hunted. Opponents have nothing to lose: if they lose, they were supposed to lose. If they win, it is a huge upset (think Giants over Patriots this year).

So, Tennessee vs. Memphis sets up to be a great matchup. Look for Chris Douglas-Roberts to lead the Tigers. If nothing else, the game is good for Memphis so that they can play against some top-notch competition before the tournament. But, even if they lose, don’t write them off yet–it could just be helping get rid of some of that unnecessary pressure.

Posted by Tug | Filed under Men's Basketball