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A Big Tenn. Showdown

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2008

Before this season, Memphis had spent just one week at No. 1 in polls (and it promptly lost).

Before this season, Tennessee had never been ranked as high as No. 2.

Before this season, could anyone have imagined Tennessee as, um, a basketball hotbed?

It has happened.

Tonight, it's No. 1 Memphis against No. 2 Tennessee in the biggest game to ever hit the Volunteer State. Graceland vs. Dollywood, if you will.

The Tigers and Volunteers operate inside the same borders, but have little else in common.

''It's not like they're 50 miles away from us,'' Memphis coach John Calipari said. ''They're closer to Washington D.C., than they are to Memphis.''

Ah, but this has the passion of a big-time rivalry.

Around the University of Memphis campus, bright blue T-shirts are being sold with the following words:

I HATE ORANGE.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, the Tennessee alum, was working some angles for tickets – before the Memphis athletic director got him into the building.

Manning is one of the lucky ones. This game is special.

The last time an undefeated No. 1 team played No. 2 this late in the regular season, top-ranked UNLV beat Arkansas 112-105 on Feb. 10, 1991 in Fayetteville, Ark.

And although Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl refuses to acknowledge Memphis as a true rival for his program – he wouldn't differentiate between the Memphis-Vanderbilt swing, calling it ''an important two-game trip'' – a victory tonight would be a highlight in program history.

Tennessee has beaten a No. 1-ranked team only once – South Carolina on Dec. 6, 1969.

''Memphis has the most talented team in the country,'' Pearl said. ''They have all the pieces to the puzzle.''

And although tonight's non-conference game may not determine the postseason fate of either program, it's a perfect fit for the basketball junkie.

PROJECTED REGIONAL SEEDS

East (Charlotte)
1. Tennessee (24-2)
2. Duke (22-3)
3. Connecticut (21-5)
4. Purdue (21-6)
* Duke might settle for a No. 2 seed, as long as it keeps the route through Charlotte.

South (Houston)
1. Memphis (26-0)
2. Texas (22-4)
3. Stanford (21-4)
4. Wisconsin (22-4)
* Just imagine if Memphis is unbeaten, but facing Texas in a region final at Houston.

Midwest (Detroit)
1. Kansas (24-2)
2. Georgetown (21-4)
3. Indiana (22-4)
4. Xavier (23-4)
* Question of the season: How will Hoosiers fare without Sampson on the sideline?

West (Phoenix)
1. North Carolina (25-2)
2. UCLA (23-3)
3. Louisville (21-6)
4. Butler (25-2)
* North Carolina moves back to No. 1 seed position, but gets shipped out West.

AIR BALL

The Florida Gators (20-7, 7-5 SEC) have created some problems for themselves by dropping four of their last six games. If the Gators don't turn things around, they might be playing their way out of the 65-team field (there is no non-conference strength to rely on). UF's finish: at Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee, at Kentucky, then the SEC Tournament. The last non-probation defending champion to miss the next NCAA Tournament was Louisville in 1987.

THE MEGA-GAMES

Tonight's matchup between No. 1 Memphis and No. 2 Tennessee marks the 20th time the top two teams in the Associated Press poll have met during the regular season. Here are the other 19 meetings:

Final Score: Site/Date

No. 2 Ohio State 49, No. 1 Wisconsin 48: Columbus, Ohio/Feb. 25, 2007

No. 1 Duke 97, No. 2 Texas 66: East Rutherford, N.J./Dec. 10, 2005

No. 2 North Carolina 97, No. 1 Duke 73: Chapel Hill, N.C./Feb. 5, 1998

No. 2 North Carolina 89, No. 1 Duke 78: Chapel Hill, N.C./Feb. 3, 1994

No. 1 UNLV 112, No. 2 Arkansas 105: Fayetteville, Ark./Feb. 10, 1991

No. 2 Missouri 77, No. 1 Kansas 71: Lawrence, Kan./Feb. 13, 1990

No. 1 North Carolina 78, No. 2 Georgia Tech 77 (OT): Atlanta/Feb. 4, 1986

No. 2 Georgetown 85, No. 1 St. John's 69: New York/Feb. 27, 1985

No. 1 Georgetown 77, No. 2 DePaul 57: Landover, Md./Dec. 15, 1984

No. 1 North Carolina 65, No. 2 Virginia 60: Chapel Hill, N.C./Jan. 9, 1982

No. 1 North Carolina 82, No. 2 Kentucky 69: East Rutherford, N.J./Dec. 26, 1981

No. 1 Indiana 84, No. 2 UCLA 64: St. Louis/Nov. 29, 1975

No. 2 UCLA 94, No. 1 Notre Dame 75: Los Angeles/Jan. 26, 1974

No. 2 Notre Dame 71, No. 1 UCLA 70: South Bend, Ind./Jan. 19, 1974

No. 1 UCLA 84, No. 2. North Carolina State 66: St. Louis/Dec. 15, 1973

No. 2 Houston 71, No. 1 UCLA 69: Houston/Jan. 20, 1968

No. 2 Michigan 87, No. 1 Wichita State 85: Detroit/Dec. 14, 1964

No. 1 Kentucky 70, No. 2 Utah 65: Lexington, Ky./Dec. 21, 1954

No. 1 Kentucky 81, No. 2 St. John's 40: Lexington, Ky./Dec. 17, 1951

COURTSIDE

ESPN Announcers Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla.

If you love men's college basketball, this is your day.

First, the most compelling game in the short history of the mid-major BracketBuster series – Drake (23-3) at Butler (25-2) on ESPN2 at 5 p.m.

Then, the best non-conference game of the season – Tennessee (24-2) at Memphis on ESPN at 9 p.m.

ESPN's Jay Bilas and Fran Fraschilla weigh in on the big day/night of basketball:

Fraschilla on the Drake-Butler matchup:

''Fittingly, it's going to be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse, where they filmed 'Hoosiers.' The fun part about this game is both teams are similar – low turnovers, high 3-point shot attempts, not much inside play, kind of the epitome of a 'Hoosiers' style.

Bilas on Memphis coach John Calipari against Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl:

''When they were hired, some people said they weren't sure about the fit – two Northeast-type guys in a [Southern] state. It just goes to show you that winning sells anywhere. The quality of the coaches has led to the quality of these programs. I can't wait to see how loud their sports coats are going to be on Saturday night.''

Fraschilla on how much Butler can gain today:

''I think Butler's No. 8 ranking [in the polls] is too high. Not to take anything away from the season they are having. But based on their strength of schedule, whether they [beat Drake] or not, they are probably still in that 5-6 seeding range. They might get some residual effect from what they did in the past, although the [NCAA selection] committee swears they judge a team from year to year without looking to past performance.''

Bilas on the intangibles to watch in Tennessee-Memphis:

''Memphis hasn't been a great shooting team. Last season they shot 62 percent from the free-throw line and got it up to 72 percent during the NCAA Tournament. I don't know if they have an on-off switch for that or what. The X-factor might be [Tennessee guard] Chris Lofton, always a difficult challenge. Then there's [Tennessee's] Tyler Smith, who can just overpower a [defending] guard. I don't know that there's a good matchup for him.''

GAME OF THE DAY

Tennessee at Memphis
ESPN, 9 p.m.

Well, what else?

We were tempted to go with Drake at Butler as a change-of-pace BracketBuster under-the-radar matchup, but how can you ignore No. 1 vs. No. 2?

Tennessee (24-2) at Memphis (26-0).

We could easily see this being a 94-92 type of game, up and down, frantic action.

Regardless of tonight's outcome, we could also envision both teams ending up as No. 1 seeds at the NCAA Tournament.

And let's not give this game an all-or-nothing backdrop. For Tennessee, the larger goal is capturing the school's first outright SEC regular-season title since 1967. Memphis coach John Calipari certainly would trade a loss for his school's first Final Four appearance since 1985.

BY THE NUMBERS

30-20: Vermont's Marcus Blakely had 30 points and 20 rebounds in a 94-82 win against Hartford. He's the second player this season to go 30-20 (Kansas State's Michael Beasley had 32 points and 24 rebounds against Sacramento State on Nov. 9).

402: Number of career 3-pointers by Tennessee's Chris Lofton, advancing him to fifth on the all-time Division I list. He was 4-for-9 from long range in an 89-70 win against Auburn, marking his 53rd career game (out of 118 played) with at least three made 3-pointers.

RETURN TO TAMPA

The NCAA men's basketball tournament returns to the Tampa Bay area with opening-round games on March 21 and 23 at the St. Pete Times Forum (tickets are still available: $208 for six games, call (813) 301-2500 or go to sptimesforum.com/ncaa2008).

This week's Tampa Bay NCAA basketball memory:

Wake Forest 76, East Tennessee State 73
March 21, 2003
St. Pete Times Forum

East Tennessee State nearly became the fifth No. 15-seeded team to beat a No. 2.

But when the 3-point attempt by 5-foot-9 Tim Smith missed everything – with an outstretched 6-6 Josh Howard standing guard at the baseline – ACC champion Wake Forest managed to hold on.

Wake Forest was paced by point guard Taron Downey, who had 12 of his 17 points in the second half, and freshman center Eric Williams, who added a career-high 20 points.

ETSU's James Anthony (Armwood) had nine points and five rebounds.

SLAM DUNK

The Miami Hurricanes (18-7, 5-6 ACC) are definitely in the NCAA Tournament picture following Wednesday night's 96-95 home win against Duke. The Hurricanes have a road victory against Mississippi State on their resume. Had it not been for last-second losses against Wake Forest and N.C. State, there would really be something special brewing. UM's finish: Maryland, at Clemson, Virginia, Boston College, at Florida State, then the ACC Tournament.

THEY SAID IT

''He has been dealing with that – and unlike other schools, we don't release our injuries.'' -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, revealing on his radio show that one of his players, Nolan Smith, has been playing with a knee injury.

''Regardless of what somebody else says about they have injuries too, which is a bunch of bunk, so I don't give a crap what somebody else says, but coach their own [darn] team, and I'll coach my team.'' -- North Carolina coach Roy Williams, one day later on his own radio show. North Carolina's lineup has been dealing with numerous injuries this season and the Tar Heels were without guard Ty Lawson in a Feb. 6 loss against Duke.

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