The big question in college basketball is: Can Memphis run the table and enter the NCAA tournament with an unblemished record?
That will be answered this weekend. Why do I say that? The Tennessee Vols, now up to the No. 2 slot in the rankings, invades Memphis for a super showdown. Bruce Pearl's club is talented, has a winner's mentality and comes prepared to play. The coach knows how to get his kids ready for the big moment.
On the other sideline, John Calipari and the Tigers have responded in every difficult situation. Memphis has beaten six top 50 teams (based on rating going into the contest). The Tigers survived a road scare at UAB last weekend, coming back from a late 77-70 deficit to prevail. The Blazers were virtually invincible at home, but Chris Douglas-Roberts made big play after big play to help Memphis get to the finish line.
CDR performed CPR against UAB when the Tigers looked like they were going to get the first loss of the season. He had 32 big points while Antonio Anderson added 27. The two wings came through in big-time fashion. Other people must step up if this team is to beat Tennessee.
It should be an incredible game with lots of emotion and passion. I feel that if Calipari's club can win this game, it will go a perfect 34-0 into the big dance. The last team to accomplish that feat was UNLV in 1991. Jerry Tarkanian's club was being talked about as one of the game's elites, but then it ran into a buzzsaw in Duke. The Blue Devils lost to the Runnin' Rebels in the NCAA championship the year before, but in the '91 national semifinals, it was too much Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner and Grant Hill. Duke survived and moved to the final, where it won the national title.
It will be excitement galore as our Gameday crew, led by Rece Davis, will be in town. I can't wait to get there to call the game with Dan Shulman and Erin Andrews. Fed Ex Forum should be rocking and rolling as No. 1 vs. No. 2, two teams playing for more than pride as a higher NCAA tournament seeding could be on the line. It will be showtime big time in Memphis.
Give credit to Calipari, who has done a super job since his arrival in Memphis. He did a phenomenal job getting his Tigers to the Elite Eight each of the last two seasons. The goal is different this time around, and it is not even about getting to the Final Four. There is one single purpose – cutting down the nets in San Antonio. This game against Tennessee is just a step forward, in a real battle against Chris Lofton and company. It is a challenge, a major test. Memphis shot under 29 percent from the field against the Vols last season. Calipari's kids really meet each and every challenge. You know that every opponent is going to take their best shot, especially now that Memphis is number one in the polls.
Lofton has been heating up and was brilliant in the second half of a win over Georgia last weekend. Remember, he scored 34 points in a 76-58 win over Memphis last season. He must come through to offset Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey, Douglas-Roberts, Anderson and company.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.
