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Keys to the Tigers’ bout with Arizona on Friday
By Adam Douglas-->Sports Reporter
Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 01:03
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The University of Memphis men's basketball team still has an opportunity to keep Will Barton's bold preseason prediction alive — to win the National Championship.
The Tigers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by defeating the UTEP Miners, 67-66, in the Conference USA tournament championship.
To get to a championship, however, they still need to work on some key areas that have been plaguing them during the entire season. Their first test off the bat, the Arizona Wildcats, is a familiar foe.
Not only do both teams have a history, but they also have lots of things in common. They had a budding rivalry that wasn't renewed after the 2007-‘08 season. The Tigers won their last meeting at FedExForum, 76-63.
The Wildcats' best player, sophomore Derrick Williams, averages 19.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and was recruited by head coach Josh Pastner. He even had his screen saver on his cell phone set to The U of M logo before transferring to Arizona from USC.
Pastner was an assistant on the Arizona staff from 2001-‘08 after four years as a walk-on for Arizona. He and the Wildcats won a national championship in 1997. To top that, the Tigers are seeded 12th in this year's tournament. Pastner's jersey number while at Arizona? 12.
There are many story lines that we can turn to for this particular matchup, but I'm just going to stick to what it will take for the Tigers to pull an upset over the 5-seeded Wildcats on Friday afternoon.
First, the Tigers have to play unselfish basketball. We all saw in the C-USA tournament what it can do for this team. If they share the ball and pass it to one another in transition then they have a chance to beat anyone in the country.
Next, they need to utilize the full-court press. Doing this will speed up the tempo and cause the opponent to be uncomfortable on offense. The youthfulness of the team — which critics harped on all season — will be a blessing in disguise because of the Tigers' young legs.
Then we have defense. The mantra "defense wins championships" still applies to every sport. If the Tigers can play tough half-court defense like they showed during the C-USA tournament, then Arizona or anyone else should not be competition.
The Tigers just have to make shots. As long as the guards are on target from long range, then they can make a deep run in the tourney.
Lastly, they need to listen to the head coach. This may be the biggest one because all of the things I've said before will not be possible if they tune out the 33-year-old Pastner. Too many times this season they have been criticized for not listening and being very immature.
If they can pay attention to the coaching staff, and the staff in turn doesn't put them in bad situations, then we could be looking forward to a magical season that didn't look very promising a month ago.
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Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Daily Helmsman - Keys to the Tigers’ bout with Arizona on Friday
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