Tigers cruise past Tulsa 78-66

The University of Memphis Tigers (23-8, 13-3 in Conference-USA) returned back to dominance of C-USA as they won the regular season title outright for the first time in three years this afternoon, cruising to a 78-66 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, OK.

Tigers star sophomore guard Will Barton, whom many believe is this year's C-USA Player of the Year, backed up those sentiments with a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds as the Tigers turned a three point halftime lead into an 18-3 second half run and build a lead as big as 26 at one point.

Three Tigers scored in double figures. Along with Barton's efforts, sophomore point guard Joe Jackson added 16 points and five assists, while senior forward Wesley Witherspoon chipped in with a nice 13 points and nine rebounds - nearly missing a double-double. The 30-point barrage by Barton put him in elite company as only one of 47 Tigers to score at least 1,000-points in his Tigers career - and only the ninth to do so in two seasons.

At 23-8 and winners of 8 of their last 10, the Tigers await an NCAA tournament nod, but first is the C-USA tournament held this year in Memphis. The Tigers do have a first-round bye as the No.1 seed for the C-USA tourney, and will now turn their focus to the winner of the UTEP/Houston game on Wednesday.

The Tigers should return back to full strength next week during the tournament. Former McDonald's All-American guard and forward Adonis Thomas is expected to return from late-season ankle surgery that has kept him out the last 15 games. And Will Barton's younger brother, Antonio, will also return to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a mild foot sprain.

Tipoff for the Tigers' quarterfinal game will be at 6:30 p.m. (CT).