SCOTT JACOBS

The jerseys were hideous, but Missouri’s uter domminace of Memphis tonight was a thing of beauty.  Call it looking ahead, call it over-rated, call it getting beat by a very good Big12 team that plays in a very tough league.  Call it what you will.  Mizzou was better tonight.  Even if their uniforms looked closer to puke than gold.  J.T. Tiller scored 23 points, and the Memphis Missouri Tigers coasted to an impressive win against a team that most felt was a lock for the Elite Eight.

And just like that, half of last year’s NCAA Chapionship game field is erased.  Tonight Kansas gets its crack at Michigan State, and it would not surprise me, just like it didn’t surprise me that Xavier hung tooth and nails with Pitt, if the more athletic, more exciting Jayhawks win.  But we’ll keep that one between you and me.

Meanwhile, the Tigers get UConn, who dismantled “cinderella number one” Purdue (only by seeding really: they did fall outside of the top four) 72-60.  In unrelated news, the Huskies have petitioned the NCAA to let Arizona host every regional every year and that they be put in it, because when they get put in ‘Zona, they win in ‘Zona.  And then they win national titles.  The facts would support this.  1999 and 2005 are not flukes.  It’s got to be those cactuses.  Err… maybe not?

Villanova belted Duke in the mouth, steamrolling to the Elite Eight, and here it comes, are you ready– I think they just might be the best team in this tourney.  And the Big East meanwhile, just keeps on trucking, while the ACC lately at least– keeps on sucking.

North Carolina is the ACC’s last hope, a major disappointment considering that seven ACC teams got in.  Meanwhile in the Big East, or the Big East-y, depending on how you look at it, there is still the unprecedented possibility that the conference could get four teams in the Final Four.  That would be four for four.  It’s never happened before.

Villanova takes on Pitt in the East Final, so they’re getting at least one.  In the West Final UConn gets Missouri, who’s never made the Final Four, and although that game should be exciting, I like the Huskies to give the Big East a two for two.  Meanwhile, Louisville is the favorite to take home the Midwest, while Syracuse is coming on super strong as a contender in the South.  That game against Oklahoma should be a dandy.

So we present to you this possibility.  It’s possible that the national title game in Detroit could be a rematch between UConn and Syracuse.  Ranked in the 20’s going into the Big East tourney, the Cuse have been rollin’ ever since.

In somewhat related news,Madison Square Garden has politely petitioned the NCAA to move the Final Four to the Gawwwwdennn if the Big East sweeps the field.  There was a debate during the year which conference was the best.  I don’t think there’s any debate anymore.

SCOTT JACOBS

Like a bat out of hell look who’s back on the scene: last year’s two participants from the national title game.  And they are back with a vengeance.  After opening the season 13th (Memphis) and 24th (Kansas), few expected the two teams ravaged by NBA departures and graduations to be legitimate title contenders.  But lo and behold, Memphis opens the 16th week of the AP Poll in the top 5, and Kansas is no longer just a cute little team hiding in the bottom 20.  Rather, the Jayhawks, 24-5, are now in the top 10, sitting at 9th, and on top of the Big 12.

Quietly Memphis has won 20 in a row, and an astonishing 56 games in a row in conference play.  The argument, well it’s Conference USA, holds no water here, because to win 56 games in a row against any conference is remarkable.  After losing all world point guard Derick Rose to the NBA, and a host of other young talented high flyers, the Tigers looked like they would take a step back in 2009. Apparently someone forgot to tell them that.

With senior Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart proiding valuable experience for a relatively young team, the Tigers have four players averaging double figures, and with the rest of the top 5 crumbling on a weekly basis, the young Tigers have a shot to earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament before its all said and done.

Kansas is another great story.  Coming off an epic National Championship win over Memphis, in which Mario Chalmers nailed a three in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime, the Jayhawks were expected to be a good team entering 2008-2009.  But no one anticipated them being a threat to repeat.  With a 13-1 mark in the Big 12 the Jayhawks are rolling towards a two or three seed, and if they were to secure a conference championship in regular season play and in the tournament, possibly a one.

So the question now becomes: is it possible that last year’s final two teams could meet again in Detroit?  Even more amusing is the idea that it could be as number one seeds.  Could you imagine?  No one in their right mind, even in the crazy, never boring world of sports, could have seen that coming when we started this season.

But then again, how many people thought FSU would be ranked higher than Syracuse at this point either?

My point exactly.

Photo: Getty Images

NEIL JOSHI, The Sports Lounge
JSB COLLEGE BASKETBALL COLUMNIST

The Kansas Jayhawks (20-1) lost on the road to in-state rival Kansas State for the first time in 25 years, and now the Memphis Tigers have the distinction of being the sole unbeaten in college basketball. Kansas’ 84-75 loss was a credit to how well the Wildcats played, and now the Jayhawks are staring up in the Big 12 Standings. Kansas State is the only undefeated team left in the league at 5-0, and the combination of Michael Beasley and Bill Walker is beginning to look more and more like a fearsome duo.

Beasley, the front-runner to be Player of the Year and the top overall pick in next year’s draft, made waves by guaranteeing that his Wildcats would sweep Kansas, – the rematch at Allen Fieldhouse is March 1st– but he looked terrific in completing the first half of that daring prediction. After a slow start, Beasley still managed to dominate, knocking down all four his 3-pointers, and leading all scorers with 25 points. In the first half, however, Beasley struggled and Kansas State was largely reliant on Walker and unheralded freshman Jacob Pullen, who combined for 42 points in their team’s biggest game of the season.

Bill Self made an effort to harass Beasley and he constantly double-teamed, and sometimes triple-teamed the star, daring other guys on the Wildcat roster to beat his second ranked team. Walker has been one of Kansas State’s most consistent performers, but Pullen’s first 20-point game of his career was more than double his 9.4 scoring average. The freshman was most impressive in going 10-10 from the free throw line, while his teammates only went 8-14 (.571).

The Jayhawks are still in great shape for a #1 seed, but the game on the first day of March suddenly becomes a must-win game for a team that hasn’t had to deal with a loss to the Wildcats since 1982. Both players and the head coach acknowledged the bitterness of losing to a rival, and that they will be committed towards avoiding the same result in the rematchl. Self did mention a very good point, putting the loss into perspective.

“We weren’t going to run the table. As much as I wish we could, that wasn’t going to happen. So this could be a good thing for us in the long run.”

That’s very true, just ask the Patriots about what it’s like to constantly be asked about being undefeated. Those types of questions are being directed at John Calipari, who is the coach of the Tigers, a team that passed its own test on the road last night. Calipari insists that his team is due for a couple losses in conference play, but his team continues to prove him wrong

The Tigers looked as dominant as ever, rolling past Houston 89-77. The Cougars are the second best team in a weak Conference USA, but are a solid bet to make the field of 65 this year. This was a statement win for Memphis, who just continues along at 20-0. Despite turning the ball over 22 times, the Tigers still looked impressive in shooting 58% from the field, and outrebounding the overmatched Cougars 49-29. Last weekend, they handled Gonzaga at the Fed-Ex Forum in a similar fashion, and now the focus shifts towards the February 23rd showdown with Tennessee. It doesn’t appear that teams like UTEP or SMU will pose much of a problem until then, and it’s safe to assume that Memphis will be 26-0 entering that matchup. No offense to UAB, Tulane, or Central Florida, who all have an opportunity to slay Goliath in the coming weeks, but I don’t see it in any of them to pull off a major upset.

Chris Douglas-Roberts had 30 to lead the way for the Tigers, who are a complete team in every sense of the word. Joey Dorsey handles the dirty work inside, and had a season-high 22 rebounds. For the year, he averages over 11 a game; he had the defensive performance of his life when he manhandled Roy Hibbert earlier this year. Freshman sensation Derrick Rose had six assists, nine rebounds, and 10 points. That’s not too bad from a point guard that many think is one-dimensional. Rose is a score-first point guard, but is learning to defer to Douglas-Roberts, who is the team’s unquestioned leader.

Now that they are only team that without a blemish, the target on the Tigers back is only going to get bigger. A team hasn’t entered the NCAA Tournament undefeated since St. Joseph’s in 2004, who lost in the Elite 8 that year. A season like that would be a colossal failure for the Tigers, who have been dropped in that round the last two years. They’re sole objective for this season is to be cutting down the nets in San Antonio on April 7, and a regular season loss will not derail them of that goal, if and when that time ever comes.