(02-27-2009 09:11 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(02-27-2009 02:58 AM)JMSTiger Wrote:  

(02-26-2009 03:13 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  I mean year after year we see mid-majors with 28-3 records going to the NCAA only to be beat by middle of the road teams from top conferences.

Memphis' record going into the NCAA Tournament the last three years
2006: 30-3 (made it to the Elite 8, losing to #2 seeded and Pac 10 champs UCLA in the West Regional Finals)
2007: 30-3 (made it to the Elite 8, losing to #1 seeded and Big 10 champs Ohio State in the South Regional Finals)
2008: 33-1 (made it to the National Championship Game, losing to #1 seeded and Big XII champs Kansas in the National Finals)

Memphis has proven the last three years that it is not some typical "mid-major" with an inflated record. I suppose they will have to do so once again this year and the year after that and after that and so on. As long as Memphis is a member of C-USA, they will get shat all over, no matter who they beat or how many games they win in the Dance.

No way would SF Husky been talking about MEMPHIS in that statement...as if he was....that's sad he knows so little.

You got selective reading skills. I would suggest you go back and read my post again.

Last year's Memphis team would have won the the BE. This year's Memphis team does not deserve a #1 seed. Memphis at best is a 2nd tier BE team. If Memphis is a #1, so should Nova and Marquette.

CUSA is a mid major conference with bunch of crappy teams. A win streak against bunch of CUSA teams is nothing to write home about.

Yea..i did not hear anything close to that about Memphis last year. Everyone knew they were legit because they had a bunch of big time wins out of conference to their credit. This year they do not. Their best wins are UAB twice, Tennessee and Gonzaga,...not exactly murderers row. The point is they have been inflated playing an easier schedule. Still a very good team that does not finish top 5 in the Big East this year.

(02-27-2009 03:01 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  This year's Memphis team does not deserve a #1 seed. Memphis at best is a 2nd tier BE team. If Memphis is a #1, so should Nova and Marquette.

CUSA is a mid major conference with bunch of crappy teams. A win streak against bunch of CUSA teams is nothing to write home about.

To be honest, I don't really give a damn how we would finish in the Big East this year, because we aren't IN the Big East, and don't enjoy the prestige and money that goes with it. I also don't much care whether we "deserve" a #1 seed, but hope that we get one, and will thoroughly enjoy it if we do. Those BCS schools which don't like the situation can easily rectify it by including us at the BCS feeding trough.

(02-27-2009 09:09 AM)KnightLight Wrote:  

(02-26-2009 10:23 PM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(02-26-2009 09:17 PM)Letsgotigers Wrote:  PLEASE invite us to the BE to give us a chance to find out. That is the ONLY way to answer this argument that comes up each year. Last year the same question was asked several times from BE and SEC schools and look where we finished. Ask us to join you and we shall see....Please...

Everyone on this board said last year that memphis probably would have won the BE. Memphis had beaten enough good programs for us to say this. this year however is quite different. memphis does not have the great ooc wins to back them up. This mmephis team is not nearly as good as last years Memphis team. If this team makes it to the final four, then we will all be eatin Crow. But I dont like crow, and I dont expect I'll be eatin any this year.

I think most Memphis fans would agree...even Cal (off-the record)...as last year's Memphis team was something SPECIAL.

While this year's Memphis team is very good...last year's team (if through cloning, etc...) could have played this year's team...I think last year's version would beat this year's version 7 out of 10 times.

However, just like with Memphis this year...there are a lot of GOOD teams out there...but not necessarily any GREAT TEAMS.

Unlike last year when all four #1 seeds make it to the Final Four...this year...the NCAA might be lucky if TWO of the #1 seeds make it to the Final Four...as this year's tournament is much more OPEN...as even the Top 4 seeds aren't even close to being finalized yet.

Agreed; there are not two dominant teams this year like last IMHO.

However, if you could place this Memphis team in last year's NC game, they may have very well won the thing. This team shoots FTs better and I believe they may play even better defense.

I love both teams of course and can not wait for the NCAA tourney - the hatters will be out waiting for the Tigers to fall just like last year and I hope they disappoint.

(02-27-2009 03:29 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Yea..i did not hear anything close to that about Memphis last year. Everyone knew they were legit because they had a bunch of big time wins out of conference to their credit. This year they do not. Their best wins are UAB twice, Tennessee and Gonzaga,...not exactly murderers row. The point is they have been inflated playing an easier schedule. Still a very good team that does not finish top 5 in the Big East this year.

Last year there were idiot predicting us to be the first ever #1 seed to lose in the 1st round. There was PLENTY of Memphis overrated talk last season.

Memphis' schedule is 41 in the country. UConn is 29. Marquette is 80. Villanova is 34. Wake Forest is 53. Missouri is 63. LSU is 100.

I think anybody who thinks Memphis isn't a top 5 team in the Big East either hasn't seen them play since before Christmas, is a complete homer, or is a fool.

Expert basketball analysts rank Memphis behind only Pitt and UConn. A few of them have Memphis behind Louisville also.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/powerranking

I think Louisville would finish fifth in the Mountain West since they lost to UNLV.

(02-28-2009 12:08 AM)klg316 Wrote:  I think Louisville would finish fifth in the Mountain West since they lost to UNLV.

This is funny and to the point.

Yes, the Memphis team that lost some of those early games may very well be as different now as the early Louisville team vs. the current Louisville team.

The difference, as I see it, is we KNOW the Cards team is better because of the quality of teams they have beaten since January.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the Tigers. Everyone and their mothers has been beating Tennessee since the Tigers have played them and the verdict is still out on Gonzaga as well since their conference is down as well.

In truth, I have no idea where Memphis would finish in the Big East because I have no idea how this particular team would respond to the weekly grind of a top conference.

The good news is that it doesn't matter. Memphis is going to be a high seed in the tourney again and they will have their chance to prove themselves there. Somehow I think Cal and the Tigers will be up for the challenge. Recent history tells me so.

Cheers,
Neil

I'm watching the memphis game today.
I don't think Memphis is that much improved since Syracuse beat them. They actually look slower but the competition is pathetic. SMU plays no defense at all. It's like a practice compared to the BE play. Memphis big man is just plain out of shape and I don't see him hanging with Blair, Griffin or Thebeet.

Memphis gets knocked out early this year. They may make the sweet 16 if they are seeded high enough but they don't survive an eight seed from the BE or the ACC.

It's not hating. I knew last year's memphis team was great. But those guys graduated or went to the NBA. Memphis' past success in the tournament has nothing to do with this year's team. They're just not that good this year.Villanova is heads and shoulders above Memphis on both ends of the floor-- and I can't stand Villanova.

(02-28-2009 09:13 AM)omnicarrier Wrote:  

(02-28-2009 12:08 AM)klg316 Wrote:  I think Louisville would finish fifth in the Mountain West since they lost to UNLV.

This is funny and to the point.

Yes, the Memphis team that lost some of those early games may very well be as different now as the early Louisville team vs. the current Louisville team.

The difference, as I see it, is we KNOW the Cards team is better because of the quality of teams they have beaten since January.

The same, unfortunately, cannot be said of the Tigers. Everyone and their mothers has been beating Tennessee since the Tigers have played them and the verdict is still out on Gonzaga as well since their conference is down as well.

In truth, I have no idea where Memphis would finish in the Big East because I have no idea how this particular team would respond to the weekly grind of a top conference.

The good news is that it doesn't matter. Memphis is going to be a high seed in the tourney again and they will have their chance to prove themselves there. Somehow I think Cal and the Tigers will be up for the challenge. Recent history tells me so.

Cheers,
Neil

Great post. Because Memphis is one of those teams that didn't "figure things out" until after the majority of the OOC schedule was finished, it is incredibly hard to see where this team would stack up against other top 10 teams. It wouldn't surprise me if this team won the national championship, it also wouldn't surprise me if we got bounced in the Sweet Sixteen. Frankly, there just isn't enough data to prove that Memphis, right now, is a Top 10 team. The Gonzaga and Tennessee wins, and the domination of C-USA prove that Memphis is a very consistent team, is capable of going into a hostile environment and winning, and is capable of beating good teams. We could be a Syracuse level team right now, or we could be a UConn/Pitt level team, and it won't be clear which until the NCAAs start.

Such is life in C-USA.

(02-27-2009 04:09 PM)Gray Avenger Wrote:  

(02-27-2009 03:01 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  This year's Memphis team does not deserve a #1 seed. Memphis at best is a 2nd tier BE team. If Memphis is a #1, so should Nova and Marquette.

CUSA is a mid major conference with bunch of crappy teams. A win streak against bunch of CUSA teams is nothing to write home about.

To be honest, I don't really give a damn how we would finish in the Big East this year, because we aren't IN the Big East, and don't enjoy the prestige and money that goes with it. I also don't much care whether we "deserve" a #1 seed, but hope that we get one, and will thoroughly enjoy it if we do. Those BCS schools which don't like the situation can easily rectify it by including us at the BCS feeding trough.

I couldn't have said it better myself. All this hypothetical sh!t is just a symptom of today's sports reporters not having a clue as to what to write about. So they spend all their time debating about who's better than whom, when nobody has a clue...

The great thing about college basketball is that it doesn't matter what writers, fans or anybody thinks. Teams actually get to prove themselves in March.

The 2008-2009 Memphis team was better than this Memphis team, but I don't this Memphis team isn't as "bad" as some might think. Could Villanova beat Memphis? Certainly. However, Memphis could also beat Villanova.

Unlike last season when there were four clearly dominant teams, I believe that almost every team in the top 15 could make a run at the National Championship this year. There is not a huge gap between the top teams like Pitt, UConn, Oklahoma and UNC and teams like Wake, Clemson, Villanova and Missouri.

I can see Memphis getting upset in the 2nd round, but I can also seeing us make another Final Four run. This year it could come down to who's on a hot streak.

I don't think anyone thinks Memphis is anywhere close to "bad"...i think we just do not believe they have done enough to warrant a 1 seed. teams like Oklahoma, UCONN, Pitt and UNC have beaten a ton of top 50 teams to earn a 1 seed...Memphis has just 2 wins over probable tournament teams this season...it's a big difference.

The way Memphis defends i think they can beat anyone. To me the top 5 teams in the Big East are 5 of the best 10 teams in the country (well until the injury to James for Marquette)...it is not an insult to Memphis to point out they may be behind all these guys in the Big East...hell they may be better, but there is no way to tell and their nonconference results tell us otherwise.

That is the big difference between this year and last year...we had proof last year of what Memphis could do against top competition... this year are they lost those games so even though they clearly have improved a ton it is harder to guage

(02-28-2009 04:10 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I don't think anyone thinks Memphis is anywhere close to "bad"...i think we just do not believe they have done enough to warrant a 1 seed. teams like Oklahoma, UCONN, Pitt and UNC have beaten a ton of top 50 teams to earn a 1 seed...Memphis has just 2 wins over probable tournament teams this season...it's a big difference.

The way Memphis defends i think they can beat anyone. To me the top 5 teams in the Big East are 5 of the best 10 teams in the country (well until the injury to James for Marquette)...it is not an insult to Memphis to point out they may be behind all these guys in the Big East...hell they may be better, but there is no way to tell and their nonconference results tell us otherwise.

That is the big difference between this year and last year...we had proof last year of what Memphis could do against top competition... this year are they lost those games so even though they clearly have improved a ton it is harder to guage

I can't argue with any of this.

YOU CAN'T ARGUE???

(02-28-2009 09:10 PM)bitcruncher Wrote:  YOU CAN'T ARGUE???

You're right. It's very rare.

(02-27-2009 03:29 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Yea..i did not hear anything close to that about Memphis last year. Everyone knew they were legit because they had a bunch of big time wins out of conference to their credit. This year they do not. Their best wins are UAB twice, Tennessee and Gonzaga,...not exactly murderers row. The point is they have been inflated playing an easier schedule. Still a very good team that does not finish top 5 in the Big East this year.

LOL ... This is laughable. We're not in the Big East, so it's irrelevant. If you guys wanna help change that, "feel free."

By the way, "in addition to the three NCAA Tourney runs the Tigers have placed about five/six players in the NBA over the course of the last three years."

I wonder how that compares with the average Big East conference team? Not braggin or anything, just sayin ... "we can only play the conference schedule that's set before us."

(02-28-2009 11:56 PM)TonyTiger Wrote:  

(02-27-2009 03:29 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Yea..i did not hear anything close to that about Memphis last year. Everyone knew they were legit because they had a bunch of big time wins out of conference to their credit. This year they do not. Their best wins are UAB twice, Tennessee and Gonzaga,...not exactly murderers row. The point is they have been inflated playing an easier schedule. Still a very good team that does not finish top 5 in the Big East this year.

LOL ... This is laughable. We're not in the Big East, so it's irrelevant. If you guys wanna help change that, "feel free."

By the way, "in addition to the three NCAA Tourney runs the Tigers have placed about five/six players in the NBA over the course of the last three years."

I wonder how that compares with the average Big East conference team? No braggin or anything, just sayin ... "we can only play the conference schedule that's set before us."

The point is not how good you should be or whatever, it is what have you done to earn that #1 seed. If #1 seed was given to teams with best records, then mid-major teams should get #1 seed because their 31-2 record or whatever.

What you done to earn that #1 seed? Memphis have not earned it this year. At best Memphis should be a #2 or #3 but not a #1.

Cal needs to schedule tough games outside of CUSA to earn respect no matter how good his team is. It is easy to win 16 games in the CUSA vs. the BE. In the BE, you have a off day you lose. Even the weak teams can beat you. In the CUSA, you can have an off day and still win. Many BE teams could have gone undefeated this season in the CUSA if they are in Memphis' place.

No one is dissing Memphis' talent or Cal's coaching. It is as simple as what have you done to earn that #1 seed.

guys...this was a "rebuilding" year for Memphis...remember?

we lost Rose, CDR, and Dorsey...we're supposed to suck, right?

current Memphis Resume:

record: 26-3
RPI: #7
KenPom: #1
SOS: 41 (not bad considering all the crap you guys talk)
bad losses: ZERO
Top-25 wins: 1 (@Gonzaga)

key wins:
@Gonzaga (#18)
@Tennessee
Cincy
@UAB
Seton Hall

Memphis looks like a solid 2 seed just WAITING for the 1 seeds to f***-up...and guess what...THEY ARE!

Go Tigers!!!
Drew

(03-01-2009 12:02 AM)SF Husky Wrote:  Cal needs to schedule tough games outside of CUSA to earn respect no matter how good his team is. It is easy to win 16 games in the CUSA vs. the BE. In the BE, you have a off day you lose. Even the weak teams can beat you. In the CUSA, you can have an off day and still win. Many BE teams could have gone undefeated this season in the CUSA if they are in Memphis' place.

I love it how everybody says that winning 56 straight conference games is no big deal and that everyone could do it. Pitt just lost at Providence, right? Providence is 72 in the RPI. Memphis is like the New York Yankees of C-USA. Everyone hates us and our game is their Super Bowl when we come to town. We hold the attendance record at virtually every arena in C-USA. We are always the biggest crowd of the season. While the competition certainly isn't the greatest, there are no off nights on the road.

There's a reason that there are only two teams left in the country who are undefeated in conference play.

One last thing to consider...while Memhis doesn't have any great wins we also have ZERO bad losses. Almost every team in the top 10 has a loss against a team rated outside of the top 50. We don't.

I totally understand anybody who says that Memphis doesn't currently deserve a 1 seed. However, i disagree strongly with anyone who would put Memphis below a 2 seed right now.