Is Memphis the Best Team in the Land?
By Adam Kiefaber
The Memphis Tigers are currently ranked No. 3 in both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today polls, respectively. In the AP, the school received 18 first-place votes and they have eight in the ESPN/USA today. Memphis trails North Carolina (No.1) and UCLA (No. 2) by the slimiest of margins (In AP - UNC 1,728 points, UCLA 1,710 points and Memphis 1,680- and in ESPN/USA Today UNC has 739 points, UCLA has 734 and Memphis 731).
The Tigers return all five starters and added two new starters (that doesn’t make sense, but let’s just say Memphis is deep) in transfer Shawn Taggart and true freshman Derrick Rose, who can be argued as the best 2007-2008 recruit in the nation.
Taggart, transferred from Iowa State and in his first game this season against UT-Martin, the sophomore center grabbed 15 rebounds (six offensive), scored seven points and committed only one foul in 25 minutes.
Rose has been impressive in his first two games. Game one, he scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out five assists, and had two block shots while turning the ball over only once. Last night (Nov. 6), Rose scored 21 points (6 of 8 FGs - only two misses were threes), had five rebounds, two more blocks and two steals while turning it over only twice.
Right now, Memphis is 2-0 with wins over UT-Martin (102-71) and Richmond (80-63). Besides No. 20 (AP) Kentucky, Memphis is the only top-25 team we have seen (thanks ESPNU) play a regular season game this year.
In the UT-Martin game, the Tigers had six players scoring in double figures with junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts leading the team with 28 points. Rose’s 21 points led Memphis in the Richmond game.
Memphis struggled against Richmond, who actually led the Tigers 48-46 with about 12 minutes left in the second half. After that, Memphis pulled away by outscoring the Spiders 34-15 the rest of the way.
For a short time, Memphis looked vulnerable, but this team is sick.
Starters junior forward Robert Dozier and junior guard Antonio Anderson along with Douglas-Roberts and Rose could all go pro in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Also, reserves - sophomore guard Willie Kemp, senior guard Andre Allen and sophomore guard Doneal Mack all would be superstars on most teams.
Memphis could easily be the best team in the country and should be a No. 1 seed come NCAA Tournament time.
The Tigers won’t be challenged in their conference schedule, but they do have some interesting non-conference games this season.
On December 4th, the Tigers will No. 18 (AP) USC (Rose vs. O.J. Mayo). Then No. 5 (AP) Georgetown (Dec. 22), No. 17 (AP) Arizona (Dec. 29), No. 14 (AP) Gonzaga (Jan. 26) and No. 7 (AP) Tennessee (Feb. 23). All four games are at home.
Coming soon: CBR’s Top 25
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:45 am
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