HOUSTON - Fans started chanting "One More Year" upon the news that Derrick Rose was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player.
Joining him on the all-regional team are Brook Lopez, DJ Augustin, CDR and Joey Dorsey.
. . . Calipari to the crowd: "Thank you to all the Memphis fans. How about this basketball team? What a great day for our univeristy and our city."
HOUSTON - Memphis played its basketball of the season in this two games of the regional and because of it they now advance to San Antonio next week where they will meet UCLA in the national semifinal. The Tigers won this one, 85-67, and, much to the dismay of many, were able to hit free throws down the stretch. CDR was 12 of 15 from the line, Rose was 7 of 8 and the Tigers were 30 of 36 from the stripe.
Memphis shot 26 of 52 from the field . Texas began the Hack-a-Tiger assault with about four minutes and left and Memphis leading by 20 to no avail.
It was another never-ending Gobstopper for the Tigers as Texas stretched the game with 3-pointers and fouls in the final four minutes.
. . . Calipari pointed to his family as time wore down which started Erin crying on Ellen's shoulder. Derrick rose waved goodbye to the Texas fans with a huge smile on his face.
. . . Abrams and Augustin both helped their numbers with some 3-balls down the stretch, but the job the Memphis guards did on them, coupled with the big man scoring in the paint for Memphis (40-24) was the real story of the game. Abrams finished with 17 points on 6 of 16 form the field (5 of 10 from 3-point land). Augustin had 16 points (4 of 18 and 2 of 6).
. . . Dozier fouled out with 3:36 left in the game. He had two points and seven rebounds and was 1 of 6 from the field.
. . . Mason fouled out for Texas with 2:47 left in the game. He had 7 points, 7 rebounds and three assists. James fouled out with 46.2 seconds remaining. he had 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
. . . We'll stick around for the awards presentation and then work the post-game interviews and have a regional wrap-up for you in our final Hang Time Office Hours of the year later tonight. be sure to check it out and we'll be back with you from San Antonio on Thursday afternoon sometime.
HOUSTON - Appearing in its third straight Elite Eight, the Memphis Tigers are on their way to the school's third-ever Final Four and the first since 1985. Memphis leads 67-48 with 3:56 left and the Memphis fans are on the verge of total celebration amidst the burnt orange, and some of that burnt orange is heading to the exits.
Abrams and Augustin are now a combined 5 of 25 from the field and have 16 points between them (11 for Augustin).
Joey Dorsey has a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
. . . Not looking like I get an all-regional ballot but my team would be CDR, Rose, Dorsey, Augustin and Justin Mason. Rose will be my regional MVP.
. . . Today's attendance is announced at 32,798. Friday was 32,931.
HOUSTON - With 8:07 left in the game, Memphis is up 59-43 and Texas is going to need to really turn things around to get back in this one.
Memphis remains at 50 percent shooting from the field (24 of 48) while Texas has dropped slightly since halftime to 17 of 47. Both teams have hit just one 3-pointer this half.
Paint points are now 38-20 in favor of Memphis while rebounding remains close at 30-27 for Memphis.
. .. DJ Augustin is 3 of 14 from the field and AJ Abrams is 2 of 8.
. . . Taggart has had a very solid game off teh bench for the Tigers with 12 points on 5 of 7 from the field. he had four points in the first half.
. . . Dozier picked up his fourth foul with 8:32 left in the game, he was replaced by Dorsey. Pittman missed the free throw that would have given him the 3-point play on the foul.
HOUSTON - Memphis has weathered an early second half run by Texas to extend its halftime lead by one point, 50-38 with 12:53 left in the game. Joey Dorsey will go to the line to shoot one after being fouled on a basket to put the lead at 12.
The Texas run got to 12-0 as they scored the first six points of the half to trim the lead to 39-34. Taggart ended it with a jumper in the paint over Atchley. Memphis quickly got it back to nine on a Rose dunk.
Damion James scored four of first six points of the half for Texas. He now has eight points and Augustin has 11 to lead Texas.
. . . Rose defedning Augustin, Anderson on Abrams.
. . . Anderson banked in a 3-pointer just under 15 minutes left to put memphis back up by 12.
HOUSTON - With the the exception of Texas's 6-0 run to end the half, Memphis has to be v ery happy with the way things played out in the first half.
Calipari was able to use eight players for five or more minutes and despite having been outscored 8-4 by the Texas bench, the Longhorns trio of guards had to play all but four minutes of the half (20 for Augustin, 18 each for Abrams and Mason). That wearing down of the gaurds is definitely part of teh Memphis strategy as they have been able to shuttle in Andre Allen, Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp.
No one is any real foul trouble and only 15 total fouls were whistled in the first half, something that definitely favors the Tigers.
. . . Rose was 5 of 6 form the field in the first half, his only miss coming from 3-point land on a shot that rimmed out.
Mack and Kemp are 0 of 4 from 3-point land.
. . . The Tigers met in a circle at halfcourt after watching Dorsey hit a free throw attempt and raised arms and fists in unison.
. . . Texas cheerleaders are in chaps, as is the halftime custom, and we are once again happy for such rituals.
. . . Well, there is a Bish in the house, but it's former President Bush not the sitting one.
HOUSTON - Texas re-gained a bit of composure toward the end of the half with a couple of sloppy plays by Memphis and now trail 39-28 at the break.
Some quickie stats:
Tigers led in scoring by CDR with 11 and Rose with 10.
Longhorns led by Mason and Augustin with seven each.
Joey Dorsey leads all rebounders with seven.
Mason has six for Texas
Memphis shot 15 of 31 from the field (48 percent) and 2 of 9 from 3-point land.
Texas shot 10 of 27 form the field (37 percent) and 2 of 8 from 3-point land.
Paint points are in favor of Memphis 24-12.
Rebounds are Memphis 18-17.
Turnovers are 8 for Texas, 3 for Memphis.
Rose has four assists to lead all dishers.
Dorsey dunked with 2:40 left on an alley-oop from CDR, then pointed to the Memphis rooters who responded with a chant of "Joey, Joey, Joey."
HOUSTON - With each attempt to get back in it by Texas and their fans, Memphis seems to have an answer. It got especially loud after Texas trimmed the lead to 12 with just over 4:00 left on a dunk by Pittman, but Memphis answered with a Shawn Taggart bucket off the galss. The score is now 34-20 Memphis with 3:45 left in the half.
. . . Rebounding battles is going to Memphis, 17-15.
. . . Texas has eight turnovers to three for Memphis.
. . . Paint points are 22-8 in the Tigers favor.
. . . A DJ Augustin trey off a block from Clint Chapman trimmed the Memphis lead to 29-18 with 6:26 left in the half, prompting a Calipari timeout.
. . . The daily Dorsey dunk-o-rama came on a leak-out after some great Tiger defense in transition and led to Dorsey two handing a monster flush all alone. It brought the Memphis lead to 13.
HOUSTON - It's not quite Friday night when Memphis stormed out to a 30-point lead, but with 7:40 left in the half, the Tigers are up 29-13 and have been on a 11-2 run over the last seven minutes.
CDR now has 11 points for Memphis and Rose has 10 points. Mason continues to lead Texas with 7.
The length of Memphis is certainly affecting the shot selection of the Longhorns who are now 5 of 19 from the field (26 percent). Memphis is 11 of 24 (46 percent). Both squads are 1 of 7 from beyond the arc.
. . . It went to 24-13 on Rose steal and dunk at 10:00 mark, then 26-13 8:56 on alley-oop in transition from Rose to Dorsey and finally 29-13 with 8:10 left, CDR lay-up in transition and foul.
. . . Memphis switching up with man-to-man and then zone.
HOUSTON - With 11:56 left in the half, Memphis is up 20-13 and Texas will have the ball coming out of the timeout.
Memphis is being led by CDR's eight points and Rose's eight. Texas is led by Mason's seven points.
The Tigers are shooting 47 percent from the field (7 of 15) and Texas is at 36 percent (5 of 14).
Paint points are 10-6 in favor of Memphis.
Texas has three turnovers to two for Memphis.
. . . Rose started off 4 of 4 from the field. Not sure he had hit anything but net until his first trey attempt rimmed out in the 12:30-area.
. . . Biggest lead so far is 18-8, Memphis.
. . . Texas has switched to a 2-3 zone.
. . . Barnes inserted Dexter Pittman and Calipari countered with Pierre Niles. That, friends, is some texas-sized beef in the paint. First battle goes to Niles who deflected a rebound off Pittman. Niles stayed for just a miunute.
HOUSTON - A wonderful start with great intensity at both ends as Memphis leads 13-8 with 15:49 left in the half. CDR has seven early points, Derrick Rose has four, including a rebound and coast-to-coast lay-in that was breathtaking in its speed and control.
Justin Mason has four for Texas. Memphis is 5 of 8 from the field, Texas 4 of 9.
. . . A 5-0 start by Memphis. Ended by Connor Atchley dunk.
. . . A preponderance of burnt orange engulfs the Stadium, but a strong showing by the Tiger faithful as well. But when Texas made a run, it got very loud for the 'Horns.
. . . Calipari and Barnes exchanged a hug pre-game during lay-up lines and then another after line-ups were announced. Looked like Cal made a funny. Nice moments, both of them.
. . . Derrick Rose has a bandage over his right here where he was cut on Friday night. He checked out at 18:37 favoring the eye and was tended to immediately by Memphis medical staff. Andre Allen replaced him. Rose was re-inserted 1:03 later
. . . Texas starts out in man-to-man defense. Memphis also man-to-man but showing some match-up zone it appears.
. . . Calipari using the coacing stool, Barnes not.
HOUSTON - Some familiar names and faces on the officiating crew this afternoon with veterans Mike Kitts, Bob Donato and Patrick Driscoll. Kitts was in Little Rock last week and had Texas but not Memphis. Donato was in Birmingham last week and Driscoll was in D.C.
. . . Analysis:
This is one of those games that won't be about the Xs and Os as much as it will be the Jimmys and the Joes (cliches work, whaddya want from me?). Both teams are going to run, both have exceptional talent level and both are capable of scoring bursts.
Our two deciding factors in our pick of Memphis (by five or less) are this:
1. The Tigers are likely going to start out in their usual man-to-man defense and will force Texas to make outside shots. The hope being that DJ Augustin had his one breakout game on Friday and they can contain AJ Abrams enough to keep things managable.
2. The depth factor: Memphis has it, Texas doesn't and especially at the guard spot. If Memphis's bulky guards acan wear down the 'Horns, it will be the end of Texas.
. . . Memphis mascot Pouncer has broken out the ref jersey. Nice.
. . . Our CSTV.com Road Trippers are in the house. They're tired but feisty and it brings all new levels of excitement to have them courtside. We love those guys.
HOUSTON - One of the many interesting tales that came out of John Calipari's extended press conference yesterday was one about a text message he received form former UMass guard Edgar Padilla, who was part of Calipari's Final Four team at UMass.
"It's funny, Edgar Sent a text and said, 'I hope you live that experience all over again, that was one of the greatest experiences of my life,'" said Calipari. "I hope these young men get to experience it , because one of the things I've told them is that they are a Dream Team. I handed out alist to them a couple of weeks ago about what a 'Dream Team' is and there were 15 things on it and I read to my players, and they meet every one of those statements.
And I said, basically, you're a Dream Team. You may never play on a team that gets along this way ever again in your life. You're a Dream Team. And what I'm saying to them now is, let's keep playing just so we can stay around each other for another two weeks, and let's just do it. The experience of going one more step, they will talk about it the rest of their lives."
. . . Probable starters as listed on the stats monitor to our right:
Memphis
Robert Dozier
Joey Dorsey
Anotnio Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Derrick Rose
Texas
AJ Abrams
Damion James
DJ Augustin
Justin Mason
Connor Atchley
. . .Memphis assistant John Robic just stopped by for some pre-game talk. He appeared relaxed and did everything but say, "The hay's in the barn." But it is and the Memphis coaching staff is comfortable with its gameplan.
Robic said the court configuration wasn't a big issue on Friday night aside form the fact that from the opposing bench, it is near impossible to see the other bench. That becomes a factor when coaches try and see what calls are being made by the opponent but doesn't have that big of an effect on the game itself. Especially in this contest where both teams are mostly about running and not running a whole lot of set plays.
. . . Memphis has taken teh court for pre-game stretching at 12:17 local time. They are in blue shooting jerseys with white uniforms underneath. Antonio Anderson is shwoing some dance moves as he slides onto the court. JOey Dorsey is in all black warm-ups and wearing long pants as has become his custom. He is the lone Tiger in long pants.
. . . Calipari children, Bradley and Megan are already in their seats and have just been joined by Erin. They are in Row 2 behind press row a bit off center-court.
HOUSTON - Welcome back to Reliant Stadium for today's Regional Final between No. 1-seed Memphis and No. 2 seed Texas. A smattering of fans has begun to filter into the seats and Jim Nantz and Billy Packer are working on some pre-recorded voice-overs just in front of the Posting Up perch (we've been upgraded to the 2nd row today, indicating we behaved well on Friday in the third row).
There had been rumors that President Bush was going to be in the house today, but judging from the way our bags were lightly inspected coming in, we're guessing G-Dub will be watching this one on the White House's flat screen.
. . . The NCAA's Greg Shaheen has been spotted in the building, as he and Committee Chair Tom O'Connor are scheduled to complete their four sites in four days tour of the Sweet 16/Elite 8.
. . . The Tigers have been installed as slight 3 1/2 point favorite by the wiseguys.
. . . Two great columns on today's game that we'll leve you with for now:
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe.
Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
HOUSTON - We have just concluded the day-before interviews here at Reliant Stadium and we can't say we heard any ourageous comments or taunting from either the Memphis or Texas side.
No real feel for how each team will perform tomorrow, but it is pretty safe to bet that this game will be quite an up and down battle. John Calipari joked that the score could be in the 100s for each side. Or maybe he wasn't joking.
Responded Rick Barnes: "Who did he say was going to win? (Laughter) Did he say? Well, I don't know. We're going to play the way we've played. I think that at this point in time, I think teams are who they are, and both teams -- Stanford, they ran (Friday) night. We knew they were going to run. I think every team that we've played all year has had the attitude that you have to get out and try to get easy baskets; I think so much depends on how you take care of the ball. What you don't want to do is to allow teams to get out from your turnovers, but we are going to run. There's no doubt they are going to run and they are not going to change what they do and we are not going to change what we do. In terms of a score, I don't know. But like our guys were saying, we've got to this point playing a certain way, and we are going to continue to do that."
Said DJ Augustin: "Like Coach said, we are not going to change anything we have been doing all year, we are going to push the ball up and down and we have to do the same thing in defense. It's going to be an up-and-down game but we are just going to play our game."
. . . The cut above Derrick Rose's right eye showed no signs of swelling and despite an early morning headache, Rose said he is fine and the cut won't affect him tomorrow.
. . . A big part of the Texas presser was dedicated to the unsung hero-ness of "glue guy" Justin Mason. Several questions were asked about Mason - who was sitting there sort of bemused by all the attention. You can expect the Mason storyline to be a big one for tomorrow's game. As will the DJ Augustin-Rose storyline. The two played against each other over the summer at an adidas camp and Rose said Augustin got the better of him.
. . . We're working on a column about the two coaches in tomorrow's game and it will be posted at Hang Time in a couple of hours. Please be sure to check it out.
In the meantime, you can venture over to our good friends at ASAP Sports for transcripts of the day's pressers.
HOUSTON - Memphis wins it 92-74 and will meet Texas on Sunday at 1:20 local time.
Rose finishes with 27 for Memphis, CDR has 25. Suton with 23 and Allen with 20 for State.
We'll be back with you from interview day, tomorrow (Saturday) in the early afternoon.
HOUSTON - Despite missing much of the second half with an eye injury, Derrick Rose leads all scorers with 25 points and Memphis is up 83-66 with 1:56 left.
We're being assured by the NCAA that this game will actually end at some point.
. . . Tip for Sunday's South region championship game was just announced as 1:20 CT (2:20 ET). That's slightly odd because we thought with Billy Packer and Jim Nantz at this site, they would have had the natural lead-in to "60 Minutes" and be able to set the complete Final Four field. Instead, it will be Cinderella Davidson and Kansas that get the fill the final spot.
. . . Neitzle hit his first field goal of the game with 1:45 left. He is 1 of 7 from the field., with all but one attempt a 3-pointer.
HOUSTON - If this game were a candy, it'd be a Gobstopper.
Michigan State has, much to Tom Izzo's credit, been able to extend this one and wring out every last second. With 3:58 left in the game, Memphis leads 78-62 and the parade to the free-throw line is going to continue.
Neitzel has still not scored for State.
. . . There's no way you can blame Memphis for its second half lapse. It's too hard to keep up the kind of intensity they brought in the first half and with a 30 point lead at halftime, there's a certain expectation that the game is over, even though 20 minutes still needed to be ticked away.
That said, Calipari will gladly use the second half as further motivation for his Tigers as he tries to convince them that the world is against them on Sunday. And few do such motivtaional games better than the Tiger mentor.
HOUSTON - With 6 minutes left, it appears that Tom Izzo will foul on every Memphis possession.
Calipari has said he will have his players try and run away and hide, but so far the technique has led to two trips to the line for Rose and Kemp. Rose missed one, Kemp made two.
HOUSTON - It's not a game, but State has done it's best to make it one after Memphis dozed off for the past ten minutes of game time.
Memphis leads 69-48with 7:39 left in the game.
. . . Drew Neitzel still has not scored in the game. He is 0 of 5 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point land.
. . . Rose returned for Memphis with 8:45 left in the game. He is sporting a bandage over his right eye. He score four straight points. Guess they missed him a bit.
HOUSTON - Memphis is having a hard time creating a flow in this latter portion of the game, understandably so. But Calipari is not happy despite a 61-39 lead with 11:55 left in the game.
Derrick Rose is nowhere to be found and has definitely left the bench area.
. . . Text Message of the night, received at 10:23 CT with Memphis up 61-36, from a weisenheimer friend of Posting Up (FOPU): "Geez, I hope Memphis's free throw shooting doesn't hurt them down the strecth of this one."
Why can't I come up with gold like that?
. . .Memphis Media Moron is now eating my media room-procured Snickers and M&Ms. The chewing seems to keep him quiet, which is nice. Wish they had Laffy Taffy.
. . . Every game tonight has the potential to be double-digit blow-outs. Not exactly what the mothership of CBS was looking for to boost sagging ratings.
HOUSTON - We're not going to insult your intelligence by continuing to post at every media timeout. If the game gets below 20, we'll check in. Otherwise just assume the Tigers are maintaining a helathy double-digit lead. It's now 61-29 with 15:56 left in the game.
. ..Derrick Rose got poked in the eye and was taken out of the game when the official stopped play. He doesn't appear to be on the bench - not sure where he is currently.
. . . Tigers went up 34 within first minute of half.
. . . Attendance for this session was 32,931. There were approximately 43,000 seats available, but thhe bulk of those remaining 10,000 are way up in the eaves.
. . . Dozier picked up his third foul of the game a minute into the half, but remained in the game.
. . . A moron media member from Memphis is trying to get his wife to see where he's sitting by waving his hand in the air each time the camera comes down this end of the court. He may need to be beaten. By Joey Dorsey. And Pierre Niles.
. . . Calipari is going to use the rest of the half to get some rest for his starters in preparation for Sunday against Texas.
HOUSTON - Michigan State could not get anything going in the first half and the stats don't lie in this one:
Memphis won the board battle, 22-6.
Memphis shot 20 of 32 from the field (63 percent).
State shot 9 of 23 (39 percent).
Memphis hit 4 of 10 from 3-point land.
State hit 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Suton led State with 11 points.
Rose led Memphis with 12 and four assists (Neitzel led State with four assists).
Just four State players scored (two with 2 points each).
Eight Tigers scored.
Memphis had 3 turnovers.
State had 9.
Memphis had 6steals.
State had 1.
Memphis scored 24 points in the paint to 12 for State.
Memphis netted 16 points off turnovers to 2 for State.
Memphis has 13 second-chance points (10 offensive boards), State has zero.
. . . Tough night for the Big Ten with Wisconsin falling to team from a mid-major conference and State looking at a 30-point deficit to a team from a Mid.
. . . State's last field goal of the half came with 6:17 left in half.
MEMPHIS - Memphis beat writers are already finished with their game stories. Columnists will have no trouble meeting deadline. This one is a joke. Memphis leads 50-20 at half, a score that was punctuated by a breakaway, between the knees dunk by Derrick Rose.
Michigan State may be boarding the bus right now for all we know.
. . .Big fella Pierre Niles checked in for Memphis with a little over two minute sleft in the half and proceeded to take an alley-oop and lay it in for two. if this thing goes this way and Memphis meets texas, we're proposing a sumo match at halftime on Sunday between Niles and Texas's Dexter Pittman.
. . . Back with stats when they get to us.
HOUSTON - Playing their best half of basketball in the NCAA Tournament, Memphis has taken a commanding 41-20 lead with 3:46 left in the half.
Drew Neitzel looks especially frsutrated and has yet to score for the Spartans. Memphis is lead by CDR's eight points.
. . . Incredibly, Memphis is shooting 67 percent (16 of 24) and State is shooting 9 of 19 (47 percent). But the difference has been on the boards, where Memphis has 14 rebounds to just 4 for State.
. . . A Joey Dorsey steal and tomahawak slam with 5:41 left in the half put Memphis up 37-20. It also started chants of "Joey, Joey, Joey" from the Tiger faithful.
. . . Raymar Morgan picked up his second foul with 7:05 left in the half.
HOUSTON - Memphis has built up a 13 point lead with 7:32 left in the half and now lead 31-18.
Goran Suton has half of State's points with nine, while Memphis has seven players with at least two points, led by Dozier and Rose with seven each.
. . . Willie Kemp with two early 3-pointers for Memphis. The Tigers are 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
. . . The Tigers have so many student managers that five of them have been relegated to auxiliary seating in the abandoned Stanford band section.
. . . The Memphis mascot is in its Elvis costume, a personal favorite of ours.
. . . With Anderson out, Rose picked up Neitzel on defense for Memphis.
. . . The video board that had been distracting Memphis players during yesterday's shoot around gets turned off during free throws.
. . . Robert Dozier picked up his second foul with 7:32 left in the half.
HOUSTON - The Tigers lead 19-13 with 11:42 left in the half. Both teams are shooting well with Memphis at 7 of 10 and State at 6 of 12. Memphis holds a slight 5-2 rebounding edge. Rose has 7 points to lead Memphis and Chris Allen has 5 to pace the Spartans.
. . . State is in a 2-3 zone to start.
. . . A trey by Rose gave Memphis a 10 point lead right around the 15-minute mark. Biggest of the game.
. . . Idong Ibok picked up his second foul with 13:58 left in the half.
. . . Texas players have just entered the arenadium and are sitting down to scout their next opponent. Big cheers all around.
HOUSTON - Memphis leads 11-6 with 15:36 left in the half. Michigan State has already committed four fouls to zero for the Tigers. Four different Tigers have scored in the first 4-plus minutes, led by freshman Derrick Rose.
. . . Antonio Anderson starts out defending Drew Neitzel as expected. Anderson hit his first 3-point attempt. Neitzel missed his.
. . . John Calipari is utilizing the stool provided by the NCAA. Tom Izzo is too. Neither coach in the first game was a stool sitter.
. . .Joey Dorsey became the first player to run off the side of the stage/court when he saved a ball from going out of bounds. It led to a breakaway from Chris Douglas-Roberts, who travelled as he made his lay-up.
. . . The building has lost some energy for sure after the first game despite the fact that most of the burnt-orange rooters have remained.
HOUSTON - A few issues with the final box from the first game, but they seem to have been corrected.
DJ Augustin led Texas with 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting. Brook Lopez led Stanford with 26 points and 10 rebounds (game-high).
Rebounding wound up even at 42-42.
Texas shot 49 percent for the game and Stanford shot 34 percent.
Texas won the points in the paint battle 40-30 and the points off turnovers 14-4.
HOUSTON - On our way back to the media room, we passed by Tom Izzo's good friend, Steve Mariucci, the ex-NFL head coach of the San Franccisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Nice support for his pal.
. . . The officials for the second game will be Karl Hess, Bert Smith, Tom O'Neill.
. . . Probable starters look like this:
Michigan State
Kalin Lucas
Drew Neitzel
Goran Suton
Raymar Morgan
Drew Naymick
Memphis
Antonio Anderson
Chris Douglas-Roberts
Derrick Rose
Robert Dozier
Jey Dorsey
. . . Slightly more blue in the crowd than green, but we're guessing all those burnt orange fans are going to be Green Teamers.
. . . Okay, we'll give you a prediction in this one - close throughout and Memphis wins by five or less.
HOUSTON - Texas wins, 82-62.
We'll be back with final stats in a bit and a look ahead to the second game between Memphis and Michigan State.
HOUSTON - Texas has extended to a 19 point lead, its biggest of the game and the 'Horns are Elite 8-bound and riding high. The 'Horns lead 77-56 with 2:07 left.
DJ Augustin has been simply marvelous and now has 20 points on 9 of 16 from the field. We wouldn't hate you if you headed over the Hang Time to check out our column on Augustin from this morning, because the competitive part of thsi one is O-V-A, over.
Four Longhorns are in double-fgures scoring and just one (Brook Lopez) has reached double digits for the Cardinal.
. . . Looks like we know where the POTUS will be on Sunday afternoon. Wonder if he'll bring his daughters?
. . . Trent Johnson's been doing the stare-down with a couple of the officials, but it's too late for that. Maybe he should've gotten tossed again?
. . . No matter who advances from our seocnd game, Texas should be a few point favorite on Sunday. the homecourt advantage is worth at least four points in our opinion.
HOUSTON - If Brook Lopez were to get say a smidgen of help, the Cardinal would still have a chance in this one. But he's not and his 26 points are almost exactly half of the Cardinal output as they now trail 63-53 with 7:58 left in the game.
Texas's is being bouyed by its virtual home crowd and some re-energized play in the last five minutes. It will take a monumental effort by Stanford to come back in this one.
. . .In the first half it was Clint Chapman who gave Rick Barnes valuable big man minutes. Now it's Dexter Pittman, who has been a revalation in this NCAA Tournament.
. . . Stanfoird's Mitch Johnson has such a strange jump shot and it's betraying him tonight as he's 2 of 8 from the field, including a clanked 3-pointer that would have cut the lead down to seven.
HOUSTON - Texas is clinging to a 54-51 lead with 11:43 left. DJ Augustin has scored just two pooints this half for the Longhorns after netting 12 in the first half. Stanford now has a plus-11 on the boards, 34-23 (9-4 in the second half)>
. . . A trey by Landry Fields cut the texas lead to one, 52-51. It was the closest the Cardinal had been since leading 2-0 to start the game.
. . . Robin Lopez back into the game with 12:29 left in the game and his three fouls.
. . . Love that Davidson score - Jerry Palm must be in Heaven.
HOUSTON - The Cardinal trimmed to the lead to four points and now trail 50-44 with 15:34 left in the game. Brook Lopez has seven of Stanford's 10 second half points and now has 22 points in the game.
If Texas can find a way to stop BLop, they will be fine. But that's a big a IF.
. . . Robin Lopez picked up his third foul of the game with 17:07 left in the game. It was his second of the half. He was replaced by Taj Finger.
. . . Texas dance team has made the chaps change. Thank you, ladies.
HOUSTON - The numbers do appear to be lying in this one as Stanford lead sthe rebound battle 25-19 bu trails by nine.
The Cardinal do have five more turnovers (7-2) and have been very reliant on Brook Lopez who has 15 points and 8 rebounds to lead everyone.
DJ Augustin has 12 points on 5 of 9 from the field and both he and Justin Mason have four assists each.
Stanford is shooting 13 of 33 from the field (39 percent) while Texas is at 18 of 38 (47 percent). The Horns are 4 of 12 form 3-point land and Stanford is 2 of 7 from beyond the arc.
. . . Mason, a guard, leads the 'Horns in rebounding with five.
. . . Twelve of Stanford's 25 rebounds have been on the offensive glass.
. . . Seemed like a lack of intensity on the Cardinal's part in the first half. that will have to change as they try and overcome the decided homecourt advantage.
HOUSTON - Texas leads 43-34 at the half and DJ Augustin has 12 points to lead the Longhorns. Brook Lopez leads Stanford with 15 points. A late 3-pointer by Micth Johsnon boosted Stanford's hopes going into the locker room.
. . . Texas's Clint Chapman who hasn't scored in the 'Horns' prior four games and has four total points in his last seven appearances has four points tonight and has played some important minutes.
. . . We'll be back with halftime stats.
HOUSTON - Texas continues to outplay the Cardinal and now leads 31-22 with 3:51 left in the half.
DJ Augustin leads Texas with seven points and Brook Lopez leads all scorers with 11 points. Stanford is actually plus-four on the backboards (19-15), but they are 8 of 26 from the field (31 percent) and Texas is 13 of 28 (44 percent).
HOUSTON - Stanford is really struggling form the field in the early going while Texas has found a nice early groove. Texas leads 23-16with 7:52 left.
Stanford has started to feed the post, and specifically Brook Lopez, with increasing success as they have . Brook Lopez has nine points, including the last seven in a row for Stanford.
Stanford is 5 of 19 from the field and Texas is 10 of 23. Five Longhorns have three or more points led by James.
. . . A very competitive battle between our two cheer and dance squads. The Cardinal dancers wear white gloves that bring a nice flair to the uniform. You already know our feelings for the Texas ladies form last week in Little Rock. We eagerly await the chaps changeover that comes around halftime.
. . . The raised court set-up allows for the head coach to stand above the bench on the carpeted apron. Each coach - Trent Johnson and Rick Barnes - are utilizing the space, but it doesn't appear the carpet is designated with the coaching box line. The line does appear on the actual hardwood, but they should have taped it off on the carpet for continuity.Looks odd, but we're getting used to it.
HOUSTON - Texas is up 10-4 with 15:22 left in the half. The homecourt advantage that everyone assumed would be the Longhorns' is certainly proving to be true. Just about the whole place is in burnt orange and it's near impossible to find any maroon in the crowd. But that crazy Cardinal tree sure is an active piece of lumber.
Damion James leads all scorers with six points.
HOUSTON - Rumors of a Tiger Woods appearance have circulated through the building and we believe they are emanating from CBS's Jim Nantz. He would certainly know.
Also supposed to be another Penny Hardaway evening as the ex-Memphis Tiger continues to follow his school.
Lastly, we just got word that should Texas advance, George Bush the Younger will be in the building on Sunday. That could make for a huge headache in terms of security and entrance to the building, so we just became Stanford fans.
. . . Memphis assistants John Robic and Derek Kellogg are scouting the game from the socut seats in the row in front of us.
. . . The NCAA has announced that "more NCAA . . . fans will attend this weekend's regionals than at any time in the event's 70-year history. As of Noon on Thursday, over a quarter of a million fans were expected at the four venues over eight sessions."
. . . Houston hosts the Final Four in 2011, Detroit has next year's - thus the dual experimentation in the stage-court.
HOUSTON - Those kooky kids with the Stanford Band have arrived with their pin-festooned hats and West Coast joei de vivre. No sign of the Tree yet.
. . . Tonight's officials for Game 1 are John Cahill, leslie Jones and J.D. Collins.
. . . NCAA Committee Members on-site are Lynn Hickey (Texas-San Antonio AD) and Laing Kennedy (Kent State).
NCAA Staff members on site are Jeanne Boyd (the former Florida Gator mascot) and Byron Hatch. We also saw and spoke to David Worlock of the NCAA.
. . . Jim Nantz just went into the bowels of the stadium to put on his yellow tie. Billy Packer, who has been doing research at a second row table, is in his blue CBS sports blazer. You know, we'd like a blue CBS sports blazer too - we are part of the family, ya know?
Clock-til-game time is approaching 30 minutes, which means it's time for us to go get some nourishment. Back in a bit.
. . . Ex-Texas footballer and Houston native, Vince Young, just appeared being escorted by John Bianco from the Texas Media Relations staff. If we were cool like Eric Sorenson, we would take a picture and post it. We're not so we'll tell you VY is wearing a blue and white striped SeanJohn golf shirt, jean shorts and currently signing some autographs and posing for pictures with fans. he has black Reebok sneakers with black RBK socks. His entourage includes three friends, one in a Tracy McGrady Rockets jersey.
. . . We're also scheduled to be sitting next to Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware who is with Sports Radio 610.
HOUSTON - Welcome back to Reliant Stadium where we're about an hour from tip of our first contest between No. 2 seed Texas (30-6) and No. 3 seed Stanford (28-7).
We finally have identified what the raised stage/court design reminds us of - especially for those in the front row bordering the edge of the court: A gentleman's club (or what we would think the set-up of a gentleman's club's stage and apron seating area would look like). Yes, folks, the NCAA has created the world's largest dancer's paradise with its hoops-in-the-round concept that is being utilized here and in Detroit.
We will refrain from Joey Dorsey making-it-rain jokes and move on to matters of basketball.
. . . Fans are just being allowed in and as expected there's a lot of burnt orange already on display.
. . . Stanford has take the floor and are shooting at both ends. They are in their maroon shooting jerseys with maroon uniforms underneath. Texas, as the higher seed, will be in home whites.
Continue reading "Houston: Hour 'Til Tip of Game One at "The Gold Club"" »
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After 20 minutes of play in our first regional semifinal here at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, it's No. 1 seed North Carolina holding a commanding 35-21 lead on No. 4 seed Washington State.
The Tar Heels got out to a fast start behind the hot shooting of junior Danny Green, who is leading all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. But UNC gained even more momentum before halftime with a three-pointer from point guard Ty Lawson along the left wing.
Tyler Hansbrough, meanwhile, has been rather quiet so far with eight points after dropping in a pair of free throws before the break, but it's been the perimeter shooting of Green, Lawson and Wayne Ellington that has really got the job done for Roy Williams' ballclub right now. Ellington has nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in 15 minutes, and Carolina has also controlled things on the boards with a 19-14 rebounding differential.
For Washington State, Aron Baynes kept the Cougars early on and leads the team with six points, along with Kyle Weaver, but the barrage of threes that UNC put in hurt Tony Bennett's team toward the end of the half. Whether Wazzu will be able to rebound after halftime will certainly be a factor if WSU hopes to pull off the upset and advance to Saturday's Elite Eight game. Shooting just 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from the field and 1-for-5 from three won't get it done, and neither will UNC's 48.1-percent clip and even better 4-for-6 mark from downtown. Both of those statistics will have to turn in the favor of WSU if the Cougars hope to continue their season.
HOUSTON - A big dunk from Joey Dorsey but nothing from Derrick Rose who electrified the open session crowd in Little Rock last week.
The Tigers are winding things down and so will we. We'll be back with you tomorrow night before the first game tips at 6:27 CT and you can also chekc the Hang Time blog on Friday morning for a column on Texas's DJ Augustin.
Thanks for joining us and be sure to stick around Posting Up for all the game action tonight.
HOUSTON - Calipari has the bigs at one end and the littles at the other and has switched ends to allow for both sets of players to adjust to the shooting background. All players are going through several minutes of shooting drills in rotation.
. . . Andre Allen, who suffered a shoulder injury in the Mississippi State game appears to be fine and Calipari said earlier today that he is expected to play. He's draining 3's from the corner.
. . . Worldwide Wes has been spotted in the bowels of the stadium. Memphis AD RC Johnson is also hovering along press row. Tough to say who's more important to Memphis hoops. We kid, we jest.
. . . Joey Dorsey was complaining about the video screens behind the basket as he shot some free throws. But Dorsey made three shots and Packer - who had the Tigers in a game for CSTV - applauded the big fella. Packer had told Calipari that his team had good form and that the free throw shooting wouldn't be a problem for the Tigers.
. . . All of the Tigers are taking free throws.
HOUSTON - The No. 1 seed Memphis Tigers have taken the floor for their open practice session. John Calipari was the first man out and a handful of Tiger fans cheered for their team. Robert Dozier was the first player on the court.
The Tigers will have a real practice at the Rockets practice facility immiediately after this open session, so they will just have a light workout for the crowd.
Calipari's son, Bradley, 11, has already adjusted to the backdrop and is draining some deep shots.
. . . There is one stool on the carpeted fringe of the court in front of each bench where, we presume, the head coach will be able to sit if he chooses. Calipari looked at the stool and shook his head.
We looked at the stool and got thirsty for a beer.
HOUSTON - The Longhorn guards continued to strictly shoot around while the big men were working on some low post moves, taking feeds in the paint and instruction from Coach Barnes.
With 15:30 left on the session clock, Texas left the floor, leaving team managers to entertain the crowd. Players fanned out and signed autographs and posed for pictures with session attendees. Nince touch.
. . . Some CBS staffers are looking for optimum position for the ever-present yellow CBS banners along the railing behind the scorer's table.
. . . Memphis will be out at 3:10 p.m. CT and we'll re-join you at that time.
HOUSTON - One half of the lower "field seats" are filled with on-lookers enjoying the light workout that the Texas Longhorns are currently going through.
Texas coach Rick Barnes is sitting between Jim Nantz and Billy Packer for his CBS interview and players are getting used to the raised floor and the black curtain backdrops. With the raised floor, the traditional table banners are not in use at this site. There is a an overhead octagonal rigging above center court that holds huge video screens as well as video screens in each endzone. Believe it or not, it's actually an intimate setting - but only in the lower section. By the time you start getting up to the upper levels, we're guessing it's not very easy to see what's going on courtside.
. . . We did some time in the Texas locker room and will be able to offer up a column on DJ Augustin at Hang Time for your Friday morning reading pleasure.
. . . We also got some time with Memphis coach John Calipari, who is sort of enjoying the fact that his Tigers are being portrayed as underdogs. Calipari was able to stop the golf cart carrying Rick Barnes back to his locker room and the two chatted for a while. Tom Izzo passed by on a different golf cart on the way to his presser and Calipari bemoaned the fact that he didn't have any golf carts. "They got me walking everywhere," laughed the at-ease coach.
. . . We were also able to say hello to our fellow Peabody, Mass. native, Todd Wright, who is the Texas strength coach. Wright's dropped his Peabody accent and now has a hybrid Peabody/Austin twang that will not soon be duplicated.
HOUSTON - Welcome to Reliant Stadium for the South Regional games, being hosted by Rice University and the Univeristy of Houston. This is one mammoth stadium and it sits next to the building that used to be called the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Houston Astrodome. Reliant, by that logic, is the Ninth Wonder.
The set-up for this regional is a first-time experiment by the NCAA (also being used at Ford Field in Detroit, where Jerry Palm will describe the action for Posting Up and CSTV.com). The court is elevated and placed in the middle of the football field with seating brought down close to the court. The endzones have been draped off with black curtains, but the rest of the seating under the retractable roof (which is closed, wiseguy) is available for fans and tickets still remain for the three games on Friday and Sunday.
Interviews start shortly with Stanford going at 1 p.m. CT, followed by Texas, Michigan State and Memphis. Stanford has just finished its open practice in front of a small crowd and they are being followed by Michigan State, Texas and Memphis (3:10-4 p.m.)
We'll try and liveblog the latter two open practices after we work some of the interviews.
. . . In the official regional media guide, there is a reference to Memphis as "Memphis State University," a moniker they have not used in some time. Very old school.
Continue reading "Houston: Interviews and Open Practice Day" »
Welcome to the South Regional, an experiment in both seating and seeding.
Reliant Stadium (in addition to Ford Field) will be guinea pig sites in the NCAA's latest plan to get more fannies into the game. That seating issue - no matter how the experiment in "Hoops in the Round" goes over - is quite secondary to the seeding issue.
No. 1-seed Memphis is suddenly the least liked 1-seed in the history of 1-seeds - taking slings and arrows from all sides. No. 2-seed Texas finds itself with a decided homecourt advantage. Even if Texas coach Rick Barnes doesn't it see that way.
"The bottom line is that in the two games we played in San Antonio (en route to the 2003 Final Four), we had to fight for our lives," said Barnes of his team's wins over UConn and Michigan State. "At this point and time in the season, (playing in Houston) is probably going to be made a bigger deal that it really is."
Still, there is evidence that Everything's Bigger and Better in Texas for the Longhorns. They are 9-4 in NCAA Tournament play in the state of Texas and are undefeated in such games under Barnes(6-0, twice in Dallas and once in S.A.). In fact, Barnes is .500 (9-9) in NCAA games outside the friendly borders, as the Texas head man.
In other Houston seeding intrigue the site also gives us the slightly under-seeded duo of Michigan State (5) and Stanford (3). The Spartans are more of a "4" and Stanford feels like a "2.5." Both - at the very least - are playing their best ball at the most opportune time and quite deserving of playing on the next-to-the-last weekend of the season.
After the jump, some South Regional tidbits that will help you pass the time between now and Friday night's tip from the Texans' home.
Be sure to join us for live-blogging from Media Day on Thursday afternoon from Houston (as well some open practice live-blogging) here at Posting Up.
Continue reading "South Regional: The Day Before the Day Before Preview" »
