March 20, 2009

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NO. 3/2 TIGERS TO MEET MARYLAND IN NCAA TOURNEY SECOND ROUND ON SATURDAY
The University of Memphis squad (32-3, 16-0 C-USA), ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in ESPN/USA Today poll, plays its NCAA Tournament second round game Saturday, Mar. 21 against Maryland (21-13, 7-9 ACC). The NCAA Tournament second round contest is slated for a 2:20 p.m. (CT) start at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

CBS Sports (Memphis digital cable channel 3/WREG) is televising the Tigers-Terrapins NCAA Tournament second round game. Memphis advanced to the second round with an 81-70 win over Cal State Northridge Mar. 19. Maryland made it to the second round with an 84-71 first round victory over California.

Memphis finished the 2008-09 C-USA regular season with a perfect 16-0 league mark and then won the league's postseason tournament. It was the fourth-straight year the Tigers swept the C-USA regular season and tournament titles, and the third-consecutive year they posted an unblemished record in league regular season play.

Memphis enters its NCAA Tournament second round contest Saturday on a 26-game win streak, which is currently the longest in the nation. The win streak began on Dec. 22 with an 87-49 victory over Drexel. The streak also includes wins over Cincinnati 60-45, Northeastern 80-48, Lamar 108-75, Marshall 80-57, UCF 73-66, Tulsa (away) 55-54, UAB (home) 81-68, Rice 80-52, Tennessee 54-52, East Carolina 85-64, Houston (home) 83-68, SMU (away) 79-66, No. 18/18 Gonzaga 68-50, Tulsa (home) 63-37, Southern Miss (away) 72-47, SMU (home) 90-47, UTEP 70-63, UAB (away) 71-60, Southern Miss (home) 58-42, Houston (away) 69-60 and Tulane 74-47. The win streak continued through the postseason with victories over Tulane 51-41, Houston 74-49 and Tulsa 64-39 in the C-USA Tournament and Cal State Northridge 81-70 in the NCAA Tournament first round.

Maryland enters Saturday's NCAA Tournament second round contest having won three of its last four games. The Terrapins' three wins in that stretch came against N.C. State 74-69 and Wake Forest 75-64 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament and California 84-71 in the NCAA Tournament. The loss was a narrow 67-61 setback to Duke in ACC Tournament semifinals.

SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland brings an overall record of 21-13 into Saturday's NCAA Tournament second round game. The Terrapins finished their Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season schedule with a 7-9 mark, and advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Maryland has won three of its last four games entering Saturday's contest. The Terrapins' three wins in that stretch came against N.C. State 74-69 and Wake Forest 75-64 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament and California 84-71 in the NCAA Tournament. The loss was a narrow 67-61 setback to Duke in ACC Tournament semifinals.

The trio of Greivis Vasquez (17.5 ppg), Landon Milbourne (11.5 ppg) and Eric Hayes (10.3 ppg) paces the Terrapin offense. Vasquez (5.5 rpg) and Milbourne (5.3 rpg) leads Maryland on the glass. Vasquez leads the team with 171 assists (5.0 apg). Dave Neal (39.1 percent) and Hayes (37.1 percent) are the squad's top threats from the arc.

Maryland is shooting 42.4 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from the arc and 76.4 percent from the free throw line. Opponents are out-rebounding the Terrapins by an average margin of +1.5 boards per game (36.7-38.2).

AND THE WINNER GETS...
Saturday's Memphis-Maryland NCAA Tournament second round winner gets a trip to the West Region semifinal (Sweet 16) in Glendale, Ariz., next week. The winner will play the winner from the West Region pod in Boise, Idaho, which is being played Friday and Sunday.

MEMPHIS VS. THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
The Tigers have an all-time record of 63-50 against members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Memphis has played Boston College (1-1), Duke (0-1), Florida State (31-22), Georgia Tech (3-4), Maryland (2-1), Miami (6-5), N.C. State (1-3), Virginia Tech (18-12) and Wake Forest (1-1). Memphis has never met Clemson, North Carolina and Virginia.

The last time Memphis played an ACC foe was in the 2006 Maui Invitational semifinal. The Tigers dropped a 92-85 decision to Georgia Tech. The last time Memphis defeated an ACC opponent was the 2005 postseason NIT when the Tigers beat Virginia Tech 83-62 en route to the NIT semifinals in New York.

CAL VS. THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
Head coach John Calipari has a 12-9 record against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. Calipari has coached against Boston College (2-0), Duke (0-1), Florida State (1-1), Georgia Tech (1-1), Maryland (3-3), Miami (0-1), North Carolina (1-0), N.C. State (1-0), Virginia (0-1), Virginia Tech (2-0) and Wake Forest (1-1). Clemson is the lone ACC school that a Calipari-coached team has not faced.

The last time Calipari coached against an ACC foe was the 2006 Maui Invitational when his Tigers fell to Georgia Tech 92-85 in the tournament's semifinal round.

COMMON FOES
Memphis and Maryland have played two common foes in 2008-09. The following shows the results of those games versus common opponents:

	Memphis	Opponent	Maryland

	70-79, L (A)*	Georgetown	48-75, L (N)

	68-50, W (A)	Gonzaga	59-81, L (N)

*overtime

GLAD WE'RE NOT NO. 1
Fans of all schools like to see their teams at the top of the national polls, and Tiger Nation had hopes of that after Memphis won the C-USA Tournament and saw North Carolina, Connecticut and Pittsburgh suffer losses in their league tourneys. But, entering Saturday's game against Maryland, Tiger fans maybe glad their team doesn't hold that No. 1 national ranking.

Since 2002-03, the Terrapins have done quite well against No. 1 teams, posting a 3-3 mark. Maryland upset No. 1 Duke in 2002-03 and No. 1 Florida in 2003-04. Last year, the Terrapins went into Chapel Hill, N.C., and defeated No. 1 North Carolina.

A TIGER THANK YOU TO THE TERRAPINS/PART I
Tiger Nation may want to offer thanks to Maryland for what it did for Memphis in the 2007-08 campaign. On the afternoon of Jan. 19, the Terrapins went into Chapel Hill, N.C., and took down No. 1 North Carolina with an 82-80 victory.

Around six hours later, No. 2 Memphis posted a dominating 83-47 home win over Southern Miss. Two days later (Jan. 21), the Tigers took over the top spot in both national polls for only the second time in school history.

Memphis remained in both polls' No. 1 spot for a school-record five-consecutive weeks.

A TIGER THANK YOU TO THE TERRAPINS/PART II
On Jan. 13, it looked as if the Tigers' Conference USA win streak was coming to an end at Tulsa with the Golden Hurricane leading 54-53 and only 4.5 seconds on the clock. In the timeout, head coach John Calipari called the play "Maryland."

Willie Kemp inbounded the ball to a looping Antonio Anderson, who dribbled in from over halfcourt for the game-winning basket at the buzzer. The play preserved Memphis' C-USA win streak, which stands today at 61 straight.

In the postgame interview, Calipari explained the play and why he called it "Maryland." Calipari said he picked the play up from then-Maryland head coach Lefty Driesell in the 1984 Great Alaska Shootout and kept it in his playbook.

On Jan. 24 at Tennessee, Calipari called the play again, but Anderson pulled up for a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer and hit the trey. Memphis went on to win the game 54-52.

Driesell's son, Chuck, is on Gary Williams' coaching staff.

A FAMILIAR SCENARIO/HOPES FOR A DIFFERENT RESULT
It feels a little eerie heading into Saturday's NCAA Tournament second round game versus Maryland. The last time a John Calipari-coached squad faced a Terrapin team coached by Gary Williams in the postseason came all the way back in the 1994 NCAA Tournament in Wichita, Kan.

The No. 2 seed Minutemen under Calipari defeated No. 15 seed Southwest Texas State in the Midwest Region first round, while No. 10 seed Maryland beat No. 7 Saint Louis. In a second-round battle of young, athletic post players, the Joe Smith-led Terrapins out-dueled Marcus Camby's Minutemen 95-87.

Also on that Maryland team was a forward named Keith Booth, who is a current assistant on Gary Williams' staff.

CAL'S SECOND ROUND SUCCESS IN NCAA PLAY
Despite the 1994 NCAA Tournament second round setback, John Calipari has had success in second round games in his career. He has a 6-3 record (.667 winning percentage) in NCAA Tournament second round games.

At Memphis, Calipari is 3-1 in second round contests, and has led the Tigers to three-straight victories in the second round. The Tigers last lost a second round contest to Oklahoma State in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

While at UMass, Calipari was 3-2 in second round games. The two setbacks were to ACC foes Virginia (1993) and Maryland (1994).

ONE OF FOUR...AGAIN
The Tigers are one of four programs that have double-digit victories in NCAA Tournament play since 2006. Memphis has 12 wins from the 2006-09 NCAA Tournaments. The following lists the teams with double-digit NCAA Tournament wins since 2006:

Double-Digit NCAA Tournament Wins

Since 2006

(Through Thursday's First Round)

	1.	UCLA	14

	2.	Memphis	12

	t.	Florida	12

	4.	North Carolina	10

MATCH-UP OF TRIPLE DOUBLES
Saturday's contest offers a match-up between players that posted triple-doubles this year in Memphis' Antonio Anderson and Maryland's Greivis Vasquez. Anderson recorded his triple-double of 12 points, 10 boards and a career-high 13 assists in a Tigers' victory over Lamar Jan. 3. Vasquez had his triple-double against No. 3 North Carolina Feb. 21 with a career-high 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

It's likely the two will be pitted against each other, as Anderson draws the defensive assignment of the opponent's top offensive performer. In Maryland's case (according to his team-leading 17.5 ppg), that player is Vasquez.

THE LAST TIME THAT...

In the NCAA Tournament first round contest against Cal State Northridge Mar. 19, the Memphis defense looked a little human after playing at a super-hero level the past month. The Matadors scored 70 points and shot 44.4 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the three-point line despite the loss.

The last time a Tiger foe hit the 70-point plateau was Jan. 3 when Lamar scored 75 in a 108-75 setback to Memphis at FedExForum. The last time an opponent shot better from the field and arc against the Memphis defense was on Feb. 4. SMU hit 45.6 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from the arc in the Tigers' 79-66 win in Dallas.

SALLIE FOR THREEEEEE!
When Roburt Sallie signed with the Tigers, the scouting report said the 6-foot-5 guard had shooting range to the parking lot outside the arena. Well, in Memphis' NCAA Tournament first round win over Cal State Northridge Mar. 19, he not only showed what he could do to Tiger Nation, but also the entire country.

The Sacramento, Calif., native hit a school-record 10 three-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points. The 10 treys were also a Memphis NCAA Tournament record, and were one shy of tying the overall NCAA Tournament record.

Sallie is hitting 45.4 percent from the arc in 2008-09, which is currently the school single-season percentage record.

SALLIE SETS TIGER NCAA SCORING MARK
Well, it took 36 years, but the Tigers' record for scoring in a single NCAA Tournament game was finally broken. Sophomore Roburt Sallie netted a career-high 35 points in Memphis' NCAA Tournament first round win over Cal State Northridge Mar. 19.

Sallie's 35 points narrowly broke the previous mark of 34 points by Larry Kenon in the 1973 NCAA Tournament. Kenon scored his 34 points in a first-game 90-76 win (regional semifinal) over South Carolina.

STREAKING TIGERS
Don't look now, but Memphis has quietly put together a 26-game win streak. The streak is the longest in the nation, and the following shows the top-five current win streaks in NCAA Division I:

Top-Five NCAA Division I Win Streaks

(Through Mar. 19)

	Team	Streak	Next Game

	1.	Memphis	26	NCAA Tour./Mar. 21

	2.	Louisville	10	NCAA Tour./Mar. 20

	t.	Gonzaga	10	NCAA Tour./Mar. 21

	4.	Stephen F. Austin	9	NCAA Tour./Mar. 20

	5.	N. Dakota State	9	NCAA Tour./Mar. 20

MORE STREAKS FOR TIGERS
For the eighth time in the John Calipari era, the Tigers hit double digits in a winning streak. The team's current streak is at 26 straight, which ties the school record set by the 2007-08 squad. The 2006-07 Tigers held the previous longest win streak in school history with 25 straight. The following lists the top win streaks in Tiger basketball history:

	Streak	Year	Ended By

	26	2008-09	----------------

	26	2007-08	Tennessee, 66-62

	25	2006-07	vs. Ohio State 92-76

	20	1985-86	at Va. Tech 76-72

	16	1954-55	at Centenary 70-68

	15	2005-06	at UAB 80-74

	14	1972-73	at Louisville 83-69

	12	2007-08	vs. Kansas 75-68 (ot)

	12	2002-03	at Louisville 78-75

	12	1983-84	Louisville 85-78

	11	3 teams	2003-04, 1982-83, 1975-76

For more NCAA Tournament notes on the Memphis-Maryland match-up, click on the pdf link at the top of the page.