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#2 Memphis vs. #3 Mizzou: Similar foes meet in Sweet Sixteen
Thirty-win teams meet tonight at 9:37 p.m. in Glendale, AZ with Elite Eight berth on the line
After surviving a first round scare against Cal State Northridge, second-seeded Memphis responded by manhandling tenth-seeded Maryland, 89-70, to advance to the program’s fourth straight Sweet Sixteen.
The Tigers (33-3), who were fueled by the 35-point performance of sophomore Roburt Sallie in round one, received a much more balanced scoring effort against the Terrapins.
Memphis used a 70 percent shooting effort to build a 53-33 halftime advantage and extended its lead to as many as 29 after the break before cruising to the easy victory.
Five Tigers reached double figures in the triumph. Tyreke Evans led the way with 19 points and five assists. Senior forward Robert Dozier followed with a near double-double performance of 17 points and eight boards. Doneal Mack, who knocked down five of seven three-point attempts, also had 17. Junior forward Shawn Taggart tallied a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while first round hero Sallie finished with 13 points in 23 minutes.
While the Tigers and tonight’s opponent No. 9 (AP and ESPN/USA Today) Missouri did not meet during the regular season, there is an intriguing connection between the teams that will certainly aid each club’s scouting report on the other.
Third-year Missouri head coach Mike Anderson, a Nolan Richardson disciple, coached at Conference USA member UAB for four extremely successful seasons before taking his forty minutes of hell, run and execute philosophy to Columbia. Thus, Memphis is familiar with the style of play an Anderson-coached team utilizes while he has firsthand experience at handling what Coach John Calipari’s teams bring to the table.
Both teams possess tremendous length, athleticism, and depth. These qualities of each team’s roster allow them to incorporate a frenetic style of play that features a fast-paced offense that feeds off a furious, in your-face pressure defense. Memphis forces 16 turnovers a game while Mizzou’s opponents commit nearly 19 miscues per contest.
Offensively, Missouri has been the more consistent squad. The Tigers average 81 points per contest and shoot over 47 percent from the floor. They’ve also taken better care of the basketball, as they’ve committed just 11 turnovers in their two tournament games. On the other hand, Memphis has turned it over 27 times. Look for Mizzou to attack Memphis’ point guard Tyreke Evans, who has committed nine of those miscues.
Senior forwards DeMarre Carroll (6’8”, 225) and Leo Lyons (6’9”, 244) lead Mizzou’s offensive attack. Carroll averages 16.3 points and 7.3 boards while Lyons records 14.6 and 6.0 per contest.
Matt Lawrence, a 6’7” senior guard, has made 76 three-pointers and shoots 41 percent from behind the arc.
J.T. Tiller, who averages eight points, leads MU with over 3.5 assists.
With the athleticism and talent that will be on the court in Glendale tonight, this has the potential to be one of the most entertaining games to date in the tournament and it could come down to free throws in the waning seconds. Both teams shoot around 23 per game with Memphis shooting them at a 69.5 percent clip compared to Mizzou’s 67.4.
The team that commits the fewest turnovers and shoots the best from the charity stripe will likely be the one left standing in what should be a very competitive contest.
The winner will meet the winner of number one seeded UCONN and fifth seeded Purdue in Saturday’s West regional final in Glendale.
> Check out the great selection ofMizzou Tigers apparel & clothing
By: Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer
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