Chris Douglas-Roberts of the Memphis Tigers by Joe Murphy/WireImage.com
College basketball has its first No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in nearly a year and it also turns out to be a battle for bragging rights as the best team in the Volunteer State. On Saturday night, top-ranked Memphis (26-0) hosts Tennessee (24-2) in prime time (Feb. 23, 9 pm/ET, ESPN).
ESPN’s Jay Bilas, who will be in Memphis for College GameDay (Saturdays, 11 am/ET and 8 pm/ET, ESPN), gives the credit to the men running these programs. Memphis’ John Calipari and Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl, he says, are “great coaches that are flamboyant that have brought passion back to the schools.”
Tennessee’s current No. 2 ranking is the highest in program history, while Calipari has taken the Tigers to the NCAA tournament three times since 2003 following a six-year absence from the Big Dance. “When Pearl and Calipari were both hired a lot of people were concerned about the fit, you know, the South and these guys are northeastern-type guys,” Bilas says. “It just shows that winning sells anywhere. They’ve brought a winning culture to both those programs. It’s been a long time since Memphis has been as good as they are now and I’m not sure that Tennessee has ever been as good as they are now. I think the quality of coach has really led to the quality of play.”
UPDATE: With Peyton Manning, Priscilla Presley, tennis players James Blake and Lindsay Davenport (and reportedly, Justin Timberlake) in attendance at the FedEx Forum, Tennessee pulled off a 66-62 upset Saturday night. The Vols should move to No. 1 in the next poll.
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Edited by Rich Sands at 02/24/2008 2:37 PM
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