I, along with majority of this board, can’t wait for Wednesday night and I will admit I think we will win. But are we looking past this Memphis team? Are we writing off this game in the back of our minds? Certainly the politically correct answer is No you never look past anyone but are we doing in indirectly? I have made fun of Memphis this year and laughed at their struggles right up till they won at Louisville. I just saw on the Shout box someone posted Memphis has no chance.
I am pumped tomorow night too and I didn’t post this to dim people’s hopes. I am curious to see how the rest of you feel about tomorow night.
You remember what they did to us last year? I think they’d do it again, even without Banks, if this game was in Memphis. Memphis can flat out score, has absolutely nothing to lose, and if anyone reads Bill Simmon’s, is the ultimate “Ewing Theory” team in college basketball.
They are most definitely are not going to fold that easy this Wednesday. Wherther it is true or not they believe they will make it to the big dance and will win out. We will have to treat them as any opponent that ever set foot into our “house”. [SIZE=4]Go Niners ! ! ![/SIZE] Take care of Memphis State!
[i]Originally posted by NinerLoudNProud[/i]@Feb 22 2005, 11:28 AM
[b] You remember what they did to us last year? I think they'd do it again, even without Banks, if this game was in Memphis. Memphis can flat out score, has absolutely nothing to lose, and if anyone reads Bill Simmon's, is the ultimate "Ewing Theory" team in college basketball. [/b]
I agree with this assessment. No way our guys look past this game. They remember what happend last year at Memphis and I believe they come out with something to prove.
I don’t agree that they would do the same thing to us if it was at Memphis this year. No Burks and no Banks hurts them a great deal. They can score, but I don’t believe they have the tools to stop Eddie, Curt and Plav. I know they don’t have the tools to stop Eddie.
I have watched them play on tv a few times this year, here are some observations:
o To win they need to play like a team, when they do that they are good (seem to be better without Banks), also they like to settle for jump shots even the big guys, so if the jump shot is falling they are good. They shoot a lot of base line jump shots, hopefully they hit the rim and we get out on the fast break.
o They don’t seem to play the same way for 40 mins, I think if we keep it close the whole game it will be to our benefit the last 5 minutes.
o There pg is very good, it looks like he can penetrate at will and score. Similar to past years. But looks like he is still trying to figure out on which possesions to penetrate and which ones to not penetrate on that is always tough for a frosh.
I didn’t think about this until just reading the wrap-up of the Memphis-Southern Miss game on the Commercial-Appeal website:
[b]The Memphis victory set the stage for what is arguably one of the biggest, most crucial weeks Tiger basketball has witnessed in recent years.
Memphis plays at 23rd-ranked Charlotte on Wednesday and hosts 12th-ranked Louisville next Saturday with FedExForum providing a backdrop for ESPN “GameDay.”
With two losses, the prospects of an NCAA Tournament will become bleak. But with two wins, the Tigers will leap into first place of Conference USA, and perhaps back into the Top 25.[/b]
This is a BIG game for both Charlotte and Memphis! Gotta keep winning, Niners!
I am worried about this game personally. When Memphis plays together, they are a good team. They definitely have the talent, the question is, can they pull it together? I guess what it boils down to is Lutz vs Calapari.
We win by single digits. I’m definitely not looking past this game because I think it will be just as difficult for us as the game at Freedom coming up. Memphis has a tremendous amount of talent and will come in here with the “we need this more than you do” attitude. If we don’t show up, we’ll get beat…plain and simple. I think we better shoot well from the free throw line and outrebound them. That kind of goes without saying in any game you play but it could be the difference tomorrow night.
A lot of my hope rides in Mitch vs. Washington Jr.
Washington is still fragile. He still has the knack to turn the ball over, and still is bothered by pressure beyond the halfcourt. I don’t want to see him get going and score more than 12.
It will be a tough game… We will need to execute our offense better than we did against DePaul to beat Memphis.
I don’t think we are overlooking them though… if anything, I think they might be overlooking us since they play Louisville next. There seems to be more Louisville talk on their board than Charlotte talk.
We need this win though… we can’t afford another home loss to another RPI 100+ team. (Although they will probably be under 100 by the end of the season.)
Pomeroy lists Memphis has a 7 point underdog with a 36% chance of winning. Also, according to Pomeroy, Memphis is ranked #57 overall and #14 over the last 5 games. This has the makings of a great game.
[i]Originally posted by LutzFan[/i]@Feb 22 2005, 03:29 PM
[b] I don't think we are overlooking them though... if anything, I think they might be overlooking us since they play Louisville next. There seems to be more Louisville talk on their board than Charlotte talk.
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The reason we are so hyped about the Louisville game is because it will mark the end of a 35-year rivalry in college basketball. With their departure to the Big East, we fans are anxious to give them a going-away present they will not soon forget!! :P
They snuck out of Memphis Nov. 4 with a 7-pt (football) win with less than :30 to go in the game! We are 9-9 with them in the last 18 years AT Freedom Hall. We have always loved to hate the Cards just as much as they have loved to hate us!! (I have cousins that graduated Louisville!! I know!)
So forgive us fans for getting psyched for our ESPN Gameday at the FedEx Forum this Saturday!
I am sure the team is fully aware of how tough it will be to win over there tomorrow!! I will watch on the Internet tomorrow night hoping it will be a close one.