Sports Illustrated came out with five regional rivalry covers for the college basketball preview back in November; in retrospect, we probably would have been fine printing just one: Memphis-Tennessee. In 2007-08, no regular-season game has mattered -- or will matter -- as much as the one that will take place on Saturday night at FedEx Forum. Thanks goes to Wake Forest for clearing Duke out of the way, and making it a true 1-vs.-2 -- one that we can only hope will as much late-game drama as Wisconsin-Ohio State did last season. What we already know is that there will be more points scored in this 1-2 game: the Badgers and Buckeyes combined for a pathetic 97.
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Memphis Tigers (26-0)
In response to last week's call for Tigers retro gear, one Memphian offered to trade the Rankings "a sweet vintage satin Memphis State jacket (circa 1987)" for a ticket to Saturday's Nos. 1-vs.-2 game. I have no tickets, only a press pass, but if anyone out there wants to take Mr. Satin up on the trade, drop me a line and I'll arrange the exchange, as well as blog about it. My suspicions are that there will be no takers unless the jacket's pockets are stuffed with about $500 cash. Make a straight-up jacket-for-ticket offer to a scalper in the vicinity of FedEx Forum on Saturday, and you're liable to get slapped up, Pierre Niles-style. (By the way, how was Niles, who's a pretty irrelevant player in Memphis magical run, not suspended for at least one game? Is there some kind of special exemption for use of physical force against any fan dressed as a Blue Collar Comedy Tour star? I would support that being added to the NCAA rulebook, but I'm pretty sure it does not currently exist.)
Next three: 2/23 vs. Tennessee, 2/27 vs. Tulsa, 3/1 at Southern Miss.
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Tennessee Vols (24-2)
How much can we really read into the Tennessee-Memphis game from last season, a 76-58 win by the Vols in Knoxville? Teams change: the Vols lost Dane Bradshaw but added Tyler Smith and J.P. Prince; Memphis now has a lottery-pick point guard, Derrick Rose, running the show. The Vols are essentially running the same pressure D, though, and the Tigers are still running the Dribble Drive Motion (see Grant Wahl's great piece on that for a primer). But here's what happened last year: Tennessee held Memphis to its least-efficient offensive performance of the season. According to kenpom.com's Game Plan database, the Tigers scored just 0.789 points per possession in that game. Their raw average in '06-07 was 1.124 points per possession, a pretty significant difference. That game was also Tennessee's second-best defensive performance of that season: only Middle Tennessee (0.721 points per possession) performed worse against the Vols than Memphis did. Does this mean that the Dribble Drive Motion simply doesn't work against Tennessee, or was last year's meeting just a statistical fluke? We shall soon find out.
Next three: 2/23 at Memphis, 2/26 at Vanderbilt, 3/2 vs. Kentucky
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North Carolina Tar Heels (25-2)
The debate between Tyler Hansbrough and Kansas State's Michael Beasley for national Player of the Year will probably be decided on philosophical terms rather than statistical. In the numbers department, arguments can be made either way: Beasley is ahead in points (25.7 to 22.8) and rebounds (12.6 to 10.6) per game, while Hansbrough is the more efficient scorer (1.27 points per weighted shot to 1.23). It's more likely to come down to whether Wooden and Naismith voters want to avoid falling into the pattern of handing the award to another one-and-done freshman rather than a "career" collegian; and also whether voters feel like Beasley has made K-State, which is ranked 24th in the AP poll, relevant enough nationally. If the Wildcats finish the season outside of the rankings -- and they're likely to drop into the others receiving votes category next week -- I don't think Beasley has much of a chance.
Next three: 2/24 vs. Wake Forest, 3/1 at Boston College, 3/4 vs. Florida State
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Kansas Jayhawks (24-2)
At least someone answered the call for retro jerseys. The day after last week's Power Rankings were published, Kansas took the court against Colorado sporting throwbacks to its 1988 national-title team. (It's possible KU had been planning this in advance, but I'd like to take some of the credit.) The experiment worked rather well, yielding a 69-45 blowout of the Buffs, who had put a decent scare into the Jayhawks earlier in the season in Boulder. Also, in a smart business move, KU is actually selling replicas of the goods online, including these killer, pre-Trajan "K" shorts. This job requires that I remain neutral in my fandom, but I'll admit a weakness for good college hoops shorts to wear to the gym. The maroon Nike Steve Nash Santa Clara throwback trunks I found on eBay last year are still my go-to pair. If anyone has tips on new ones, send them my way.
Next three: 2/23 at Oklahoma State, 2/27 at Iowa State, 3/1 vs. Kansas State
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UCLA Bruins (22-3)
A good domino-effect story that The Press-Enterprise reported this week: Had Jordan Farmar not opted to turn pro after UCLA's Final Four run during his sophomore season, Russell Westbrook would have probably ended up at a place like Kent State, Creighton or San Diego instead of Westwood. "The only reason we needed another guard was because Jordan and Arron were playing well enough at that point to get early looks from the NBA," said former Bruins assistant Kerry Keating, who had to convince Westbrook to wait until the late signing period just to find out if UCLA would have an extra scholarship. Had that not happened, who would have shut down O.J. Mayo (four points, 10 turnovers) in Sunday's win over USC? After that game, Kevin Love told the Daily Bruin, "I've known O.J. since about eighth grade, and I've never seen a player take that talented of a player like O.J. out of the game like Russell Westbrook did tonight."
Next three: 2/21 vs. Oregon State, 2/23 vs. Oregon, 2/28 at Arizona State
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