Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From David Rubio, Franklin, Tenn.:

I’m Headed to New Orleans Baby!!!

Well, that’s it…my dad is the greatest dad on the planet! Just when it looked as if all hope was lost & I’d be forced to watch the Tigers dismantle Nevada on TV…the phone rang. My dad, calling from Memphis, was on the line - ready to drop everything & make the trek to the Big Easy with his sports-crazed son!!! Are you kidding me?!?

There are only two things that can get me as excited as that phone call made me: Corky’s dry ribs & date night with my wife…well…maybe three things…er…

Anyway, I am officially on my way to cheer the Tigers on to victory in my Kelly Wise/Cedric Henderson jersey.

And all I have to say is: Fazekas, Fashmeekas!

Go Tigers Go!!!

We’re just two minutes away from tip-off of Mitchell-Liberty II

Guess you could really call it Mitchell-Liberty III if you count Liberty’s 80-67 regular-season win over the Tigers this year……

Starting lineups Mitchell - Fr. G Mardracus Wade, So. F Evan Devould, Jr. F Darrell Neal, Jr. G Jarvis Jones, Jr C Lewis McCaster

Liberty - Sr. G Jewaun Long, Sr. F Josh Sain, Sr. F Devon Jones, Sr. F Antwan Long, Sr. G Anthony Sampson

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Early in the first quarter
Liberty already with two offensive rebounds, and Jewaun Long’s putback gives Crusaders an early 2-0 lead….Liberty can punish teams on the boards, and Mitchell’s been outrebounded by a combined 30 in two tournament games. How they fare on defensive boards tonight definitely something to keep an eye on…..Josh Sain scores on putback to make it 4-0 Liberty……make it 6-0 with 5:52 left now following Antwan Long layup….timeout Mitchell with 5:50….doesn’t look good early.

2:04 left in first quarter
Wondering if this is looking as one-sided on television as it is here in the arena….5-3 Anthony Sampson just skied for a rebound….that should let you know how things are going….Liberty already with 13-8 advantage on boards, and 10 of its 19 points are of the second-chance variety…..Mitchell 3-of-13 from field to start….

End of first quarter….Liberty 22, Mitchell 8
Unbelievable….Liberty really is a well-oiled machine. Taking Tigers to woodshed after one. Liberty is 10-of-23 from field, and Josh Sain already has 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Another bad sign: Sixth-man Ken Torry appears to have lost his head, picking up a technical foul for arguing…his second foul…he’s on bench…exactly what Mitchell didn’t need down 14

6:52 left in second quarter
Liberty taking its time now, and Crusaders called for offensive foul…..foul on DeVon Jones, his third, and he’s forced to bench….Mitchell should start going inside immediately with the 6-6 senior out…

5:09 left in second quarter
Liberty coach Dexter Williams has actually called timeout, mad that his players didn’t box out McCaster on a putback that makes it 30-16, Liberty…….14 second-chance points already for Crusaders…..

4:38 left in second quarter
Anthony Sampson goes to line with Crusaders now in bonus….makes 1-of-2……31-16, Liberty….A. Long called for blocking foul on other end…Liberty isn’t deep, so if Long picks up a third with Jones already with three, could be big for Mitchell…..

3:16 left in second quarter
No good news here. Liberty with its biggest lead now at 36-17…..Torry off bench to see if he can give Tigers a spark……A. Long layup makes it 38-17 Liberty, and another Crusader steal leads to Sain layup

End of first half…..Liberty 47, Mitchell 27
Trying to find positives for Mitchell in this one is like trying to find a bright side to having a terminal illness…..I’ve seen some good basketball teams, but this Liberty team certainly lives up to its hype. Crusaders are 20-of-40 from field, and have outrebounded Mitchell, 27-19…..Josh Sain with 17 point already for Liberty…..Darrell Neal’s seven points lead Mitchell, which is shooting just 33.3 percent from field……Tigers also have 10 turnovers…maybe Jerry Johnson’s team can at least make it respectable in the second half, because this one would appear to be over……It looks lke it too from the look on the Mitchell players’ faces as they come up for second-half warm-ups….Tigers can take comfort in fact that tournament’s scoring margin record doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy. Meigs County beat South Fulton by 51 points in 1962.

Early in third quarter
Torry starting third quarter for Tigers…..Jarvis Jones, who’s 0-of-4 from field, starts second-half on bench…Liberty picks up where it left off……Devon Jones fouled on basket for potential 3-point play…makes FT….50-27, Liberty

4:43 left in third quarter
60-38 Liberty following media timeout….Got a reply that perhaps I shouldn’t be making predictions on the outcome of this one…..I can assure you, I’m usually not into making predictions, but with 4:02 left in this one and Mitchell now trailing, 62-38, I’m going to make an exception in this case. It’s over. Liberty far too good, but you’re right, Johnson has done a fantastic job with these Tigers, who’ve won eight in a row since their city-championship defeat at the hands of Washington

2:03 left in third quarter
Timeout Mitchell, trailing, 72-42…..Darrell Neal sulking now for Tigers after being pulled….he’s sitting now on end of bench away from team with Mitchell players up in the huddle, tears coming out of his eyes…Ken Torry makes layup and gets fouled for potential 3-point play..makes FT, but Sain scores on other end…he’s got 32 points and 13 rebounds…just dominating this game

End of third quarter…Liberty 78, Mitchell 47
Liberty has actually pulled its starters…Sain gets a standing ovation as he comes out with 34 points and 14 rebounds…He’s bene unstoppable….Liberty now has its five senior starters out…Guess Dexter Williams wants his other guys to get a taste of this.

5:12 left in fourth quarter
Wow!! Liberty bringing its five starters back in…..Guess Williams isn’t beyond running it up after all. Well, I guess we should consider there’s still 5:12 left in this quarter. These five seniors don’t want to call it a career after just three quarters, especially Sain, who can add to his already gaudy numbers and MVP campaign

1:48 left in fourth
Liberty fans screaming “We got another one!!,” referring to their second state title in as many seasons….Earlier cheer was “RE-PEAT!! RE-PEAT!!!!!”

It’s over….Liberty 89, Mitchell 70
It wasn’t even close…Crusaders earn their second consecutive Class AA state title, and probably their last for a while considering they lose all five starters…..
Josh Sain named tournament MVP, and rightfully so following 34-point, 14-rebound performance…..Mardracus Wade, Ken Torry and Darrell Neal named all-tourney for Mitchell, which finishes its season at 26-13……..

Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From David Rubio, Franklin, Tenn.:

Today is going to be a GREAT day!

My “off-day” will be filled with back-to-back tourney games, my wife’s Taco Soup, hoops with my kids during breaks in the action & one big to-do item: find someone to make the 16 hour round-trip to New Orleans with me tomorrow! That’s it. And that’s enough.

My plan all week has been to drive to N.O. this weekend for game #2 (what better way to spend my birthday money?), but as the week has progressed, all of my road trip cohorts have backed out. Now I’m staring at the strong possibility of either driving 16 hours alone in a 21 hour span or NOT going at all. Why me? Is there anybody out there with words of wisdom/thoughts on my predicament? Should I stay or should I go…now?
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Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From Mike Parham, Memphis:

Coming to New Orleans for the basketball tournament this year is a lot different than coming down for the New Orleans bowl in 2003. The main difference, of course, is Hurricane Katrina.

When we were here for the New Orleans Bowl, we stayed in the Hyatt next to the Super Dome. Before the game, the mall between the hotel and the Super Dome was packed with fans. Now, both the Hyatt and the mall are closed. I hope they can open again soon.

Another difference is that with the New Orleans Bowl, we hadn’t been to a bowl game in 30 years. We were excited just to be here. The fact that we were in pre-Katrina New Orleans just added to the fun.

This year, we’re not happy just to be here. We’re here on business.
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Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From Keith Ellis, Lexington, Ky.:

After the first two days of what everyone knows is the best weekend in sports is over, it’s hard to even think about getting back into a different routine. I can’t wait to see if Xavier can beat Thad Matta and his new club, or if Louisville can ride this “home game” to the sweet 16, these are the most pressing issues of the day, and everything else should take a back seat. The only problem is, my family must not share the same love of college basketball that I have, because my cousin has scheduled his wedding for 3:00 today, and I have to drive three hours to get there. Now this is a Methodist service, so it should be done by 3:15, but there is no TV in our church, and I kind of figure my wife may not be too happy if I make her leave the reception for a sports bar option instead, lets hope it’s cake and punch and not a sit down dinner.

A lot of things have changed since last year’s run to the elite eight, last year it seemed like every waking minute between games was torture, this year it’s a little easier to manage, I’m not as nervous about the games as last year seemed, a little looser maybe. I hope this carries over to our team in New Orleans too, as they prepare for a tough secong round match up (Nevada was also ranked in the top ten for much of the year).
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Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From Jody Kane, Memphis:

What will I be doing on the “Off Day”? I will be kissing the blarney stone, saying every Irish blessing I can think of and maybe even throwing in a hex on Nevada! Yesterday was scary…and exhilirating…and exhausting! I will also be celebrating St. Patrick’s day on my “off day”. Basketball will be on the TV from the time it starts until the last game is over. It’s March Madness, for pete’s sake! Let’s hope Antonio, CDR, Joey, and the rest of the guys are watching basketball (Nevada tapes) and resting and holding off on the celebration! They will need all of the strength, talent, and poise they can muster to run the rest of the way through the tournament and to find the end of their (and our) rainbow called the National Championship!

May the Luck of the Irish (no not Notre Dame), be with you!

Our Tiger Bloggers will give us their thoughts throughout the University of Memphis’ run through the NCAA Tournament

From Erik Henninger, Birmingham:

Memphis always seems to play the Friday/Sunday slate, as opposed to the Thursday/Saturday. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but I wish they were playing today.

Today, I’ll get some work done around the house and occasionally peak at the other games. Later I’ll read up on Nevada and what the “experts” are saying about The Tigers. I don’t know why I even bother. I guess I do it to get me fired up for the game.

People here in Birmingham seem to think that this year’s tournament is dull and unwatchable. Wow, could that be because there’s not a single solitary team from this state in The Big Dance? Alabama fans, especially Crimson Tide fans, think that the whole sport of basketball is experiencing “a down year” when, in actuality, their team just bites. It’s all part of a whole egocentric/redneck phenomenon I deal with on a daily basis down here in “The Heart of Dixie.”

Meanwhile, Basketball in the state of Tennessee is thriving. All three major universities are in the round of 32. Has that ever happened? The way Vandy, UT and Memphis played in the first round, I wouldn’t be surprised if all three made the sweet 16. Wouldn’t that be something?