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

From Erik Henninger, Birmingham:

I sense the tide is turning. The band wagon is starting to swell, and the Tigers seem to be making leaps and bounds in the court of public opinion. Basically, America is finding out what we knew all along. This team is the real deal.

Memphis is hungry. Unlike this Ohio State squad, these Tigers have had a seat at the table. The Final Four was almost within their grasp, but they came up short. Not this time! No, Memphis will not go quietly into the night.

Yesterday, I wondered if The Tigers could handle the pressure of 25,000 hostile fans. Well, Memphis emerged unscathed, and today, I’ll be honest, OSU doesn’t strike fear like the Aggies did.

I just don’t see Buckeyes matching up well with The Tigers. Mark my words: Memphis will wear Ohio State down and Oden will foul out.

If Memphis will dribble drive Oden to the bench and lock down the perimeter on D, the Final Four is as good as ours. Something tells me OSU and Oden are about to learn a valuable lesson. One that A&M and the Aggie faithful had to learn the hard way.

Don’t Mess With Memphis.

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

From Michelle Beasley, Cordova:

Ohio State has played with fate a little too much lately, and their luck is about to run out. Once again, I think the Tigers match up pretty well against OSU.

I think that there are a few “keys to victory” tomorrow afternoon. First and foremost, the Tigers must stay out of foul trouble. We need both Dorsey and Dozier to stay on Oden at all times. We also need to run-n-gun it. OSU is a half-court team. They do not run nearly as well as the Tigers do. We need to wear them out! Defensive pressure is key! Keep the full court press on the whole game. We must go after Oden and get him into foul trouble EARLY!! This will take some pressure off of our big guys, and we can let our guys harass the daylights out of their perimeter players.

If we can apply good defense is all phases of the game, and keep the pace going, this should be a VICTORY and the Tigers will march into Atlanta to the Final Four.

As Always, Cal will have this team ready to go and I can’t wait until tip-off tomorrow afternoon!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TIGERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Vol fans, quit whining already, just sit back and watch us tomorrow!

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

From Michelle Beasley, Cordova:

Tell me you don’t believe now! Tell me that the Tigers are overrated! Tell me that the Tigers haven’t beaten anyone! Tell me Memphis is not making some noise and marching all the way to Atlanta! CBS and ESPN are you paying attention? Dick Vitale are you?

What a game! What a game! What a game! From the coaching to the effort of the players, Memphis gets an A+++++!!!!! Did CDR actually get hurt last Sunday? He looked amazing on the floor! What a gifted athlete! Jeremy Hunt did a fantastic job and Dozier’s defense was outstanding. How about Antonio Anderson, can we now call him Mr. Clutch?

I was so impressed with the Tigers composure in such a HOSTILE environment. Coach Cal and the coaching staff deserve so much credit for having the team prepared as well as they did.
How about that Tiger defense? They held Law in check, not scoring for 13 minutes! What a wonderful defensive effort! This team never got rattled, kept there composure and will march into Atlanta into the FINAL FOUR!!!!

It is a great day to be a Tiger Fan!!!! Way to go GUYS!!!!! (and kudos to all the fans that traveled to San Antonio! )

I can’t wait until Saturday!!!!!!!

T-I-G-E-R-S TIGERS!!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TIGERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

From David Rubio, Franklin, Tenn.:

GAME PLAN: DEJA VU

Well…beating OSU isn’t going to be easy…but it’s hard to imagine it getting any tougher than beating Texas A&M in SA…what a game.. In fact, when you factor in the neutral-site nature of this game & our 11-game tourney win streak in the state of Texas, our boys might just feel downright comfy in the Alamodome on Saturday.

True, this time next year, Oden (whom Digger Phelps repeatedly referred to as ‘Odom’ last night) could be playing for the Grizz & is a very special player. But, the Tigers have already perfected a fool-proof game plan: stunningly stingy ‘D’. Anyone watching both games last night could see that the open looks & crafty dribble-drives that fueled OSU’s comeback against Tennessee will be MUCH tougher (if not downright impossible) against a Tigers defense that has found a way to slow down everyone they’ve played. And, because defense is going to be the key, the game just might come down to the battle of whistles: whose Big Men get in/stay out of foul trouble.

Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if our shooters go nuts from outside, either!

PS-don’t forget to enjoy it, guys…this is a special group & a special time to be a Tiger fan.

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

From Keith Ellis, Lexington, Ky.:

Bring on the big man. Ohio State has a great group of kids on their team, and they have proven again and again that they can play with the best. But tomorrow night all of that ends. They have been living by a prayer the last two games, and here’s to hoping their prayers fall on deaf ears tomorrow night. It will be sad to see a great college basketball player like Greg Oden’s career come to an end, but don’t mind me if I don’t shed a tear for the 35 year old Freshman. Instead, I’ll raise my glass and welcome him to Memphis next fall, because the Grizzlies need him, and I’ll be glad to cheer for him then.

In order for this to happen, our guys need to keep up the intensity we’ve played with so far this tournament. Joey and Robert have to stay out of foul trouble, and Chris, Antonio and Jeremy need to continue to get into the lane and cause fouls. Get Oden out early and then we’ll make our run. Greg Doyel from CBS Sporstline predicted from the very beginning that OSU would have trouble with our speed and athleticism, Tennessee proved that last night, but let off the gas a little too early. Let’s play pedal to the metal all night long, and bring the TIGERS to Atlanta.

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

From Erik Henninger, Birmingham:

I just got back from Buffalo Wild Wings and Boy…I can’t stop smiling. That is what March Madness is all about. Would anyone stop me if I said that was the most amazing Tiger win of the last 20 Years? And how about those Memphis fans in San Antonio! Way to make our presence felt. Because I was at a restaurant my notes were few and far between, but there is one word I wrote in all caps. It says “CLUTCH.”

Clutch is Antonio Anderson making the biggest foul shots of his life like it was a walk in the park.

Clutch is overcoming the media, the crowd and the refs.

Clutch is beating Texas A&M in a de facto home game.

Clutch is moving on to the Elite Eight.

Go Tigers Go.

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

From Patti Yancey, Bartlett:

Why is it we are the Rodney Dangerfields of the college Basketball world?..Are they soooo desperate to to hear their own voice that they will say anything? Well I for one am TIRED of it. Last night unable to get the smile off my face and to excited to sleep we did what everyone else in Memphis was doing, we flipped channels to hear the glowing reports of our win. Only to be continually disappointed by the reporters still talking about Mr Law, and how great a player he is and how he just had a bad game…..but the ZINGER of all ZINGERS…..came from Rick Majerus and Steve Lavin while talking about the ruling made by the officials on how much time should be removed from the clock….it went something like this….” they probably brought their timer with them from Memphis. He was on Beale Street last might ’splattering’(?) ribs!” (laughter all around)…..Well first off maybe Mr Majerus should lay off some of the ribs….(I could go on but need I..) Second…I thought these were educated men of basketball….men that know the sport…rules and all….had someone done their homework they would understand the ruling and it would make more sense about how much time elapsed….Right after that comment was made, Majerus made the comment, twice, that Memphis got too many fouls shots…That is all I heard about before the game, that everyone that takes it in (or attempts to) on A & M would be fouled, that is how they played…So YES we had a lot of fouls (which before the game..WE being the team that was the poorest shooting team in the whole universe since the beginning of life), and we made the ones that counted, if anyone that has followed or watched more than a clip of our games, would know….(I guess espn doesn’t carry sports…especially at Mr Majerus house…or maybe he cant change the channel with greasy fingers…eating all the ribs)..
My favorite comment made all night was made by CDR…Im just going to go back to my room watch a little TV and see what they have to say about us….then call and CANCEL ESPN!….From the mouths of babes…Thanks CDR…..WE LOVE OUR TIGERS!…