If this is really the mecca of college basketball, why can’t I get a box score? Seriously; the geniuses who run this place decided to install a new statkeeping program on Wednesday night. That’s all well and good, except the thing didn’t work last night. There were no stats available at all for the UConn-Gardner Webb game. And for the Memphis game, all I saw was a final box score that was taken from the manual scorekeeper. Certainly didn’t make writing on deadline very easy last night. Let’s hope they’ve fixed the thing for tonight’s game.

While I’m at it, this is my first trip to MSG, and it really is a dump. I know there’s a lot of history in this building, but all I’m seeing are a bunch of ugly, dirty purple and green seats. Getting from my seat at the press table to anywhere requires me to slink around a few other writers, climb over patrons, somehow squeak behind one of the benches and then bully my way through other fans who are sitting in the first few rows. It’s insane. And there isn’t one thing I can see remotely charming about this place. You’d think The World’s Most Famous Arena would have had millions poured into it over the years to spruce it up, showcase some of its history and provide some fan and media amenities. I don’t mean to complain; I just expected more.

Onto tonight’s game. I have no idea what to expect from the Tigers. Last night took a major physical toll on them. Both Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey got banged around a little and were sore after the game. Everyone else was pretty much exhausted. Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack played very little last night, and Jeff Robinson didn’t play at all. I wouldn’t be surprised to see all three play a role tonight given their fresh legs. Even so, it will require a major effort to bounce back tonight and beat UConn in front of what will be a largely pro-UConn crowd. It will be very interesting to see if the Huskies play any zone. Jim Calhoun isn’t a zone coach, but playing man-to-man would certainly be to Memphis’ advantage.

Meanwhile, there’s just under 6 minutes to go in the Oklahoma-Gardner Webb consolation game. Let’s root for this thing to finish up quickly, so it doesn’t cut into my deadline any more than it already is.

THE BIG STORY

The Birmingham News reported that Alabama and Clemson are closing in on agreement to open next football season with an Aug. 30 game at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.

Parties would like to have the deal announced before this year’s Dec. 1 SEC Championship Game, according to Gary Stokan, president of the Atlanta Sports Council.

“We’re still trying to work schedules,” Stokan said Wednesday. “I think it will work out, but there’s nothing to report yet.”

Talks began before the regular season but were delayed by several factors. First among them: A contract was already in place to hold the Corky Kell Classic, an annual series of Georgia high school games, that weekend at the Georgia Dome.

Alabama was also tentatively set to host Division I-AA Western Kentucky that opening weekend. An agreement with Clemson would force the Crimson Tide to reschedule the WKU game or find another home opponent.

UTEP backed out of a scheduled October visit due to the connections with coach Mike Price. Tulane and Northern Illinois are the other expected non-conference games on Alabama’s 2008 schedule, which has not been released to the public. UA athletics director Mal Moore has maintained for months that a deal was close with Clemson. First-year coach Nick Saban has said he would like one high-profile non-conference opponent each year. Alabama lost to Florida State in Jacksonville, Fla., on Sept. 29.

Stokan said there are no plans to change the proposed teams or the date of the Alabama-Clemson matchup.

“That’s what we’re working for, that Aug. 30 date,” said Stokan, who added, “At this juncture, to play a game in 2008 with the schedules the way they are, I think it would have to be those two teams.”

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Douglas-Roberts, who had been mauled all night long, might have said it best: “That was a Big 12 team, and they played Big 12 basketball.” I agree, except for one thing. Oklahoma wasn’t playing Big 12 basketball Thursday. The Sooners were playing Big 12 football.

That was as physical a game as Memphis has played in a long time — even more physical, in many ways, than the Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M. Oklahoma did a great job mucking it up with a zone, and grabbing the Tigers whenever they could. Memphis didn’t exactly do a great job standing up to it — they committed 20 turnovers and shot just 38.6 percent from the field — but won the game with defense and made just enough plays offensively. As John Calipari said afterwards, the Tigers have double-teamed an opposing player “five times the last two years,” but they did a great job tonight with freshman Blake Griffin. Griffin, who had been dominant inside the first three games, went just 3 for 9 from the field, had eight rebounds and committed five turnovers.

Other observations:

– Joey Dorsey was the man tonight, with nine points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. The Tigers would have lost without him.
– Where is Robert Dozier? After an embarrassing performance against Christian Brothers, he was a no-show yet again. No points, four rebounds and got pushed around any time he went inside. Robert is better than that, and the Tigers will be vulnerable in these kinds of games if he doesn’t show it.
– Antonio Anderson stepped up and made a couple big 3-pointers, but he still seems out of synch. He’s committed a year’s worth of careless turnovers (by his standards) in the last two games.
– Andre Allen is a scrapper on defense, but he is not helping the team offensively when he tries to do too much.
– Willie Kemp should have played more, in my opinion. Though he went 2-for-7 from the 3-point line, which isn’t good for him, he did have four rebounds, two assists and looked more composed out there to me than some of the other guards. I was shocked when I saw the box score and he only had 10 minutes.