If you wanted to know what the Tigers would look like when all their pistons were firing, you saw it today. And what they looked like was a Final Four team. You have to give Memphis tremendous credit for how the improvement in offensive execution since the USC game. It’s now back to how the Tigers looked last year, when they simply tore up zones with their ball movement. Watching the Tigers today zip the ball from one side to the other and get great shots from the middle of the zone, you got a sense of just how good this team can be.

Defensively, Memphis struggled for a stretch of the first half when Joey Dorsey was out. For about 10 minutes, the Tigers were giving up too many quality shots. But in the five minutes right before halftime, Memphis played probably as well as it can play without Dorsey to take a 43-40 lead. In the second half, the Tigers simply dominated.

I’ve got a lot more thoughts and observations, which I’ll share both in the newspaper and in this space over the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy the weekend and have a safe holiday season.

What a great morning in Memphis.

Beale Street was buzzing when I arrived at 9:30, and when I walked in the arena, the student section was full and crowd was beginning to filter in already. It’s 15 minutes before tip-off, and most of the seats are full. I expect by game time for the arena to be standing-room only. It will be a very emotional, highly-charged atmosphere, and I expect the Tigers to win. In these situations, the home team has a decided advantage. If the game were at Georgetown, I’d pick Georgetown.

On the other hand, the home team has all the pressure. Though John Calipari disagreed with that when we talked yesterday, I think it’s true. If Memphis was on the road, there wouldn’t be much pressure to win. Today, in front of the home fans, I think the pressure is on the Tigers to perform. We’ll see how they handle it.