Back again.

Think about it. Three years ago, when this run began, the odds of Memphis playing in three straight regional finals? Astronomical. It just doesn’t happen that often. Regardless of what transpires Sunday, last night’s romp validated this Memphis team and put it right back to the point where it has been the last two years.

Lots and lots and lots of thoughts. A couple things swirling in my mind.

– Memphis fans should thank Tennessee. It is clear, now more than ever, that the Vols did Memphis a big favor by beating the Tigers on Feb. 23. You go back to that day, and it’s amazing to think how the paths of those two teams went in completely opposite directions. The Vols never were the same, and it was obvious within the first week after that game (I talked about it here and on the radio) that they were going in the wrong direction as a team. The Tigers, on the other hand, used that loss as an opportunity to refocus. I think back to a blog entry I wrote the day after the UT game where I talked about how the Tigers’ stellar play from late December to late January had seemed to level off for a few weeks leading up to Tennessee. It was a good time for a loss, and clearly Memphis has gotten better and better since then. Can you imagine what this circus would be like if the Tigers were still undefeated? Totally different mentality leading up to last night’s game. Tiger fans, at this point, shouldn’t mind too much losing the all-time head-to-head series with the Vols. When it comes to NCAA Tournament success, the programs aren’t even in the same league.

– Lots of myths put to bed last night. The idea that Conference USA doesn’t prepare you for the NCAA Tournament? I don’t know about that. As I was watching the Tigers destroy Michigan State, one thing kept popping in my mind: This sure seems like a Conference USA game. As I’ve said over and over, people can talk about C-USA all they want. The real story is the length and athleticism of Memphis. When teams get on the floor with the Tigers for the first time, they are stunned.

– Another myth I read in the Detroit/East Lansing papers leading up to the game: That somehow, Michigan State isn’t really the slow-footed, unathletic, grind-it-out team that people make them out to be; rather, the Big 10’s familiarity with Izzo just makes them play that way during the conference season and that they’d be unshackeled playing against an unfamiliar opponent. Please. You are what you are. Whenever you get into conference play and there’s a familiarity among teams, it’s harder. It’s harder for Memphis, often times, against the Southern Misses and UTEPs of the world. But the whole “unshackled” idea was a Jedi mind trick. You know when I knew Memphis would win the game? When I walked in the Michigan State locker room for the interview session on Thursday and saw the Spartans in person. Memphis’ players, physically, look like men. Michigan State’s players did not.

– Antonio Anderson. Best perimeter defender in the country? Look what he did to Chris Lofton. Look what he did to Drew Neitzel. He’ll need to be every bit of that again Saturday. We’ll see how he matches up with D.J. Augustin. Will Anderson’s size bother Augustin? Could be a key factor in the game.

– Willie Kemp. Though it got a bit lost after the huge run to end the half, Kemp coming in and making a couple 3-pointers early was absolutely huge in stretching out the lead. If he continues to do that, I like Memphis’ chances of playing for the whole thing.

– Rebounding. Seriously, it was 6 minutes before Michigan State had a rebound. The Tigers were just bigger, stronger and faster and used it. Robert Dozier had a very underrated game, despite foul trouble, especially on the boards. Memphis will need to do that again tomorrow. To me, Texas won the game over Stanford on the offensive glass. It was 5-6 key offensive rebounds in the first half that gave Texas a 9 or 10 point lead. Then, when Stanford was trying to come back and got the game down to 1 possession, Texas beat them on the backboards again.

– The crowd. Look, it’s going to be a difficult challenge to go in there and win tomorrow. Texas will have a huge, huge advantage with the crowd. But again, from where I sat (right on the court), last night did not seem anything like last season in the Alamodome. There were a few moments where it got loud in there, but generally it was not the same atmosphere Memphis overcame against Texas A&M. It could be a totally different story tomorrow; we’ll see. Regardless, wasn’t it Texas that went into the Rose Bowl a couple years ago and won a national championship in front of a very pro-USC crowd?