Tulsa’s seven-footer just easily swatted away a basket, but Antonio Anderson got the rebound, lofted it over the monster and gave Dorsey an alley-oop dunk. The Tigers are going to have to counter this kid’s size. He’s already shown himself to be a defensive whiz. He already has three rebounds and two blocks.

I expected this game to be a near sell-out, but the upper deck is largely barren. The folks here are still very loud, but it’s a little surprising that the arena isn’t nearly full. Perhaps Tiger fans, expecting their team to be sent to Little Rock for the first round of the NCAA tournament, are saving their money for that trip…

He just swatted away a Derrick Rose drive to the basket. Rose didn’t seem to have any idea what happened.

Although, on the plus side, he just stood there while Antonio Anderson drove for an uncontested layup.

Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik must not have liked that last play. He immediately yanked the seven-footer.

Tulsa has a seven-footer on their team, Jerome Jordan. The man is tall, but he just picked up his first foul by hammering Joey Dorsey down low. Of course, that sends Dorsey to the free-throw line…

He made his first! The crowd goes wild…

And the second rolls in! This could be a good omen for the Tigers: Dorsey makes two early.

It’s a safe bet that the Tigers are glad Tulsa beat UTEP in last night’s other semifinal. Not only are the UTEP Miners coached by former U of M assistant Tony Barbee, but they also have another U of M assistant on their bench in Milt Wagner (his son Dajuan came in from New Jersey to watch the tournament). So that gives them an edge most of the Tigers’s other CUSA opponents don’t have. And it certainly helped the Miners the last time the two teams played: Memphis had to battle hard for a 70-64 win.

After Friday’s semifinal, most of the Tigers left the FedExForum and walked two blocks over to the South Philly cheesesteak restaurant. Joey Dorsey lovingly bounced his nephew on his knee. An older couple asked Derrick Rose for an autograph, and he obliged. Afterwards, they walked toward Peabody Place. A young girl hastily dug through her purse for a piece of paper and a pen to ask for an autograph. When the Tigers walked into Peabody Place, everyone who saw them applauded. Then they walked into Maggie Moo’s and got some much-deserved ice cream.

One minute until tip-off. The coffee’s fresh and full of caffeine. Congressman Steve Cohen caught an early flight back from DC to make the game. Memphis and Tulsa are ready to tip-off. Stay with us for the next few hours and we’ll keep you informed.