GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - A career night by J.T. Tiller put Missouri one win away from its first trip to the Final Four. Memphis’ 27-game winning streak, meanwhile, is history.

Tiller scored a career-high 23 points - 15 more than his season average - and Missouri held off Memphis’ frantic rally for a 102-91 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the West Regional.

Third-seeeded Missouri led by 24 points four minutes into the second half, then saw Memphis close within six with 2:14 to play. Mizzou put it away from the foul line.

Missouri (31-6) advanced to play top-seeded Connecticut for the West title on Saturday.

“We came out and kind of took the fight to Memphis early on, and before you know it, our guys had a little confidence,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said.

Dynamic point guard Tyreke Evans scored 33 for second-seeded Memphis (33-4). The Tigers shot only 18-for-32 from the foul line - last year, a poor showing at the foul line cost them dearly in an overtime championship game loss to Kansas.

Missouri freshman Marcus Denman had the game’s’ most jaw-dropping basket, a swish from three-quarters court at the halftime buzzer for a 13-point lead.

Tiller, the co-defensive player of the year in the Big 12, made 10-of-16 shots and had three steals. All five Missouri starters reached double figures. DeMarre Carroll scored 17 and Leo Lyons had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Lyons was 11-for-18 from the foul line but made four straight in the final 1 1/2 minutes. In all, a whopping 77 free throws were taken, with Missouri making 30 of 45.

Robert Dozier had 19 points and 16 rebounds in Memphis’ first loss since a Dec. 20 setback against Syracuse. Antonio Anderson scored 18 in his last game for Memphis.

Missouri is among the last eight teams left in the NCAA tournament in just its third season under Anderson, a Nolan Richardson disciple who coached the last Conference USA team to beat John Calipari’s Memphis team - that was for UAB 62 games ago.

This was Tigers vs. Tigers in a matchup not only of nicknames but in-your-face, high-energy styles. Missouri ended up beating Memphis at its own game.

Missouri overwhelmed Memphis with a 27-7 run that spanned the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second.

Matt Lawrence’s third 3-pointer of the night - in four attempts - put Missouri ahead 64-40 with 16 minutes to play.

In its fourth straight regional semifinal appearance, Memphis finally turned up the pressure to force a series of turnovers that got the Conference USA champs back in the game.

Shawn Taggart’s rebound dunk cut it to 89-83 with 2:14 left, but Zaire Taylor sank two free throws to boost the lead to 91-83. Lyons made two free throws with 1:30 left, then two more with 1:21 to go and it was 95-85.

Lawrence had started it all for Missouri with a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-1 run. The Tigers took a 37-29 lead on Tiller’s inside basket with 5:39 left in the half.

After one of many driving layups by the freshman Evans cut it to 37-33, Missouri outscored Memphis 12-3 the rest of the half. Calipari aided the spurt with a technical foul. That resulted in one of two free throws by Lawrence, then another inside basket by Tiller.

Denman banked in a long shot with 21.2 seconds left, and the officials stopped play to study the video before deciding it was a 2-pointer. There certainly was no question on his next shot. After Taggart’s dunk for Memphis with just under four to seconds to go, Missouri got the ball to Denman, who let fly with defenders around him, a shot that hit nothing but the net as the horn blared.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The projections – some of them, at least – say he’ll be a lottery pick if he leaves school early, a 19-year-old millionaire the moment commissioner David Stern summons him to the stage during this summer’s NBA draft.
For Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans, the decision whether to remain in college or turn pro seems automatic – especially considering he’ll get no resistance from his head coach.
“Without question,” Memphis’ John Calipari says, “if Tyreke has the opportunity to leave, I’ll tell him, ‘You’ve got to go.’ ”
Calipari has done it before with freshmen such as Derrick Rose and DaJuan Wagner – and he’ll likely do it again next season with the one-and-done prospects from a 2009 recruiting class that some analysts are already hailing as the best in college basketball history.
More and more these days, Memphis is becoming the country’s most popular pit-stop to the NBA.
“There’s a proven track record here,” Calipari says. “When you’re ready to take that next step, we won’t hold you back.”

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The University of Memphis men’s basketball team may need an additional trophy case after the 2008-09 season is complete as the Tigers nearly swept the Conference USA specialty awards, the league office announced Tuesday. Senior Antonio Anderson was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Tyreke Evans the league’s Freshman of the Year and freshman Wesley Witherspoon the C-USA Sixth Man of the Year.

Anderson also made his third-straight appearance on the Conference USA All-Defensive Team, and fellow senior Robert Dozier joined him on the league’s All-Defensive squad. Evans was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman Team.

The C-USA awards and All-Defensive and All-Freshmen teams were voted on by the league’s coaches and selected media members.

Anderson made it a three-year Memphis sweep for the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honor, as the Tigers’ Joey Dorsey earned the award the previous two years (2007, 2008). Evans is the sixth Memphis freshman to receive the C-USA Freshman of the Year honor, with all six honorees coming in the John Calipari era. Other Tiger freshmen to earn the honor were Dajuan Wagner (2002), Sean Banks (2004), Darius Washington Jr. (2005), Shawne Williams (2006) and Derrick Rose (2008). Witherspoon is the second Tiger to take home the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, as Jeremy Hunt did so in 2007. It is the third-straight season that two Tigers appeared on the C-USA All-Defensive Team. Anderson and Dorsey both made the squad in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Read More…

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - University of Memphis’ Tyreke Evans has been named one of 15 finalists for the U.S. Basketball Writers of America’s (USBWA) National Player of the Year award, the organization announced Thursday. The USBWA Player of the Year is the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Evans is the only freshman among the Robertson Trophy finalists.

This is the second-straight year and the third time in the last four seasons that a Tiger player is a finalist for the Robertson Trophy. Chris Douglas-Roberts was a finalist in 2007-08, while Rodney Carney was a finalist for the honor in 2005-06.

Evans, an eight-time Conference USA Rookie of the Week recipient, leads the Tigers in scoring with a 17.1 average. He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals. Evans is second on the team in assists and leads the squad in steals. The Chester, Pa., native is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from the arc and 70.5 percent from the free throw line. He is ranked among the Conference USA leaders in scoring (7th), rebounding (18th), field goal percentage (9th), assists (11th) and steals (2nd).

In mid-January, Evans was named to collegehoops.net Mid-Season All-Freshman first team.

Joining Evans as finalists for the Robertson Trophy are: Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, Kansas’ Sherron Collins, Villanova’s Dante Cunningham, Davidson’s Stephen Curry, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, Arizona State’s James Harden, Marquette’s Jerel McNeal, Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague and Ohio State’s Evan Turner.

The Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA, which consists of nearly 800 journalists. The ballot will be distributed to the membership on Mar. 2. The presentation of this year’s award will take place on Apr. 3 at the USBWA’s annual awards breakfast at the downtown Detroit Athletic Club in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

The Robertson Trophy is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA’s first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its Player of the Year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.

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Robert Dozier scored a career-high 23 points, Tyreke Evans added 13 and No. 8 Memphis routed Tulsa 63-37 Wednesday night for its 15th straight victory.

The Tigers (21-3, 9-0 Conference USA) won their 51st consecutive game in league play.

Jerome Jordan, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Memphis earlier this season, was held to a team-high eight points and three rebounds for Tulsa (17-8, 7-3). Ben Uzoh, Tulsa’s leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with three points.

Memphis limited Tulsa to 36 percent shooting, including 25 percent in the first half.

The Tigers led by 13 at halftime and extended their advantage to 22 after Evans scored on a driving layup with 14:07 left. The lead reached 23 points when reserve guard Willie Kemp connected on a 3-pointer, his only field goal. with about 3 1/2 minutes to go.

Memphis shot 54.5 percent in the second half to pull away.

The Tigers defeated Tulsa 55-54 on Jan. 13, but needed a last-second layup by Antonio Anderson to escape.

Memphis struggled in the first half, missing 14 of its first 20 shots. However, the Tigers used an 11-2 run over the final 6 minutes of the half to take a 28-15 lead at the break.

During the run, the Tigers got a layup from Evans, a 3-pointer from Dozier and three-point plays from Evans and Anderson. Tulsa failed to make a field goal in the final 6:24 of the first half, its only points in that stretch coming on two free throws by Jordan.

Tulsa, which outrebounded the Tigers by 18 in the teams’ first meeting, had a 21-15 edge on the boards at the half. But the Golden Hurricane shot only 25 percent in the half. Memphis was 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent.

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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -John Calipari liked what he saw as his 14th-ranked Memphis Tigers dominated No. 18 Gonzaga 68-50 in a nationally televised game Saturday night.

“We can’t play much better,” Calipari said after Memphis won its 14th consecutive game, the nation’s second-longest streak. “There may be a better defensive team in the country (than Memphis), but I’ve got to see it.”

Memphis (20-3) ran out to a 26-point lead in the second half, and only a late rally by Gonzaga made the game seem competitive.

Gonzaga (17-5) was held to a season low in scoring, 29 points below its average, and shot only 36 percent while committing 15 turnovers.

Both teams are dominating their conference races, so this was a last chance for each to impress the NCAA selection committee. Memphis sure did, as Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and Robert Dozier added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

“I think we are one of the best teams in the country,” said Evans, a freshman.

The Memphis defense hounded Gonzaga’s best shooters. Leading scorer Josh Heytvelt scored 11 points, but most after the outcome was no longer in doubt. Matt Bouldin scored just six points, seven below his average. Jeremy Pargo, the reigning West Coast Conference player of the year, scored two points and had four assists, but five turnovers.

Dozier said the plan was to try and deflect every loose ball and harry the Zags.

“We executed everything to perfection,” Dozier said. “I think this had to be our best effort of the year.”

Gonzaga coach Mark Few agreed.

“They dominated us in every phase of the game,” Few said. “We didn’t have an answer for them.”

The Zags were outrebounded 39-25, had five of their shots blocked, and couldn’t catch a break from the unfamiliar rims at the Spokane Arena, where they play one game per year. The arena is nearly twice the size of the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center.

“Obviously they are quite a bit more athletic than us,” Few said.

Micah Downs came off the bench to score 13 points for Gonzaga, which saw its nine-game winning streak snapped.

Memphis, which lost to Kansas in the NCAA title game last season, has won four in a row against Gonzaga in what has become an annual series. This was the first blowout.

Both teams are dominating their lightly regarded leagues. Memphis is 8-0 in Conference USA, while the Zags are 8-0 in the West Coast Conference.

The game featured two of the nation’s better defenses, and both teams were held below their scoring averages.

Memphis went on a 12-2 run to build a 23-12 lead midway through the first half, as the Zags were hampered by turnovers.

Downs hit a 3-pointer and two free throws as the Zags cut the lead to 28-20, the closest they would get. Evans hit 3-pointers at the beginning and end of a 12-3 run to give the Tigers a 40-23 halftime lead. Evans had 14 first-half points.

Heytvelt had just three points in the first and Bouldin was scoreless for Gonzaga. The 23 first-half points were the lowest for the Zags this season.

Dozier scored five early second half points as Memphis built a 47-27 lead. The Zags missed eight of their first 10 shots in the second.

Evans’ basket gave Memphis a 60-34 lead with about eight minutes left.

Memphis suddenly went cold and the Zags scored 13 straight points to cut their deficit to 60-47 with 3:29 left. Memphis was scoreless for seven minutes before Evans’ jumper made it 62-47 with 1:48 left, killing the Zags’ momentum.

“I was disappointed that last five minutes went the way it did,” Calipari said.

The Zags came in averaging 79 points, and lead the nation in opponents’ field-goal percentage, allowing just 36.6 percent - but Memphis shot 44 percent.

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 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -When Memphis coach John Calipari watches his team play Tennessee, he sees more than just a basketball game.”What I told the guys was it was going to be war,” he said. “I watched the tape from last year, and it was a war. It was not basketball, it was hand-to-hand combat.”

Tyreke Evans scored 17 points, including a free throw with one second remaining, helping the No. 22 Tigers to a 54-52 victory over the in-state rival Vols on Saturday. It was Memphis’ 10th straight win.

The Tigers avenged last season’s loss to Tennessee, when the two teams met as No. 1 vs. No. 2. The underdog Vols won 66-62 in that one, handing Memphis its only loss of the regular season and knocking it from the top of the poll.

Evans scored Memphis‘ final seven points, making a layup with 2:53 remaining to give the Tigers (16-3) a 53-50 lead.

He was a high school senior for last year’s historic game, but Calipari made it very clear to him how important it was to win.

“It’s a rivalry game and (Calipari) and their coach don’t get along,” Evans said. “I could see it in his face how bad he wanted to win. I think he’s probably happier than us.”

Wayne Chism, who scored Tennessee’s last 11 points, made two free throws with 2:34 left to cut Memphis‘ lead to 53-52.

Both teams would go the next 2 minutes without scoring.

Evans missed a short jumper with 34 seconds left, and Bobby Maze grabbed the rebound for Tennessee (12-6). After a timeout, Tyler Smith, who scored the winning shot in last year’s game, missed an off-balance jumper with about 5 seconds left.

“I was trying to make some contact. I thought I did, but at the same time, I’ve got to make that shot,” Smith said.

After Evans missed the back end a 1-and-1, Chism grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with one second left. All the Vols could manage was a midcourt shot by Josh Tabb that fell short.

Antonio Anderson and Doneal Mack both had 10 points for the Tigers, while Shawn Taggart grabbed nine rebounds.

Chism led the Vols with 15 points, while Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and J.P. Prince had 10 points.

It was a game of runs, with eight lead changes and seven ties. Tennessee grabbed its largest lead on a tip-in by Smith with 8:43 left in the first half to make it 19-14.

After being down by a point at halftime, Memphis slowly pulled away with the help of free throws by Taggart and a 3-point play by Evans.

The Tigers grabbed a 42-34 lead on a layup by Evans with 15:41 left.

Chism found his shot with a layup with 9:59 left and scored the next nine points to keep the Tigers within reach.

Memphis has used its stingy defense to hold opponents to 37.1 percent from the floor this season, and Tennessee could manage only 32.7 percent. The Tigers shut down the Vols’ perimeter game, holding them to only two 3-point baskets.

“Our opponents will continue to collapse on us, and until we make some jump shots it will continue to happen,” Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said.

The Tigers only shot 33.9 percent against a Vols defense that has struggled all season.

Before Saturday, Tennessee had won the last two and seven of the last nine meetings with Memphis. All but five of the teams’ all-time meetings have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

“We came out with the victory. Losing three in a row would have killed me,” Anderson said.

Tennessee has lost only two non-conference home games under Pearl in 30 tries. The first came Jan. 7 in a 89-79 overtime loss to Gonzaga.

“This game is a resume-building opportunity loss for us,” Pearl said. Memphis is a very good team, as was Gonzaga, and those were both resume-building opportunities.”

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Robert Dozier, Antonio Anderson and Tyreke Evans each scored 15 points and Memphis rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat UCF 73-66 on Saturday.

Memphis (12-3, 2-0 Conference USA) snapped the Knights’ 12-game home winning streak in front of the largest crowd in UCF history (9,825).

UCF (10-5, 0-1) took a 53-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Isaac Sosa with 14:52 remaining. But Memphis’ defense didn’t allow the Knights a field goal for the next 11:18. During that period, the Tigers outscored UCF 21-7 to take a 69-60 lead.

Jermaine Taylor’s basket with 51 seconds left brought the Knights to 69-66, but a basket by Evans and two free throws by Doneal Mack, who finished with 11 points, sealed the Memphis victory.

Taylor finished with 24 points, Tony Davis scored 16 and Kenrick Zondervan finished with 10 points for UCF.

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Jan. 3, 2009

Final Stats

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -Antonio Anderson scored 12 points, dished out 13 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Memphis to a 108-75 victory over Lamar on Saturday night.

Anderson became only the second Memphis player in history to record a triple-double since Anfernee Hardaway in 1993. Tyreke Evans, who went 11 of 16 from the field, scored 25 points.

Robert Dozier finished with 19 points, and Shawn Taggart scored 15 points Doneal Mack had 14 for the Tigers (10-3).

Kenny Dawkins led Lamar (9-4) with 19 points, while Brandon McThay contributed 12. Charlie Harper and Tristan Worrell had 11 apiece for the Cardinals.

Memphis, which won its fourth straight since a 72-65 loss to Syracuse on Dec. 20, shot 53 percent.

Memphis put the game away in the first half, erasing an early Lamar advantage with a 16-0 run.

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Tyreke Evans had 27 points and seven steals, both career highs, to lead Memphis to an 80-48 victory over Northeastern on Wednesday.

The freshman guard connected on 9 of 13 shots, including 4 of 5 from outside the 3-point arc as Memphis won its third straight. Robert Dozier added 16 points, making all 10 of his free throws, and Antonio Anderson scored 11 for Memphis.

The Tigers (9-3) pulled away at the end of the first half and were never threatened the rest of the way.

Manny Adako led Northeastern (6-5), hitting all seven of his shots in the game. Matt Janning, the Huskies’ leading scorer, was limited to six points, going 2-for-12 from the field. Janning missed all four of his 3-point shot attempts.

The Huskies, coming off a 55-42 win at Indiana on Monday, held an early lead, but struggled after the midway point of the first half.

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