NCAA Tournament Roundup--The Daily Southtown
Memphis 94, Oral Roberts 78
DALLAS — Conference USA player of the year Rodney Carney had 19 points and Andre Allen matched his season high with 11 — all in a late first-half spurt that put Memphis ahead to stay.
Even though Memphis (31-3) entered the NCAA tournament as the only team other than Duke with 30 wins, some thought the Tigers might be the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
Then, the Tigers were down 33-29 late in the first half and really did seem vulnerable.
But with their 3-point shooting and balanced scoring — five players in double figures — the Tigers had plenty to withstand Oral Roberts (21-12) in their first game as a top seed. Memphis tied a school record for wins, matching the 1984-85 team that went to the Final Four.
The Tigers play Bucknell in the second round of the Oakland Regional on Sunday.
OAKLAND REGIONAL--The Detroit Free Press
Memphis 94, Oral Roberts 78: Conference USA player of the year Rodney Carney had 19 points and Andre Allen matched his season high with 11 -- all in a late first-half spurt that put Memphis (31-3) ahead to stay.
The Tigers' youth showed early as they trailed, 33-29, late in the first half.
The Tigers fought back with strong three-point shooting, finishing with 11 triples. The Tigers shot 60% from the field (37 of 61).
Caleb Green had 19 points for Mid-Continent Conference champion Oral Roberts (21-12).
NCAA WOMEN: OU goal: Return to the dance--The Detroit News
Memphis' Allen surprises Oral Roberts--The Detroit Free Press
AT THE PALACE--The Oakland Press
Whoa - how did OU pull that one off?
It stretches nearly from 3-point line to 3-point line and the letters, in cursive writing, are huge. It reads "Oakland University,² and it is dominating the television screen during these games at The Palace.
Oakland built a special floor for this weekend and may move it to its own arena following this event. The "Oakland University" on the fl oor is a huge billboard for OU, which is the official host of the Auburn Hills regional. It was approved by the NCAA.
"It's worked out great," OU senior associate athletic director Tracy Huth said. "The Pistons' fl oor had a lot of things on it and would have been difficult to cover. So we built the new floor."
This event could provide the school with a nice payday. Oakland could clear as much as six figures. The Palace gets 10 percent of the revenue as a rental fee. Oakland could get as much as 10 percent of the revenue. When it's held at a campus venue, the school gets 20 percent of the revenue.
But it's notoriety OU was seeking the most. The court provides that.
"After making the tournament last year, it gives us another splash at a time of the year when the attention is the most on college basketball," Huth said.
OAKLAND REGIONAL--The NWI Times
Memphis 94, Oral Roberts 78: Conference USA player of the year Rodney Carney had 19 points and Andre Allen matched his season high with 11 -- all in a late first-half spurt that put Memphis ahead to stay.
Even though Memphis (31-3) entered the NCAA tournament as the only team other than Duke with 30 wins, some thought the Tigers might be the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
Then, the Tigers were down 33-29 late in the first half and really did seem vulnerable.
But with their 3-point shooting and balanced scoring -- five players in double figures -- the Tigers had plenty to withstand Oral Roberts (21-12) in their first game as a top seed. Memphis tied a school record for wins, matching the 1984-85 team that went to the Final Four.
The Tigers play Bucknell in the second round of the Oakland Regional on Sunday.
Tigers roll by ORU--The Tulsa World
By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
3/18/2006
The Eagles lead by as much as four in the first, but are down by 12 before halftime.
DALLAS -- Like Moses from afar, Oral Roberts University glimpsed the basketball promised land Friday but couldn't enter.
A tribe of giants called the Memphis Tigers blocked their path.
In a scenario the Golden Eagles feared most, the regional top-seeded Tigers played like the national-title contenders they seem to be. They answered ORU's best offensive spurt with a furious counter-blast and rolled to a 94-78 first-round NCAA Tournament win over the 16th-seeded Eagles at the American Airlines Center.
The Tigers (31-3) advance to play ninth-seeded Bucknell on Sunday for a Sweet Sixteen berth. The Bison beat eighth-seeded Arkansas 59-55.
ORU, making its first NCAA appearance in 22 years, ended the season at 21-12.
Memphis used only two men under 6-foot-5, but the smallest played a huge role.
Andre Allen, a 5-foot-10 sophomore who made only 15 3-pointers all season, made three in a 77-second span of the first half. He ignited a 20-2 spurt that turned ORU's 33-29 lead into a 49-35 Memphis advantage. The Tigers led by 12 at halftime and by double digits for most of the final 20 minutes.
"I thought we did enough to give ourselves a chance to win, but (Memphis was) too good," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "For us to win, we needed a little help from them, and we didn't get it."
The Eagles shot 52.8 percent, best against Memphis all season. But the Tigers shot their season best of 60.7 percent (second best by an Eagle foe). The Tigers used their overpowering size and athletic ability to create the turnovers and easy baskets that made it a comfortable win.
"I don't know if (ORU) shoot(s) that good or we were that bad defensively," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "They just shot 52 percent on us, and (46.7) from the 3-point line. We usually hold people to 37 and 30."
The Tigers led Conference USA in shooting defense this year. And no, they weren't that bad against the Eagles.
They surrounded ORU's Caleb Green with huge bodies and made the two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year work for every one of his 19 points, which tied Memphis' Rodney Carney for game-high honors.
Forced to shoot more jump shots than normal from outside of five feet, Green made 6-of-14 from the field and 7-of-7 foul shots. When he received the ball in the blocks, he was usually in heavy traffic and had to throw it back out to the perimeter.
It didn't get any better for Green when Memphis subbed 6-11 Kareem Cooper and 6-9 Robert Dozier for 6-9 starters Joey Dorsey and Shawne Williams.
Dozier and Cooper combined for 15 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
Memphis' size also prevailed on the perimeter, where 6-6 Antonio Anderson, 6-6 Chris Douglas-Roberts, 6-2 Darius Washington and 6-7 Carney always seemed to be flying in the face of ORU's 6-1 Ken Tutt and 6-2 Chris Riouse.
"It was hard for me to get my initial shot off," said Tutt, MVP of the Mid-Con Tournament. "They were a tall team, and everybody out there had long arms."
Tutt and Riouse attempted only nine 3-pointers between them, hitting two each, while senior guard Jonathan Bluitt made 3-of-4.
"I had limited opportunities after my first two shots," Riouse said. "I really couldn't get a good look, except in transition. We knocked down a few of them, but we didn't have enough to pull it off."
Considering how Memphis played, the Eagles would have had to be perfect. They were far from that. Sutton said the Eagles were adequate in avoiding turnovers and keeping the Tigers off the glass, two areas he considered key.
But every turnover and offensive rebound seemed to turn into Memphis points.
Said Sutton: "If you had told me before the game we would only give up 12 offensive rebounds and only turn the ball over 13 times, I would have taken that in a heartbeat. So we did some good things. But they were awfully good tonight."
Memphis opened with an 18-6 blitz, but treys by Bluitt, Tutt and Riouse's two sparked a 27-11 run that carried the Eagles to 33-29 lead. Senior forward Larry Owens capped the surge by blocking a shot at one end and racing to the other end to gather Tutt's alley-oop pass one-handed and score off the glass in the same motion.
Then Allen turned the game around, scoring 11 of Memphis' next 20 points on a layup and three treys.
The first of his 3-pointers erased ORU's last lead at 35-34. The Eagles sagged off and he hesitated before draining a shot from the left wing.
Mike Brown 581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Memphis 94, ORU 78
Oral Roberts (21-12 )
Reb
FG 3pt FT O T F Pt A T B S M
Tutt,f 4-11 2-5 1-2 0 0 2 11 4 1 0 0 34
Owens,f 5-7 0-1 3-5 2 11 3 13 1 2 0 1 35
Green,f 6-14 0-0 7-7 2 4 3 19 3 1 1 1 31
Michalec,c 3-6 0-0 1-2 1 4 2 7 0 2 1 0 20
Bluitt,g 3-4 3-4 2-2 0 0 3 11 1 4 0 0 30
Riouse 4-6 2-4 0-0 0 1 0 10 1 0 0 0 16
Ogunoye 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 12
Vealy 2-3 0-1 1-2 1 3 2 5 2 1 1 1 15
Fowlkes 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 7
TEAM 1 1
Totals 28-53 7-15 15-20 7 24 17 78 14 13 4 4
FG% 1H: 15-27 55.6% 2H: 13-26 50% Game: 52.8%
3Pt% 1H: 4-8 50% 2H: 3-7 42.9% Game: 46.7%
FT% 1H: 5-7 71.4% 2H: 10-13 76.9% Game: 75%
Memphis (31-3 )
Reb
FG 3pt FT O T F Pt A T B S M
Williams,f 6-9 2-4 0-0 0 1 4 14 3 2 1 1 21
Carney,f 7-14 3-8 2-5 2 5 2 19 0 1 0 1 29
Dorsey,f 2-6 0-0 1-2 1 4 5 5 2 1 0 1 20
Anderson,g 4-4 2-2 0-0 0 3 1 10 2 2 0 1 26
Washingtn,g 5-7 1-3 3-4 0 2 3 14 6 3 0 3 29
Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Dozier 4-7 0-0 1-2 4 8 2 9 0 1 1 0 21
D-Roberts 2-2 0-0 2-2 1 2 1 6 1 1 0 0 17
Allen 4-6 3-5 0-1 1 1 0 11 2 2 0 2 19
Cooper 3-6 0-0 0-0 2 5 3 6 0 0 0 1 15
TEAM 1 2
Totals 37-61 11-22 9-16 12 33 21 94 16 13 2 10
FG% 1H: 19-32 59.4% 2H: 18-29 62.1% Game: 60.7%
3Pt% 1H: 8-13 61.5% 2H: 3-9 33.3% Game: 50%
FT% 1H: 5-11 45.5% 2H: 4-5 80% Game: 56.3%
Memphis 51 43 -- 94
Oral Roberts 39 39 -- 78
Technicals: None.
Attendance: 19,028
LEGEND: Rebounds (Offensive; Total); Fouls; Assists; Turnovers; Blocks; Steals; Minutes played.
ORU REVIEW
Quote of the Day
"I really liked our balance. We played eight or nine guys a lot of minutes and they all performed. I just keep talking about, 'Be ready for your opportunity because there's a star born in every one of these games.' Today, it seemed to be Andre Allen." -- Memphis head coach John Calipari.
Player of the Game
Memphis guard Andre Allen tied a career high with 11 first-half points, all in a 20-2 run that turned the game around. He had a layup and three treys. His first 3-pointer erased ORU's last lead and followed with treys on two of the next four possessions.
Play of the Game
ORU's Larry Owens blocked a shot and raced to the other end to gather Ken Tutt's alley-oop pass one-handed and score off the glass, all in the same motion.
Up next
ORU said goodbye to Larry Owens, Jonathan Bluitt, Mickey Michalec and three other seniors, but returns junior standouts Caleb Green and Ken Tutt for another season. The Eagles ended their season with a second straight Mid-Con regular-season title and the school's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 years.
Tigers proved they deserved the top seeding--The Tulsa World
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
3/18/2006
DALLAS -- Expect a Miracle, the slogan of Oral Roberts basketball, is a lot different than seeing one.
The Golden Eagles, an NCAA Tournament wait of 22 years finally over, needed some divine intervention against top-seeded Memphis.
But there would be no upset of biblical proportions.
Reality was far more powerful than spiritual hope on Friday at the American Airlines Center.
The return of Oral Roberts to the NCAA Tournament was short-lived, a victim of the pure athleticism of Memphis.
"We haven't played a team like that in my seven years at ORU," said Oral Rob erts coach Scott Sutton.
The Tigers, tired of hearing how they will be the first No. 1 seed ousted in the first round of the tournament, made sure they would live to play again on Sunday.
Memphis peppered the Golden Eagles with a variety of styles, pounding it inside, knocking down 3s and getting out for easy transition baskets, as ORU was eliminated, 94-78.
The Golden Eagles played better than their No. 16 seed, pushing the heavily favored Tigers for about the first 30 minutes. Caleb Green may have gained enough in this game to put his name on some preseason All-America lists next fall.
But when Memphis plays to its potential, as it did against ORU, the Tigers are a powerful and overwhelming team.
"We played awfully well for about a 10-minute period in the middle of the first half," said Sutton. "Then, we got the lead and kind of collapsed."
Memphis lived up to its billing, playing as it did early in the season against a difficult nonconference schedule.
That's more than enough to beat most teams, Oral Roberts included.
"When they play as well as they did in this game, we don't have a chance to beat them," said Sutton. "We needed them to have an off night. From what I've seen, they played one of the best games they played all year.
"We did what we needed to do in this game. We shot the ball awfully well. We only had 13 turnovers and only gave up 12 offensive rebounds. But they were awfully good in this game."
Yes, Memphis was good enough in this game to have the analysts rethinking their appraisal of the Tigers. Memphis shot 60 percent, including 50 percent of its 22 3-pointers.
"I think we played with a chip on our shoulder," said Memphis' Antonio Anderson, one of five Tigers in double figures. "We do feel like we've got something to prove."
Still, ORU led for a good portion of the first half, after erasing an early 12-point deficit. Green's two free throws with about four minutes gave the Eagles their last lead at 35-34.
ORU would never get close enough to make it a serious threat. The Tigers hit a barrage of 3s, four in the final four minutes of the first half and their first two 3-pointers of the second half.
That made it a 14-point lead and Oral Roberts kept chipping away but could get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
"I'm not sure either team was happy with their defense," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "It made for some exciting basketball."
It was just the third NCAA Tournament appearance for the south Tulsa school.
However, it signaled the return of ORU to the national stage. The Golden Eagles were a national power, built around high-scoring, high-flying teams in the 1970s.
The two best players on the Oral Roberts team, forward Caleb Green and guard Ken Tutt, will be back for their senior years next season.
If ORU can find some new complementary players, the Golden Eagles should be even better next year.
"They are going to have a good squad next year," said ORU senior Larry Owens. "They are going to be real deep, and they have a good chance to come back here next year."
Given how well ORU has played for much of the past two years, the quick ouster was not welcomed.
Even though a No. 1 seed had never lost to the No. 16 team, many had given some hope that ORU might be able to pull off a stunner.
The theory was that ORU was much better than a 16 seed and Memphis was the weakest of the No. 1 seeds.
That's not the way the game played out. ORU did play above its seed, but Memphis played to its billing.
"I wasn't surprised how tough it was," said Memphis star Rodney Carney. "It is a tournament game. There's going to be a lot of intensity for both teams. This wasn't going to be a blowout."
The Tigers, who had not played well down the stretch of the Conference USA season, took the cynicism of national analysts to heart. They reverted to the earlier season form that had earned them a spot in the top five of the national polls.
What Tulsa saw in an 84-61 loss at the Reynolds Center is what Oral Roberts saw in this game.
Memphis in full flight is a thing of beauty, capable of reaching the top of this tournament.
"Memphis is a great team," said Sutton. "If they continue to shoot the ball like that, then it will not surprise me if they win the national championship."
John Klein 581-8368
john.klein@tulsaworld.com
Backups' 3-pointers deflate Golden Eagles--The Tulsa World
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
3/18/2006
Allen drained three treys in a 77-second span of the first half.
DALLAS -- During his last 16 games before the start of the NCAA Tournament, Memphis backup guard Andre Allen had a combined total of three 3-point field goals.
During a 77-second span of Friday's first half, the 5-foot-10 Allen connected on three 3-pointers. His improbable slew of big shots highlighted a 20-2 Tiger run, and top-seeded Memphis went on to beat Oral Roberts 94-78 in an Oakland Regional first-round game.
With 5:37 remaining in the first half, a Larry Owens layup gave the 16th-seeded Golden Eagles a four-point advantage (33-29). After Allen's three treys energized the Tigers, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored to give Memphis a 14-point cushion (49-35) with 1:16 left in the half.
"I was cheering my butt off on the bench," said Tiger forward Rodney Carney, who led his team with 19 points.
Allen's shooting deflated the Golden Eagles, who had rallied from an early 12-point deficit.
"We fought back and then took that lead, and then kind of collapsed (during) the last five minutes of the first half," ORU coach Scott Sutton said.
A homegrown player from Memphis' Booker T. Washington High School, Allen entered with a scoring average of 3.9 points. Against ORU, he totaled 11 points in 19 minutes.
"You're talking about a kid that has great confidence in his ability, and is a hard-nosed, mentally tough kid," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
Said Golden Eagle guard Ken Tutt: "(Allen) didn't shoot that many 3s this year, but tonight he stepped up. He's a good player, and he stepped up and hit the shots. We didn't adjust early enough to him."
Quality depth is what separates No. 1-seeded teams from most of the rest of the NCAA Tournament field. Memphis reserves Robert Dozier, Douglas-Roberts, Allen and Kareem Cooper finished with a combined total of 32 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the field.
Memphis shot 61 percent from the field overall and 50 percent on 3-pointers. The Tigers, 31-3 and champions of Conference USA, advance to Sunday's second-round contest with Bucknell.
"If (the Tigers) continue to shoot the ball like they did, it wouldn't shock me one bit if they won the national championship," Sutton said. "We haven't played a team like that maybe in the seven years that I've been at ORU. Every kid they bring off the bench can play. They're athletic, they're quick, they're strong."
Recounting Allen's first-half heroics, Sutton said, "We were really concentrating on trying to keep the ball out of the middle of our defense. So, we played off of (Allen) a little bit, and he hits his first one. We take a step up, close the gap a little bit, and he hits his second one. We go from (a four-point lead) to being down 14 points in a matter of minutes."
Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com
ORU Notebook: Memphis had intensity--The Tulsa World
By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
3/18/2006
Experts across the country wondered if top-seeded Memphis would take 16th-seeded Oral Roberts lightly.
Senior Rodney Carney said it helped the Tigers to watch Thursday's games on television, hinting they might have been more nonchalant about their first-round challenge if they had played on the first day instead of the second.
"We saw the intensity, how certain people play and react to situations," Carney said. "We saw the upsets and knew teams were going to come out there and give it their all, and I think having an extra day to watch prepared us better for what we had to go through."
Doubly impressed: ORU coach Scott Sutton liked how the Golden Eagles played Friday -- and the Tigers.
"I'm proud of my guys. I think we competed against, obviously, one of the best teams in the country. I was so impressed with Memphis. If they continue to shoot the ball the way they did today (37-of-61, 60.7 percent) I wouldn't be shocked if they win the national title."
Tough stretch: The Eagles still had a chance, trailing 70-59 with 10:38 left, but Memphis made 10 of its next 12 shots, boosting the lead to 90-73 with 4:30 left. Most of the Tigers' baskets in that stretch came from Memphis guards driving to the foul line and dumping the ball to open men underneath.
"We did a poor job of letting them drive the middle and then we didn't rotate down and take that pass away," Sutton said. "They got so many easy baskets there late. We had to go to a halfcourt trap and try to change up the game and create some turnovers, but they were bigger than our guards and we couldn't trap them. They'd get the ball to the middle of the floor and go and create and get easy baskets."
Big finish: ORU senior forward Larry Owens ended his collegiate career with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. With his 11 boards, he became the 20th player in school history with 500 career rebounds.
Traffic scare: Cason and Marge Carter, son and mother of ORU athletic director Mike Carter, escaped serious injury in a one-car crash while driving through Durant on the way to the game Friday morning.
Cason Carter, driving his grandmother's Honda Civic, hit a center median after swerving to avoid a spare tire lying in the road that had fallen off another vehicle, Mike Carter said. They were taken for X-rays in Durant and released.
They stayed in Durant, about 90 minutes north of Dallas, to watch the game on television, Mike Carter said.
Tough cats: ORU is now 2-5 against Memphis all-time -- 0-2 in NCAA Tournament action. The Tigers ended the school's previous NCAA trip with a 92-83 win in 1984.
Big assignment: ORU women's radio voice Geoff Haxton said Friday's game was easily the biggest of his young broadcasting career. Haxton subbed for men's ORU broadcaster Mark Neely, who had an ESPN television assignment.
"It's not even close. This time last year, I was covering schools that had class sizes of 20," Haxton said.
He worked previously for KCRC am1390 in Enid, covering area high school football, basketball and baseball.
Encouraging signs: ORU assistant Corey Williams said more recruiting doors are opening as a result of the Golden Eagles' first NCAA appearance in 22 years. The Eagles have two scholarships remaining for 2006-07. They have already signed 6-foot-10 center Shawn King of Carl Albert State College, 6-foot-2 guard Dominique Gaines of Muskogee High School and 6-foot-4 forward Jeremy Hazell of the Bronx, N.Y.
Mike Brown 581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com
Andre the giant--The Commercial Appeal
Just like namesake, Allen fires clutch shots to lift his teammates--The Commercial Appeal
Dorsey paints work of art--The Commercial Appeal
Grumpy old man--The Commercial Appeal
Tigers replay--The Commercial Appeal
Memphis pulls away from Oral Roberts--The Dallas Morning News
#16 Oral Roberts falls to #1 Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament--www.mid-con.com
Golden Eagles Ousted by Memphis in NCAA First Round, 94-78--Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles
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