Oakland – No one knew quite how Memphis would cope in the NCAA Tournament, because supposedly the Tigers weren’t adequately prepared for the competition by playing in Conference USA.
Who knew that it was just the opposite?
The Tigers’ road through the tournament has been littered with Conference USA-caliber teams, and they rolled through another Thursday, 80-64 over Bradley at Oakland Arena.
While other major teams have struggled against mid-major competition, the Tigers have steamrolled theirs. First Oral Roberts. Then Bucknell. Now Bradley. All 16-point victories.
Has it been the easiest road to the Elite Eight? Maybe. The Tigers sure have made it appear that way. Their first major opponent comes on Saturday afternoon, when for the first time since 1992, Memphis plays for the chance to go to the Final Four.
“My stars were stars,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “We’re pretty good when that happens.”
Still, this had to be one of the few Sweet 16 contests that didn’t require a complete effort from the victor. Memphis played sloppily at times, didn’t rebound well in the first half, executed so-so on the offensive end much of the night, missed a bunch of free throws early and still won.
Why? Talent.
“There’s reason why they’re the No. 3 team in the country,” Bradley coach Jim Les said. “We needed to play our ‘A’ game in order to win this game, and we didn’t play our ‘A’ game. The reason is because of what they do.”
What Memphis did was slowly take over. Bradley played as it had all tournament – scrappy and hard. It helped in the first half, and the Braves hung tough. They had a 23-15 rebounding edge, which led to an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points.
But their play also had fatal flaws.
The biggest was 14 first-half turnovers leading to 18 Memphis points. That allowed the Tigers to lead 35-30 at halftime despite being outrebounded by eight and shooting 33 percent from 3-point range and 40 percent from the free-throw line.
The second half was a different story.
Memphis turned around Bradley’s edge on the boards and finished with a 38-33 edge. They held Bradley center Patrick O’Bryant in check and got a spark from their own star, Rodney Carney.
Carney scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.
“Once we got the defense clicking, the lead extended,” Carney said. “I’m proud of my teammates. They really gave all the effort they could on defense. That’s what we have to do to win.”
Carney was one of three Memphis players in double figures. Darius Washington Jr. had 18 points. Bradley was led by 18 points from Marcellus Sommerville. O’Bryant, who had seven points and 11 rebounds in the first half, finished with eight points and 14 boards.
“You never want it to be over,” Sommerville said. “Now that it is, you feel real down that you couldn’t get that one more game.”
