GLENDALE, Ariz. — Missouri and Memphis have much more in common than a nickname. Energy, intensity and speed will be on display in this Tiger vs. Tiger semifinal at the NCAA West Regional tonight.
“You will see some things that you marvel at,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. “You will probably see some things like ‘Wow, did he do that?’ ”
Anderson needs everybody to keep up with the deep, talented Conference USA champions, and he got a scare Wednesday when one of his most relentless players, DeMarre Carroll, twisted his left ankle in practice and limped off the court. Carroll downplayed the incident.
“Trying to make a move and I tweaked my ankle a little bit,” he said. “But at this point, it is the Sweet 16, I’m 100 percent.”
Missouri (30-6) and Memphis (33-3) are right where they were supposed to wind up after being tabbed the No. 3 and No. 2 seed in the regional, respectively.
Anderson, a disciple of Nolan Richardson’s at Arkansas, coached his Tigers to the Big 12 Tournament championship in just his third season at Missouri. And he knows how to beat Memphis.
The last time Memphis lost a Conference USA contest — to UAB 62 games ago — Anderson was the opposing coach.
“We saw each other in the hallway out there and I said ‘It is going to be another boxing match, I can just see it coming,’ ” John Calipari said. “And he laughed, because we have had wars.”
Anderson gives Calipari and Memphis the edge in pure talent, though.
“He has probably three or four guys that are going to the NBA,” Anderson said. “I got some guys that are ‘hoping’ they get into the NBA.”
No program has won more games since the start of the 2005-06 season than Memphis’ 137. Memphis carries a school-record 27-game winning streak into the game, the team’s fourth consecutive appearance in the round of 16.
