CS Northridge at Memphis

The Memphis Tigers came within a few points of winning a national championship last year, dropping a heartbreaker in overtime at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks. That Tigers team saw Joey Dorsey, Chris Douglas Roberts and Derrick Rose all either use up eligibility, or declare for the draft. Those three players combined for 46 of the 68 points scored in the championship game - 67.6%! They also dished out 12 of the team's 14 assists. How in the world are they back again, as a No. 2 seed and strong candidate for another Final 4? John Calipari doesn't rebuild at Memphis, he reloads. And he has another freshman sensation in Tyreke Evans, who in his first year leads Memphis in scoring. Shawn Taggert and Antonio Anderson emerged as double-digit scorers, and Robert Dozier elevated his game. The result? Memphis hasn't skipped a beat in terms of wins and losses. But, the offense isn't nearly as good. It's about defense as this team defends as well as anyone in the country. How good? They gave up 43 points per game in the three games in the C-USA Championship round. They have allowed an average of 48.5 ppg in their last 12 overall. Last year's team put up 80+ in 19 games. Meanwhile this year in the last 13 games, Memphis has reached 80 just once. CS Northridge at 17-13 is fortunate to be here. They were 6-10 to start the season and finished 11-3 to make their way into the tournament. They have done it with defense, as those 14 games down the stretch saw teams average just 65 ppg against them and no team touched them off for 80+. If Memphis, with their superior athleticism and tenacious defense, holds them to 50 or less, like they have with just about everyone, this total of 130+ would require a lot from the Tigers offense. Memphis would have to go over 80 to push it over, something they have done just once in their last 13 games. And, this is something Northridge hasn't allowed happen in their last 14 games. Too many things have to happen in an unexpected way to push this one OVER the total and my play here is on the UNDER, which has also prevailed in 11 of Memphis' last 12 games.