Memphis/UT

Maybe not that early, but they are defiantly not winning the championship. Every year Memphis is a 1 or 2 seed and every year they bow out early. Why? Because they play in Conference USA and become overrated. The only decent teams they beat are UConn (who sucked before they went on their hot streak), Arizona (who is no longer ranked because their only big win was to Texas A&M, who is also no longer ranked), Gonzaga (who has beaten NOBODY except for UConn early on and is overrated), and Georgetown. That is one good win. Congratulations, they have as much business being a No. 1 seed as Maryland.

 

I can see a good 8/9 team taking out Memphis in the second round, but the way the NCAA works, they'll give Memphis an easy ride to San Antonio.

 

They have far more reason to be a No. 1 seed than Maryland. I'm not going to knock a team with back-to-back appearances in the Elite Eight. They might not be the best team in the nation, but they should not be compared to the Terps under any circumstances.

 

I figure Memphis makes it to the regional final before losing...definitely not making the Final Four.

 

Maryland beat UNC who is much better than Georgetown. My point is that Memphis only looks so good because they have an easy schedule.

Also, in 2007 Memphis beat a 15 and a 7 seed and then almost lost to the 3 but one by one point before losing to miserably to Ohio State. In 2006 Memphis beat a 16, a 9, and a 13 seed before losing to a 2 seed UCLA that shot for 35% from the floor. In 2004 they beat the 10 seed but got destroyed by 2 seed Okie State.

See a trend?

 

Yeah, they come within a win of the Final Four each season.

As for your Maryland point -- that is, because the Terps won at North Carolina that it somehow makes them an equal with Memphis -- I don't see where Memphis would lose to teams like Mizzou, VCU, Boston College, Ohio, American and Virginia Tech (twice) like Maryland did.

According to RPIratings.com, Memphis' strength of schedule ranks 17th in the country. That's close to Duke (15) and better than UCLA (45) and Kansas (73). They could beat teams seeded 16, 9, 12, 13, 6 and 4, but that wouldn't change the fact they won a national championship. Bottom line, the past two years, they've won in March. Not every team can say that.

 

I was being sarcastic with the Maryland comment. I just used them as an example because they were a bad team that had a fluke win.
True Memphis wins in March, but not against good teams. That is why I think they will, again, not win the championship. How far they get will depend on how tough their region is because as soon as they face a real challenge they will lose.

Also I know what the RPI says about their schedule but just take a look at the actual schedule itself. That is not a hard group of teams to beat.

 

They did beat A&M in the Sweet 16 last year in San Antonio; that was a pretty impressive road win in the NCAAs.

 

This here's The Pearl getting the Orange Nation fired up before the Memphis game:

 

Kentucky's many things different this year from past Kentuckys but "Godawful" may not be one of them.
The UKats have struggled and are indeed height-challenged and indeed inconsistent/erratic but they have a solid roster of players who were highly sought-after in recruiting circles.
A good coach, too.
I think this UKats team still strikes fear into lots of opposing programs'/players' hearts on gameday.