University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis/C-USA Tournament Notes Supplement
Mar 13, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2008
• Championship Central
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• Game Notes 
MEMPHIS-SOUTHERN MISS SERIES
Friday's Conference USA Tournament semifinal game versus Southern Miss is the 79th overall meeting between the two schools. Memphis holds a 55-23 series advantage. The Tigers won the two 2007-08 regular season encounters - 83-47 on Jan. 19 in Memphis and 76-67 on Mar. 1 in Hattiesburg. The Tigers have won nine straight in the overall series, dating back to the 2003-04 campaign (66-63 Golden Eagle win in Hattiesburg).
In games played in the Bluff City, the Tigers hold a 34-8 series lead and have won seven straight over Southern Miss at home. The last Golden Eagle victory over the Tigers in Memphis was a 75-67 win in the 2000-01 season.
The Tigers have met the Golden Eagles one previous time in the C-USA Tournament, with that meeting coming in the 1998 league postseason tournament. Southern Miss posted an 85-57 win over Memphis in the 1998 C-USA Tournament quarterfinals. That tournament was held in Cincinnati.
CALIPARI IN EIGHTH YEAR AT HELM OF TIGER PROGRAM
John Calipari (Clarion State, 1982) is in his eighth season at the helm of the Memphis Tiger basketball program. He has a 212-64 record (.768 winning percentage) at Memphis.
The 2007-08 season is his 16th as a collegiate head coach. The Moon, Pa., native has an overall collegiate coaching record of 405-135 (.750 winning percentage). While at Memphis, Calipari has led the Tigers to eight-straight 20-win seasons and seven-consecutive postseason berths.
ALLEN DAY-TO-DAY WITH SPRAINED ANKLE
Andre Allen missed Thursday's C-USA Tournament quarterfinal win over Tulane with a sprained right ankle. He is day-to-day. It is the first game Allen missed this year.
DO YOU REMEMBER?... PART I
The Tigers wrapped up the 2007-08 Conference USA regular season title with a 76-67 victory over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg Mar. 1. Memphis entered that game with a 13-0 record, and UAB and Houston were tied for second with 10-3 marks. Before the game, the Tigers had clinch a share of the C-USA regular season title, but with the win over the Golden Eagles, Memphis secured its third-consecutive outright crown.
DO YOU REMEMBER?... PART II
Southern Miss was the Tigers' last opponent before Memphis climbed into the No. 1 spot in both national polls on Jan. 21. Memphis, ranked No. 2 at the time, hosted the Golden Eagles on Jan. 19 and posted an 83-47 win at FedExForum. Earlier that same day, then-No. 1 North Carolina dropped an 82-80 decision to Maryland in Chapel Hill. Two days later on Jan. 21, Memphis was voted the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
COACH CAL COACHING RETREAT REUNION
The past six years, head coach John Calipari and his friend and Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown have held the Calipari-Brown Coaching Retreat on the Memphis campus each fall. It's a weekend where professional and collegiate coaches come to the Bluff City for the two-day clinic. Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy and his staff have attended the clinic the last three years.
MARCH IS WHAT'S IT'S ALL ABOUT
John Calipari's teams always improve as the season progresses toward March, which is the month all college teams play for. And, Calipari's teams are ready to play in March and that can be seen in his career record in the month.
Calipari has a 79-27 record (.745 winning percentage) in games played in March. In his previous 15 years as a collegiate head coach, Calipari has guided his teams to 14 postseasons (nine NCAA, five NIT). He led UMass to the 1996 NCAA Final Four and Memphis to the 2002 NIT championship.
For more notes on the Memphis-Southern Miss C-USA Tournament semifinal game, click on pdf link at the top of the page.
