This is why we live!!!!

This preview was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but alcohol happened instead. That being said, tonights matchup at the FedEx(mad props for delivering my phone on time) Forum in Memphis should be one of the finest games of the college hoops season. #2 Tennessee takes on #1 Memphis at 9 on ESPN tonight. I really don't want to get in too deep with this preview because everything has already been said, but I am going to highlight some key players/matchups.

Jordan Howell:
Howell, Tennessee's point guard, is one of the few white guys who will have a chance to impact this game. For that reason, and that reason alone, he gets some love from PnR. Howell doesn't score much, but he does run the show well for Bruce Pearl.

CDR:
You already know we love CDR, and we expect him to be huge tonight. Douglas-Roberts is averaging 27 ppg over his last 3 games and Coach Cal has to be happy that his leader is finally showing the balls/guts to take the big shots when they count. CDR had been almost unselfish to a fault, but he now knows it is his time to shine.

Tyler Smith and C-Lo(Chris Lofton):
Smith is the straw that stirs the drink, the glue guy, the athletic Dane Bradshaw. C-Lo is a winner, and one of the finest shooters that college hoops has seen over the past decade. He is also a Kentucky school-boy legend, who has used his lack of scholarship offers as motivation over the past four years. These two will have to carry the load on the offensive end if Tennessee wants to pull the mild upset tonight.

Coach Calipari -Vs- Bruce Pearl:
Both guys have made a career out of turning shit into gold. That is why Memphis (a freakin CUSA team) and Tennessee (a football school) are playing for the right to be named the best team in the NCAA tonight. They are also both really cool. Pearl wore body paint to cheer on the women's team last year, and Coach Cal basically encourages his players to be as hood as possible. His two best players are nicknamed "Buckets" and "The Great Poohdini"..... that rules. More importantly, the two have had some harsh words for one another on the recruiting trail. Both guys love playing uptempo and stress defense.... However, their players are so talented and their offenses so fast paced, that we expect the first team to 150 to be declared the winner.

Prediction:
I love Memphis.....Love em to death, but I just have a gut feeling that we are going to see Tennessee leaving tonight as the #1 team in the country. I don't think Memphis can go undefeated, and I think they just have too much trouble right now, with Dorsey being a little girl and all. Tennessee by 4..... write it down, Tennessee by 4.

-NM