Here it is the morning after the Tigers' loss in the Elite Eight & I guess I am still trying to convince myself the season is over. Wow, what a ride. Short of winning it all, what more could you have asked for? Even the casual fan got involved in following Memphis. It's a ride I won't soon forget.

In case you live in a cave, Memphis was tossed in the tourney last night by UCLA, 50-45. That was one of the ugliest games I have seen in awhile & that was by design by the Bruins. The officiating was bad, but the Tigers were worse. Wide-open jump shots didn't fall; easy layups weren't so easy.

I always get this way at the end of the season. Because of my job, Tiger football & basketball becomes such a big part of my life for seven months of every year, then it comes to an end. And quite frankly, the job situation contributed to my mood last night. It really hit me that in all likelihood I have spoken my last live word on WMC-AM. The good news is I haven't hosted my last Tiger pregame/postgame show. That's something I hope to do for a very long time.

---


What they are saying this morning about the Tigers:

Michael Murphey, Houston Chronicle - Bruins advance as Memphis loses touch with basket
UCLA won 50-45, sending the Bruins to the Final Four for the first time since 1995, when they captured their last national championship. Well, perhaps saying that UCLA "won" is being overly generous. The Bruins actually survived, playing only marginally better — or less poorly — than did the Tigers.


David Climer, The Tennessean - Memphis March halted by UCLA
After winning 27 games in the regular season, three more in the Conference USA Tournament and another three in the NCAAs, Memphis lost its offensive touch yesterday in a hard-to-explain 50-45 loss to UCLA. "I don't want to take anything away from them, but this is on us," said Tigers guard Darius Washington Jr. "We played a bad game and they took advantage of it.

Pete Thamel, The New York Times - UCLA Prevails in a Battle of Attrition
If aesthetics mattered, this U.C.L.A. team would have long been dispatched from the N.C.A.A. tournament. But it's the final score that counts. By slugging out a 50-45 victory over top-seeded Memphis to win the Oakland Regional on Saturday, the Bruins added to their program's storied history by clinching their 16th berth in the Final Four.

Roger Rubin, New York Daily News - Bruins bad, No.1 Memphis worse
The Bruins (31-6) missed 19 free throws overall and made only four baskets in the second half, but overcame these shortcomings with a defense that ground Memphis' vaunted transition game to a standstill. And when the Tigers appeared to have shaken 33 minutes of foul-prone, poor play to mount a charge, UCLA took the hit without coughing up the lead.

---

New Mississippi basketball coach Andy Kennedy is leaving the door wide open when it comes to potential candidates as assistants on his bench. It's rumored Kennedy is considering Cincinnati assistants Frank Martin. He claims to be considering current Rebels assistants Tracy Dildy & Michael White, although Dildy said he wasn't sure if it would be a "comfortable" situation.

---

So Mike Anderson is leaving UAB. Or is he? Yes, absolutely, but it's sounding more & more like he's getting involved in a at least a weird sitaution in Missouri.

News broke yesterday afternoon that Anderson was leaving the Blazers for possible greener pastures with Mizzou (greener meaning more money in this case). Several websites reported a 2 p.m. press conference today. Done deal, right?

Well, most likely, yes, although the AD who hired him may not be there to welcome him. Several reports this morning say an emergency meeting of the Board of Curators has been called to determine Mike Alden's future. KCTV-TV reports that Mizzou will honor Anderson's contract even if the guy who hired him yesterday is fired today.

Sounds to me like Anderson should stay in Birminham or send his resume to Indiana.

---

It's spring football time:

Bower on USM offense: 'We took a step back'

Green-Ellis barges into RB picture for Rebels

Hart states case for time in Bulldog backfield