Last night was one of those where my mind was racing & I couldn't go to sleep. I tend to get that way after hosting a postgame show after a big game. Last night was definitely one of the biggest we've seen around here in years! So needless to say I am a little sleepy this morning. I need that adrenaline rush to kick back in.

Memphis beat round of 16 sweetheart Bradley last night, 80-64. The Tigers proved to be too much for the Braves down the stretch as depth & athleticism took over in a game that Memphis only led by five at the half.

Now it's on to the Elite 8 & a meeting with UCLA. The most-recent meeting with the Bruins was a Memphis victory last November. Any Tiger fan with a sense of history always thinks of Bill Walton & 1973 whenever those letters are uttered. Game time is 6:05 p.m., the pregame show rolls at 4:30 p.m.

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What they are saying about the Tigers:

Lisa Olson, New York Daily News - Memphis on a magical roll with Calipari
John Calipari's mouth was moving faster than his players' legs, an achievement that seems impossible to anyone who doesn't know Calipari. At his core, Calipari is still a smooth Yankee, inherently incapable of fully adopting a genteel Southern demeanor. He couldn't slow down if he were swimming in a pool of molasses.

Michael Murphey, Houston Chronicle - Memphis a tower of power
The Tigers, who floated through much of the game as if they could hit the power switch whenever they pleased, did just that in the second half, blowing out Bradley 80-64 in the first game of a Sweet 16 doubleheader at Oakland Arena.

Tim Casey, Sacramento Bee - Tunnel vision works for Memphis
Neither Calipari nor any of his players stuck around for the second game of the Oakland Regional doubleheader. Nor did they plan on watching it at the hotel. This is a squad concerned only with itself.

David Climer, The Tennessean - Tigers feel elite
After NCAA Tournament victories over teams seeded Nos. 16, 9 and 13, respectively, Memphis can finally pick on somebody its own size in the Elite Eight tomorrow. "Bring it on," said Tigers point guard Darius Washington Jr. "People keep talking about where this team was seeded or that team was seeded. That doesn't bother us because everybody in the tournament is good. We're ready to play somebody seeded 1, 2 or 3. It doesn't matter to us."

Glenn Reeves, InsideBayArea.com - Memphis is a screaming success story
"When you're Italian you get emotional," Calipari said. "I talk with my hands. If I get emotional I can't get mad about them getting emotional. They know there's a line they can't cross. But you can be aggressive if they know you care about them and love them. If you watch it, they're having fun. A kid will say something, then he'll go right back in and he plays."

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Steve Orsini has been a popular athletic director at Central Florida since stepping foot on the campus back in 2002. UCF enjoyed one of their best season's college football in 2005, a stadium project is on the fasttrack, & many believe the Orlando-based school will be the next desirable university by one of the BCS leagues because of their location & student population.

All that said, I am a bit surprised to read Orsini is leaving UCF to join conference mate SMU as their new AD. It seems he may have been unhappy with contract talks at UCF, which came after he was dismissed as a finalist for the AD position at Georgia Tech.

Orsini is no stranger to the city of Dallas as he worked for the Cowboys from 1984 to 93. For the sake of SMU & CUSA, here's hoping he can steer the Mustangs athletic department back to respectability.

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Thursday gave us a wild spin on the coaching carasoul. When I learned yesterday afternoon that South Alabama coach John Pelphrey had removed his name from consideration for the Mississippi basketball job, that was a sure sign the Rebels had chosen to go elsewhere.

Cincinnati was still on the court with South Carolina in their NIT quarterfinal contest when word began to leak out interim head coach Andy Kennedy was heading to Oxford & Murray State's Mick Cronin, also considered for the Rebels' job, was returning to the Bearcats.

Keep in mind all of this happened on the same day as former Cinci coach Bob Huggins, fired from the university last summer, was hired at Kansas State.