[Lefty Noob]

Proof positive that anything - I mean anything - can happen in NCAA basketball.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The points just stopped coming for No. 3 Memphis -- and so did the wins.

Marvett McDonald had 17 points and UAB held the Tigers scoreless for more than eight minutes down the stretch in an 80-74 upset on Thursday night, sending another top-five team tumbling.

McDonald's jumper gave the Blazers (21-5, 12-2 Conference USA) a five-point lead with 2:47 to go, and UAB made six consecutive free throws in the final 33 seconds to snap the Tigers' 15-game winning streak.

"Everything is magnified in March," UAB coach Mike Anderson said. "You want to get momentum and I think we played some of our best defensive basketball, especially against a very talented Memphis team."

UAB fans poured onto the court to celebrate a win that certainly bolstered the team's NCAA tournament hopes, and Wen Mukubu jumped on the scorer's table pumping his fists.

With that late offensive funk, Memphis (26-3, 12-1) missed a chance to wrap up the league title outright and strengthen its hopes for a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. The chance was there, with No. 1 Duke falling to unranked Florida State on Wednesday night and No. 4 Villanova losing to second-ranked Connecticut on Saturday.

Memphis hadn't lost since Jan. 2, but coach John Calipari saw this one coming.

"We've been slipping for about 10 days," said Calipari, whose team has already clinched the league tournament's No. 1 seed. "When it gets rough, we're not as coachable as we need to be. They beat us to every loose ball down the stretch."

[wvuauthor]

Lefty,

You are right about that. Memphis was on cruise control and looking to take a big win streak into the NCAA tourney. Now they still have to do some work to win the league title outright.

Maybe Memphis got a little ****y, or maybe they just had an off night. We will see how they bounce back.

[pete_b]

Don't you think that upsets are pretty commonplace in the NCAA? FSU over Duke, Northy over Duke and the most recent Seton Hall over Pitt. I dont really think that Seton Hall should get a bid just for beating Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is a solid team and will get to the sweet sixteen. I think they obviously had an off night. Memphis is not immune is not immune to the very unpredictable NCAA. As much as a loss hurts it doesn't really mean much because there are so many variables. The hype is huge right now. Memphis is a solid team, deserves a number one seed and will for far in the tournament.

[wvuauthor]

I am not so sure that Memphis deserves a number one seed. There are going to be a few solid teams vying for the 4 slots. I am interested to see what Memphis will do in the second or third round of the Big Dance when they square off against a power from one of the bigger conferences.