Gonzaga was widely regarded as one of the two remaining speed bumps as Memphis continues its march toward an undefeated season, and today the Tigers dispatched of the Bulldogs, making yet another clear statement that they're the best team in college basketball.
The 81-73 win didn't come easy for Memphis, as Gonzaga played a very strong first half and kept things interesting most of the way through. Memphis coach
John Calipari said after the game, "On a neutral court, they'd probably beat us." But Memphis, led by 21 points from
Chris Douglas-Roberts and 19 from
Derrick Rose, was clearly the better team.
The one player who kept it close for Gonzaga was guard Jeremy Pargo, who scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Matt Bouldin, however, was a huge disappointment. He made a couple of late baskets but did basically nothing all day and finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Memphis will stay No. 1, and now the question is this: Will anyone beat them? You can never rule out an upset, but there just isn't a team in Conference USA that seems likely to even threaten Memphis, let alone pull off a shocker. That means the Tigers' Feb. 23 date with Tennessee might be the last opportunity for anyone to stop Memphis before March.
Gonzaga Fights, But Memphis Is Still No. 1 - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog