The Memphis Tigers thought they'd be on the outside looking in, trying to squint through the window and see the Big East party, the one they wanted to be a part of.
They're still looking in, but now they're making faces on the windows and laughing and smiling, all because outside hasn't been too bad a place to be.
Thanks to a brutal non-conference schedule that's netted them plenty of national respect, the Tigers — the only bona-fide basketball power left in Conference USA after five teams left for the Big East — are ranked sixth in the nation. They've got a 15-2 record. They're ranked second in the RPI. They could easily go undefeated the rest of the way, and while their weak conference schedule will hurt them when it comes to seeding, the selection committee won't be able to ignore their non-conference slate.
All of which means the Memphis Tigers might be wondering why they ever wanted to be in the Big East. Getting snubbed when the nation's best basketball conference was being engineered two years ago suddenly doesn't feel so bad. Because the Tigers have found the best of both worlds.
Head coach John Calipari has kept the cupboard stocked with talent. Enough talent to compete with the nation's best. And he put together the type of schedule that would allow the Tigers to do that. And they have, notching impressive wins over Gonzaga, UCLA, Alabama, Purdue, Cincinnati, and Mississippi while giving No. 1 Duke its toughest test of the season.
And now, while the coaches of nearly every other elite program are bracing themselves for the rough-and-tumble grind of conference play, Calipari can't help but feel a little relaxed, at least more relaxed than, say, Rick Pitino.
Certainly, Memphis' Conference USA schedule won't be a cakewalk. UAB makes everybody sweat, and teams like Houston and Tulsa are never pushovers. But there's no doubt that the Tigers have it pretty easy in C-USA. And that means, come March, the Tigers should be rested, healthy, and eager for a test. Those Big East teams? They'll be licking their wounds.
And that's why this whole conference shuffling might not have been such a bad thing, even if it didn't seem that way at first. And it probably didn't.
When the Big East started to reassemble itself following the departures of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College, it quickly became apparent that a basketball super-conference was the goal. And it also became apparent that Conference USA was the perfect place to pull from. Half the teams in the league had bigger aspirations.
Memphis was one of those teams. A powerful basketball program with a big-name head coach. A solid football program poised to take the next step. And the kind of fan support and passion that belongs in a big-time conference.
But for whatever reason, Memphis didn't get the call. Maybe the city is too far west for a conference with "East" in its name.
The general consensus about Memphis' situation as a C-USA leftover went something like this: poor Memphis.
I don't think anybody's saying that now.
Of course, there's obviously something to be said for playing in a tough conference. There's a reason five C-USA schools jumped ship when the Big East came calling. They know that even a .500 record in the Big East gives them a good shot at an NCAA tourney bid. And it's obviously crucial for a team to get tested. Otherwise, wilting in March is a distinct possibility. And the accepted idea is that it's best to take those tests in conference play. People can point to Gonzaga — a power team in a weak conference that's struggled in recent NCAA tournaments — as proof of that fact.
But Memphis had to play the hand it was dealt. And so far the Tigers have played it pretty well. They've done everything they can, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if it paid off in March.
And maybe then, everybody else will be scrambling for the door, trying to join the Tigers on the outside looking in.
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