Feb. 17, 2006

The Memphis Tigers have their sights set on No. 1 and it's not just a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament they are heading towards. Head Coach John Calipari's squad has equaled its best start in school history at 23-2 and has put itself in prime position for not only a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the No. 1 spot in both the AP and USA Today Coaches' Poll.

After making a semifinal run to the National Invitational Tournament a year ago, the Tigers have built this year's impressive NCAA resume by succeeding against one of the nation's toughest non-conference schedules and going undefeated on the road. The jump from not making the tournament the previous season to a No. 1 seed is not unprecedented in NCAA history -the Tigers will look to become the 10th such team to do so. The last squad to make the jump was the 1998-99 Auburn Tiger team coached by Cliff Ellis.

A few facts on the 2005-06 Memphis Tigers:

• Memphis' 23 victories are the second-most in the nation (trails only Duke with 24).
• The Tigers' are tied for third-best won-loss percentage in the country (91.7 percent).
• Memphis is playing its school-record 18th-straight game ranked in the AP and Coaches' Poll Top 5.
• The Tigers' 12-game winning streak is second longest current one in the nation - trailing only George Washington's 13-game streak.
• Memphis has a 9-0 road record, making them the nation's only unbeaten road team - including wins at Providence (Big East), Cincinnati (Big East), No. 14 Alabama (SEC) and Mississippi (SEC).
• The Tigers have a 9-0 Conference USA record and are one of only six teams in the nation to have an undefeated league mark (joining Bucknell, Penn, Duke, George Washington and Gonzaga).
• Memphis has played more games (four) against teams currently rated in the RPI Top 10 than any other team in the country.
• Has a 7-2 record vs. Top 50 RPI teams and 10-2 against the Top 100 RPI (still has Top RPI 100 games left to play vs. #48 UAB, #59 Houston, #95 UTEP).
• The seven Top 50 RPI wins for Memphis are the fourth most of any team in the current RPI top 10 (Duke, UConn 10; Iowa 8).
• Of the Tigers' seven Top 50 RPI wins, six were against non-conference opponents, the most of any squad currently rated in the RPI Top 10. • The two losses were to teams currently ranked in the RPI Top 10 (Duke and Texas). Memphis is the only team in the RPI Top 10 that can claim that status.
• Ranked in the Top 15 of seven different NCAA statistical categories (NCAA has 15 categories); ranked in scoring offense (5th), scoring margin (7th), field goal percentage defense (11th), rebound margin (10th), blocked shots per game (7th), steals per game (14th) and won-loss percentage (T3rd).
• In its 10-man rotation, the Tigers are playing six first-year players (includes sophomore Andre Allen who sat out last season), three second-year players (includes JUCO-transfer Waki Williams) and one four-year player (Rodney Carney).

"Last year Memphis got to the Final Four, but the letters didn't say NCAA, they said NIT. But anybody who knows (John Calipari) knew it was just a matter of time before the Tigers would be roaring back into the national spotlight." - Excerpt from Dick Vitale's Feb. 15 "No doubt about it: Memphis will be a No. 1 seed" column in USA Today

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