Ugly Or Not, Memphis Continues To Perform, Improve

There's plenty to be learned from Memphis' 54-52 victory at Tennessee on Saturday. More than anything, the Tigers put on display—not necessarily for the first time this season, but for the first time on national television—who, exactly, they are.

They're a defensive team.

They're a hustling, rebounding team that relies on the offensive glass.

They're going to play pressure defense and try to force turnovers.

They're not going to score 90 points every game and beat every opponent by 30.

Memphis can defend. Tennessee's offense has been potent for much of the season, averaging more than 80 points-per-game while shooting better than 45 percent from the field.

Saturday, that wasn't the case. The Tigers frustrated Tennessee, holding the Volunteers to 52 points on 32.7 percent shooting.

Memphis managed just two field goals in the final 6:11, but a series of defensive stops made the win possible. After Tennessee's Wayne Chism's 3-pointer pulled the Vols within 51-50 with 3:58 left, the Vols scored just two points and went 0-for-5 from the field.

Memphis is getting also getting tougher and continues to show that it can rebound in the clutch.

Though the Tigers haven't been dominant on the boards this season, they've gotten the rebounds when it mattered. Memphis grabbed the defensive rebound on each of Tennessee's last five shots except for the last, which was Josh Tabb's desperation heave as time expired.

The Vols average more than 15 offensive rebounds-per-game this season, but they pulled down just 11 on Saturday, and didn't get a single one after Scotty Hopson's at the 10:48 mark in the second half.

Offensively, the Tigers haven't fully developed. They're average shooters at best, with a slew of players capable of getting hot.

Schematically, Memphis has been more flexible. When the 2007-08 Tigers were forced to play slow, they were noticeably confused and almost riddled helpless. And though they haven't necessarily looked 100 percent comfortable this year, they've appeared more smooth when they've had to slow it down.

Coach John Calipari elected to play a slower style for portions of Saturday's game in an attempt to take the high-scoring Volunteers out of their comfort zone, and the Tigers did what they needed to win such a game—they came up with the "50-50" balls, they hit clutch three-pointers, and made 11-of-14 free throws.

Is it ugly? Of course.

But Calipari's motto this season—yes, he changes from season to season—says it all:

"Actions are actions. Words are words. Promises are promises. Performance is reality."

And it's hard to argue with 10 consecutive wins and a team that continues to improve.

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