Memphis' 85-64 victory over East Carolina on Wednesday night reiterated something that's become quite clear over the past three years—the Tigers are still the kings of Conference USA.

Seemingly in a permanent place atop a very mediocre, almost assuredly one-NCAA-Tournament-bid league, Memphis is often in an interesting situation at this point in each season. Instead of the Tigers gauging progress on wins and losses—you know, like pretty much every "BCS Conference" school can and does—they must, with heavy scrutiny, look directly and selectively at themselves.

It's likely Memphis is going to win each of its conference games, with the exception of perhaps one. Meantime, while the Tigers are racking up those wins, they'll be evaluating themselves, both as a team and individually. There were several questions facing the team when the season began. Though some have been answered, some haven't, and some new ones have developed along the way.

Below is a listing of the top five questions facing Memphis as the Tigers delve into the middle of their conference schedule and attempt to become a team capable of advancing deep into the NCAA Tournament.

 

1. Can Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart be counted on in the post?

So far, the answer is, emphatically, no. Dozier and Taggart aren't the powerful bruisers that Joey Dorsey was. Nor do they bring the intimidation factor. But that doesn't mean they can't rebound. That doesn't mean they can't block shots and keep from picking up foolish fouls. And that doesn't mean the Tigers can afford to have one or both of them completely disappear for stretches—even games—at a time.

If the answer is a definite no up to this point, then the question becomes, "How can they change?" For the answer, look no further than coach John Calipari, who's been riding the same horse all season when talking about Dozier, Taggart, and basically the rest of the team too.

"We're going to win ugly, and that's why I keep saying (it's about) toughness," Calipari told the Commercial Appeal's Dan Wolken after a 73-66 victory over Central Florida. "If we get physically tougher as the year goes on, we'll get better and better and we'll be one of those teams again. If we don't, if what you saw in the first half is us, it will end abruptly."

Tougher means Taggart has to snap out of his funk that continued Wednesday with a lackluster four-point, four-rebound effort where he was noticeably pushed around. Tougher means Dozier can't go 1-for-7 from the free throw line like he did against UAB on Jan. 17 or play at a very average level like he did against Rice on Jan. 21 (the majority of his 13 points and nine boards came in what amounted to garbage time).

 

2. Is Antonio Anderson a legitimate offensive contributor?

In his previous three seasons as a Tiger, he's never been this. Though he's had his nights, the Tigers have never depended on Anderson to produce points to win. Anderson is one of the top perimeter defenders in the country and is good for a few points here and there, a handful of rebounds, and a handful of assists. With his knowledge of the offense and the way the Tigers play, he's an extension of Calipari on the floor and always draws the assignment of guarding the opponent's best scorer.

Lately, though, Anderson has brought another dimension to the floor—the ability to get to the rim, the free throw line, and score. He's scored in double figures in eight of Memphis' past 10 games, including team-highs at East Carolina (26), against Cincinnati (18), and versus Marshall (17). In that 10-game span, he's averaging 13.1 points per game.

When Anderson scores, it opens up the rest of the offense. There isn't as much pressure on Tyreke Evans (Memphis' main scorer), and there isn't as much of a need for Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack, and Roburt Sallie to hit three-pointers. And at the rate Taggart and Dozier are pulling Houdinis and disappearing for long stretches, it covers up some of the shortfalls in the post.

 

3. Will Tyreke Evans continue to develop?

Memphis' freshman star has blossomed since moving to point guard after a Dec. 20 loss to Syracuse. As the Tigers' best scorer and biggest offensive threat, the offense—both full-court and half-court—has shown improvement while going through him. He's a much bigger part of the offense now, which makes you wonder if Calipari is kicking himself for not making this move earlier.

He's scored 20 points or more in the 11 games—all wins—since the move to point guard. His lowest was a five-point effort in a blowout win over Rice, and he nearly had a triple-double (14 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists) in a Dec. 29 win over Cincinnati. Though Evans isn't a natural point guard, he's the best option Memphis has. He doesn't even bring the ball up the floor each time, but such isn't necessary in the Tigers' dribble-drive motion offense.

Evans loves to drive to the basket, but he ran into problems when he found himself picking up charges left and right earlier in the season. He's had less of a problem with it as of late, while his ability to go around defenders and shoot high-percentage lay-ups has improved. He made the clutch baskets against Central Florida and Tennessee, and it's clear that he is Memphis' go-to player down the stretch.

 

4. Can Memphis keep poor three-point shooting from being a problem?

There are two ways to attack this one, and the Tigers have used both.

First, shoot well. Though Memphis doesn't do this well as a team—it's just 31.4 percent on the season—the Tigers shot well Wednesday, going 8-of-17 (47.1 percent). That was, of course, a bit abnormal.

Second, Memphis could not be as reliant on the three-point shot and simply take fewer attempts, especially when the shots aren't falling. The Tigers shot just nine threes against Tulsa (making four of them), 18 against Central Florida (making seven), and just 15 against Tennessee (making five).

The one slip-up came when they went 2-for-18 against Cincinnati. Still, it's a far cry from the 7-of-33 night against Syracuse, 5-of-19 against Georgetown, and 2-for-14 against Xavier. All of those were losses.

The purpose of Memphis' offense is for each possession to end in one of three things: a lay-up, free throws or a three-pointer. When the three-pointers aren't falling, the best medicine is for the Tigers to stop shooting them. Or, in some cases, it's best just to not shoot them at all. No matter which route the Tigers take, if they can keep poor three-point shooting from being a problem, that's one fewer weakness for a team that doesn't really have many.

 

5. Where did the turnovers go?

In Memphis' 11-game winning streak, notice how the turnover totals have gone down: Drexel 18, Cincinnati 20, Northeastern 25, Lamar 17, Marshall nine, Central Florida 11, Tulsa 22, UAB 12, Rice 21, Tennessee nine, East Carolina 12.

One of the main ways the Tigers produce offense is through their defense, which relies on high pressure, aggressive play, and the length of its defenders to force turnovers that lead to easy buckets in transition. In watching the Tigers, the 15-turnover mark is typically where they need to get teams to get their normal dose of transition offense—any more is gravy, and any less makes scoring a bit more difficult.

Especially when going up against competition from Conference USA, the Tigers should force 15 turnovers a night easily. When playing higher-profile teams—the only one left on the schedule is Gonzaga, and presumably whichever team(s) Memphis draws in the Big Dance—the Tigers will need to force turnovers to help with the offense. Though the half-court offense appears more developed than it was last season (when, honestly, it was rarely necessary), it still has a ways to go. Forcing lots of turnovers can hide that problem.