The Tigers dominated from the opening tip and wrapped up their second straight perfect Conference season. It was the perfect performance for Senior Night as Dorsey and fellow senior Andre Allen helped the Tigers to their 39th consecutive C-USA win.
“It ought to be Senior Night every night for Joey,” ' Chris Douglas-Roberts said.
Dorsey has been an enigma throughout his career at , possessing a wealth of talent but struggling with the mental aspects of the game. When he puts it all together, Dorsey can be a nearly unstoppable force.
“I came into this game and I was hoping the slump was over, and I can play like this the rest of the year,” Dorsey said. “The last couple of games, I've been so frustrated just to see what's going on with me. It takes hard work, playing harder than everybody on the court.”
Memphis, 30-1 overall, 16-0 C-USA, were cruising by the midway point of the first half and eventually took a 28-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Unlike their earlier meeting in when had to rally from seven points down in the final to win, the Tigers sent a clear message.
“We had no answer for them,” Blazers coach Mike Davis said. “We just wanted to get the game over with. That didn't happen either because it felt like it took all day for it to get over.”
Lawrence Kinnard led UAB, 22-9 overall, 12-4 C-USA, with 16 points, while Robert Vaden had 13 and Aaron Johnson chipped in 10 points. The Blazers never got on track against the Tigers swarming defense and ended the day with 23 turnovers and shooting just 34 percent from the field.
“We wanted to tell them this was not going to be a game like ,” Tigers freshman guard Derrick Rose said. “When you hit a team like that, it kind of takes down their confidence a little bit.”
UAB, which was the last team to beat Memphis in a conference game over two years ago, were down by as many as 43 at one point in the second half. Allen and Doneal Mack scored 11 points each for , while finished with 10, all in the first half. Rose had 5 points and 11 assists in 21 minutes of play.
“We came in today, and I said: ‘I'm not losing on Senior Night. I'm going to come out with so much energy, and you all just follow me,” Dorsey said.
The Tigers used 12 players, with 11 tossing in at least three points.
“That's what a deep team will do. The biggest thing is we just guarded,” coach John Calipari said.
With just under four minutes left in the game, the crowd of 17,822 at the FedEx Forum gave Dorsey a standing ovation and chanted “Joey, Joey” with Dorsey waving to the crowd as he left the court. Allen was next to leave and received a similar standing ovation.
Blazers coach Mike Davis wasn’t pleased with his team’s poor outing, questioning the lack of effort and motivation.
“It was like this game didn't even matter, and that was the way we played,” said. “It was Senior Night for , and it was a stop before the C-USA tournament." "We could have gotten beat by 40 by anybody. We just weren't ready to play.”
Dorsey’s teammates understand how important his strong play helps their chances of being successful in the coming C-USA and NCAA tournaments.
“We did it because of Joey,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I hope he gets the picture now. He makes himself look so good, and he makes us look so good. I don't understand why he wouldn't want to look good out there all the time.”
The Tigers are entering the C-USA tournament this week as the No. 1 seed and will await their Thursday opponent. The C-USA tournament begins this Wednesday at the FedEx Forum.
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