Tennessee at Memphis

#1 vs #2. Primetime! ESPN Gameday! Dick Vitale! Jay Bilas! Digger Phelps! Reece Davis! Hubert Davis! Erin Andrews! It was an all-star setup for an all-star battle of teams ranked #1 and #2. And the game did not disappoint.

As expected with games of such high intensity, it did not play out as expected, the players were too amped up for the game, and the game was all over the place, from running all over the place like kittens on caffeine, to a grinded out affair.

Ultimately, Derrick Rose was not enough, and the Bruce Pearl Energizer Bunnies out-did Memphis at just about every category.

Memphis exceeded its quota of three pointers made in the first ten minutes of the game, and that spelled doom for their offense, as they fell in love with the three, and were unable to go back to it when they really needed it.

This outcome could play well for both teams. Tennessee gets its first ever #1 ranking in men's basketball, and reaches new heights, and Memphis gets a much needed "reality check" after their close call at UAB.

This exposes Memphis as a candidate for another Elite 8 run, instead of Final Fours and national championships. Not because they lost the game, but how they lost the game. Are we starting to see a pattern? Remember how UCLA dissected the Tigers in the 2006 Elite 8?

Granted, this was just a single game, but perhaps those two teams should consider playing twice a year! Once in the pre-season and once in February! It's awesome baby with capital A!