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College Basketball Betting: No. 1 Memphis Survives Scare from UTEP
Derrick Rose and the Tigers got past the Miners. (AP Images)
Evidence that the Memphis Tigers might be starting to believe the hype was on display Saturday afternoon when they were nearly upset at home by a team that’s got little chance of postseason success.
The top-ranked Tigers had been winning games against Conference USA rivals by an average of 25.7 points, but were tied with Texas-El Paso with 2:31 to play. That’s when Chris Douglas-Roberts took over.
The junior small forward with Dwyane Wade-type game broke a 60-60 tie and helped power the Tigers to a 70-64 victory. Douglas-Roberts finished with 24 points and freshman Derrick Rose added 17 as Memphis improved to 21-0, setting a school record for the best start to a season (the Tigers opened 20-0 in 1985-86). Memphis’ home winning streak stretched to 44.
Shrewd college basketball bettors would have given UTEP a chance coming in because the Miners’ coach, Tony Barbee, worked under Memphis coach John Calipari for seven seasons and knows the Tigers’ system well.
UTEP beat the point spread, which favored Memphis by a whopping 21.