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No. 2 Tennessee at No. 1 Memphis the Big NCAA Action This Weekend
Chris Lofton leads No. 2 Tennessee into Memphis Saturday night. (AI Wire)
Bodog Nation: NCAA Basketball Betting Week at a Glance.
Tennessee at Memphis: Was there really any other choice for game of the week? (Apologies, Alabama at Auburn).
Rarely has a regular-season non-conference game received so much hype. The Volunteers are primed to take over top spot in the country with a win, knocking Memphis from the ranks of the undefeated in the process. The Tigers can finally lay to rest whispers about weak C-USA opposition and a relatively light non-conference sked.
The matchup that'll probably garner the most attention is Chris Douglas-Roberts vs. Chris Lofton. Two of the best scoring wings in the nation, CDR vs. Loft should be the one to watch on Saturday.
But it won't be the most important.
What will, however, is the matchup Joey Dorsey gets against a smallish Tennessee frontcourt. Most assume he'll be guarded by a combo of 6-foot-9-inch Wayne Chism and 6-foot-7-inch Tyler Smith. The problem? Chism weighs 240 and Smith 215.
Dorsey tips 'em at 265.
Dorsey has also established himself as a rebound-first post who'll do the dirty work in the paint. His scoring has dropped (from 8.5 points per game last year to 7.4 this year) but his rebounding has jumped to 10.5 per contest. He's exactly the kind of player that Tennessee struggles with, a bruiser who can physically intimidate the softest part of the Volunteers team.