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Douglas-Roberts helps Memphis remain undefeated

Jan 20, 2008 - 5:55 AM MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Memphis just refuses to lose at FedEx Forum - or anywhere else this season for that matter.

Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points as the second-ranked Tigers extended the nation's longest home winning streak to 42 games Saturday night with an 83-47 rout of Southern Mississippi in a Conference USA matchup.

Freshman Derrick Rose finished with 13 points and Doneal Mack added 12 for Memphis (17-0, 4-0 C-USA), which has now won 27 consecutive games against conference opponents.

"That was one of our best efforts this year, maybe one of the best efforts since I've been here," Memphis coach John Calipari said. "When you talk about the pace the game was played, the way we defended and contested shots and had five turnovers. At that speed, that's incredible."

The Tigers, who won their first three conference games by an average of nearly 30 points, continued their dominance of the league on Saturday.

"They have no weaknesses whatsoever," Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy said. "And I joke about John (Calipari), but he's a terrific coach. He's been to the Final Four before.

"I have played against Michigan State and some national championship teams, and they're every bit as good as those teams."

After a pair of free throws by Sai'Quon Stone cut the deficit to four with 8:04 remaining, Memphis finished the first half on a 20-3 run, capped by Antonio Anderson's 3-pointer, to take a 44-23 lead into the break.

"Well obviously we were totally outmatched," Eustachy said. "They have tremendous talent. I thought we started the game well."

The Tigers did not let up from there, going on another big run in the second half to open up a 79-39 lead with 4:25 remaining. Willie Kemp scored five points and Jeff Robinson added four on the 22-5 burst that lasted over nine minutes.

With top-ranked North Carolina losing to Maryland earlier Saturday, Memphis has a chance to take over first place when the new USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll is released on Monday. Memphis and Kansas are the only undefeated teams left in Division I.

"I was happy for our fans, and I said on our radio before let's not be talking about No. 1," Calipari said. "Let's win the game, and we'll talk about it after that. So I wanted them to enjoy the moment of this basketball team and what they're doing and how they played."

Douglas-Roberts shot 7-of-10 from floor and Robert Dozier collected 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who shot 52 percent (31-of-60) from the field.

"I didn't think they were that good a shooting team," Eustachy said. "They really shot the ball from the perimeter well. They didn't have that last year. They've really improved their shooting."

The Golden Eagles (9-9, 1-3) were led by R.L. Horton, who scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Jeremy Wise also had nine points, Courtney Beasley added eight and Andre Stephens grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots for Southern Miss, which went 0-of-14 from the arc in its sixth loss in seven contests.