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Douglas-Roberts, Memphis rout Tulane

Feb 21, 2008 - 5:47 AM NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Chris Douglas-Roberts made sure that Memphis would not be looking too far ahead.

Douglas-Roberts scored 20 of his 29 points in the first half as the top-ranked Tigers remained unbeaten with a 97-71 victory over Tulane in Conference USA action on Wednesday.

The Memphis junior shot 13-of-17 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the arc, as the Tigers appear geared up for Saturday's showdown with No. 2 Tennessee.

It was also the 400th career victory for Memphis coach John Calipari.

Freshman Derrick Rose added 17 points and Robert Dozier chipped in 14 for the Tigers, who shot 55 percent (39-of-71) from the floor - despite making only 5-of-18 from the arc.

The win was the 14th straight over Tulane for Memphis (26-0, 12-0 C-USA), which has also won 35 consecutive conference games.

"We just got beat by the best team in the country," Tulane coach Dave Dickerson said. "It's a difficult loss, but if you put things into context they are ranked No. 1 in the country, they haven't lost a game in our conference in almost a year and a half, and we have a long ways to go to catch up to that."

Memphis never trailed as Douglas-Roberts scored seven quick points to help the Tigers take a 12-4 lead with 15:12 left in the first half.

The Tigers kept the Green Wave at bay, using a 13-2 run to pull away late in the first half, taking a 37-20 bulge with five minutes left before halftime.

Memphis led by 19 points at the half and pushed its lead to 54-31 after a layup by Rose with 16:53 left to play.

Tulane (15-10, 5-6) just didn't have an answer as Memphis continued to add to its lead, taking a 78-48 advantage with 9:26 remaining and the Tigers cruised to the finish from there.

The Tigers had a huge advantage in the paint, outscoring the Green Wave, 54-26. They also scored 25 points off of 15 turnovers.

David Gomez scored 23 points to lead Tulane, which dropped to 0-10 all-time against the No. 1 team in the nation.

"I thought our guys played hard for 40 minutes and in the last 10 minutes competed evenly," Dickerson said. "I loved some of the things I saw from our players. I think we have a chance to turn things around."