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Rose, Tigers aim for third straight C-USA title

Mar 15, 2008 - 1:30 PM Tulsa (20-12) at No. 3 Memphis (32-1) 11:35 am EDT

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) - Third-ranked Memphis aims for a third straight Conference USA title on Saturday when it hosts Tulsa.

Freshman guard Derek Rose scored 16 of 25 points in the second half, and Chris Douglas Roberts added 14 as the Tigers (32-1) advanced to the final with a 69-53 win over Southern Mississippi on Friday.

Top-seeded Memphis, which has won 41 straight conference games, is looking to solidify its place as No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

All that stands in Memphis' way of a No. 1 seed is seventh-seeded Tulsa.

Ben Uzoh scored 17 points and Calvin Walls recorded the first four points of overtime as the Golden Hurricanes squeaked out a 64-62 win over Texas El-Paso in the semifinals on Friday.

The Golden Hurricanes (20-12) are looking to reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2000 when current Kansas coach Bill Self led them there.