Tigers to face Jayhawks tonight

When Josh Pastner looks at tonight's match-up against No. 1-ranked Kansas, he doesn't see all of the hype that surrounded the game when it was first scheduled. Instead, he sees it as just another contest. Especially as all of that hype is now gone.

"The whole point of the game was meant to be No. 1 versus No. 2 in the country," Pastner said. "It was supposed to be John Calipari against Bill Self, in a rematch of the 2008 Championship game. Then things went the way they did, and the game has turned into Memphis against Kansas."

The Tigers will travel to St. Louis tonight to participate in the Hall of Fame Showcase against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Although the excitement that originally surrounded the game is now gone, Pastner said, it doesn't take anything away from the opportunity that his squad has to go up against the best team in the country.

"It's a big game," he said. "This is a really good opportunity, I think, for both teams."

While Pastner acknowledged the match-up would probably be of more importance emotionally for Tigers fans, he looks at it as a brand new page in the history book. Even though the 75-68 overtime loss to the Jayhawks in the NCAA title game may still hold in the minds of U of M fans, Pastner doesn't look at it in quite the same way.

"I understand how (the fans) feel," he said, recounting the time in 2005 when Arizona was up 13 points over Illinois but failed to make free throws at the end and were eliminated of the first round in the NCAA Tournament. "Anytime I look at Illinois, I get sick to my stomach. I can understand the fan base here on that. But for our team and for us, our focus isn't about 2008."

The U of M has three players on its roster that were members of the 2007-08 runner-up squad - Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack and Pierre Henderson-Niles - while Kansas has just two in seniors Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich.

"It's two different teams," said Self in a teleconference Saturday.

Pastner wasn't here when the Tigers lost to Kansas two years ago, but he will see a familiar face on the opposing team when Jayhawk freshman Xavier Henry, who originally signed with Memphis before Calipari left, takes the floor.

"I basically lived over in Putnam City (Okla.) for a while," Pastner said. "Xavier was the No. 1 player in the rankings last year for that reason. We'll have to do a (good) job against him because he's a really good basketball player."

Former Memphis signees Marcus and Markeiff Morris and former Tiger point guard C.J. Henry will also be on the floor in Jayhawk jerseys. Due to his familiarity with so many of the Jayhawks' players, Pastner said he knows how good they are.

"We have to compete, play hard, scrap, do whatever we need to do to give us the best chance to win," he said. "The pressure is obviously on them, though. They've got the bull's-eye (on them)."

Regardless of the rankings heading into the game, the Tigers will still prepare the same way all season.

"We will prepare every single game, no matter whether it's Christian Brothers, whether it's LeMoyne-Owen, Jackson State, Kansas, any of our conference games - it doesn't matter," Pastner said. "We're not going to get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. We have to be even keel."

Mack, who was on the Tigers' roster when they played Kansas in 2008, said if The U of M sticks to their game, they have a chance to come home with a win.

"Games like these, this is what you play for," he said. "They're a big team, and they're a talented team down the bench. If we come out there and we play hard and we play our game, I think we have a chance to do something good."

Pastner said if his team plays hard, a victory is very possible.

"We have to give the maximum effort we can give because winning is a by-product of effort," he said. "We have to play hard. We have to compete. We have to leave every ounce of energy we have on the floor. It doesn't matter who our opponent is; if we do that, we'll have an opportunity to get a win."