Doneal Mack walked to center court, dropped to his knees, kissed the Tiger logo, and brought tears to the eyes of Tiger Nation. For Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp, the Tigers’ 75-53 routing of Tulsa in the Forum on Saturday was a fairy-tale ending to a memorable senior day.
“It was a spur of the moment thing,” Doneal Mack said of kissing the M in the center of the floor. “I felt like that was my way of saying thank you to the whole city, the program, the fans, everyone that was there for me the last four years.”
The University of Memphis Tigers (20-7, 10-2) visit the Houston Cougars (13-13, 5-7) this Wednesday. After winning five straight conference games, the Tigers are looking to avoid a possible “trap” game against the Cougars, whose record is not necessarily a cause for concern. The Tigers have four regular-season games left, all against conference opponents, and the biggest challenge may be UAB in Birmingham. However, the Tigers will have their hands full with a Houston team who has some big conference wins against tough opponents at home. 
The Memphis Tigers basketball team failed to get a resume’ boosting victory against in-state rival #14 Tennessee Volunteers, as the Tigers were defeated 66-59. A brutal battle took place inside the FedEx forum, as both teams combined for 50 personal fouls just hours before the beginning of a new year, one that will hopefully be a better year for Memphis sports. If anyone felt the Memphis/Tennessee rivalry left with John Calipari, the near max capacity of the FedEx Forum spoke to the contrary. The only disappointing sight apart from the final score was the absence of student support in the partially empty student section.
