BB sings the Blues (No, not that BB)

As a service to his loyal readers, Bracket Boy is breaking down the Final Four teams. Today: the Memphis Tigers.

The lights were dimmed in the secret lab yesterday, but our resident expert was wearing dark sunglasses anyway. He had a guitar on his lap and pain in his heart, and the way he was howling into a microphone, he sounded less like our usual BB and more like B.B. King.

Yes, loyal readers, it is true.

Bracket Boy had the Blues.

“My bracket is busted baby … oh, and Memphis is to blame.”
“Yeeeeah, my bracket is busted baby … oh, and Memphis is to blame.”
“I kept sleeping on them Tigers … and they kept winning every game!”

So did you have them in your bracket? Memphis, the No. 1 seed most often dissed and dismissed during the past three weeks, rolled into the Final Four in convincing fashion over the weekend, first obliterating Michigan State and then easily handling Texas.

The Longhorns, of course, were the team that BB picked to win the South Regional, and they looked liked they didn’t belong on the same court. They looked absolutely shell-shocked early in this game.
Memphis sure noticed.

“I don’t know if Texas has played a team as physical, athletic and long as we are all year,” forward Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “You can’t practice for us. It’s kind of shocking how fast and athletic we are.”

So Memphis, at least, knew that Memphis was really good. Many of us, including my good friend Dick Vitale, seemed certain the Tigers would crumble when the competition level improved.

Turns out, talented is just talented, no matter who you’re playing. “Even Tulsa,” BB said.

“The Tigers made the Final Four … you can’t make them go away.”
“Ohhhh, them Tigers made the Final Four … you can’t make them go away.”
“Now they’re gonna did their claws … into my dear old U-C-L-A.”

The good news about Memphis reaching the Final Four? Well, Bracket Boy does love the Blues, and Memphis has Beale Street, one of the last places in the country where you can catch a good Blues show on any night of the week.

Howlin’ Wolf. Memphis Minnie. Frank Stokes. Before Memphis became a basketball hotbed it was a Blues hotbed, with some of the most famous names in American music history calling it home.

“Even B.B. himself played Beale Street,” BB said. “Wait, not me. The one with Lucille.”

The bad news about Memphis in the Final Four? With their size and athleticism, the Tigers will be a difficult matchup for UCLA, the team that our resident expert picked to win the national championship.
Derrick Rose, now that Stephen Curry is out of the tournament, might just be the best perimeter player left, and San Antonio is his chance to prove that to a country that has been sleeping on his team.

And this means … dim the lights in the lab, grab a harmonica, and join Bracket Boy for a jam session.

“My bracket is busted baby … Memphis sure did put on a show.”
“Yeeeeah, my bracket is busted baby … Memphis sure did put on a show.”
“I kept sleeping on them Tigers … and now they’re in San Antonio!”