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REPORTING FROM ... RELIANT STADIUM

by Elena Bergeron

Elena Bergeron

The big stage for the Big Dance.

There'll be raves about the setup, mostly because the press row ditch makes media curmudgeons feel like they're looking up to the court like wide-eyed 10 year-olds. Not sure what's going to happen when some scrappy guard chases a loose ball too hard, but the trash-talking Memphis Tigers seem to love the elevated courts so far. All the better for stars like them, they figure. "We want to be on a big stage," says junior forward Robert Dozier. "We've been playing great ball all year and and it's nice to be in the final 16 of all the teams in the nation."

Sitting courtside feels like Ric Flair might come running out of the tunnel at any moment. And with 24 year-old Memphis forward Joey Dorsey (6-9, 265 lb) taking on Michigan State's 6-7 Raymar Morgan tomorrow, maybe we should expect a "wooooo!" or two.


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