GAME: No. 10 Arizona State (19-11) vs. No. 7 Memphis (23-6)
REGIONAL: West, first round.
TIME: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. EST.
SITE: The Ford Center; Oklahoma City.
John Calipari and Memphis are back in the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven years. The Tigers hope this trip resembles their coach's last appearance and not their own.
The trail back to the Final Four for Calipari appears to be a daunting one in the formidable West Regional, starting with a first-round matchup against Arizona State.
The last time the Tigers made the NCAA tournament came as a No. 5 seed in 1996 and they were upset by 12th-seeded Drexel in the opening round.
That same year, Calipari led top-seeded Massachusetts to the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion Kentucky. Calipari left UMass following that season to take over the NBA's New Jersey Nets, then rejoined the college ranks in the 2000-01 season by becoming Memphis coach.
Though the Tigers are happy to return to the NCAAs after settling for the NIT the last two years, they were not thrilled with getting a No. 7 seed. Memphis was ranked 16th last week and had won 12 straight games before losing 78-75 to Louisville in the Conference USA tournament semifinals.
"I can't explain how we ended up seeded where we were," Calipari said. "You don't try to. At least it was a better seed than last year."
Calipari also can't be happy about ending up in the West.
The winner of this contest likely will next face Kansas, which opens against Utah State. The following two rounds could potentially include games against Duke and Arizona just to reach the Final Four.
"We've just go to do with what they gave us," Tigers freshman guard Jeremy Hunt said. "But I thought we'd at least be a No. 5, no lower than that. This is going to be a competitive bracket."
While Calipari's team was unhappy with its position, Arizona State is just pleased to be in.
The Sun Devils received their first berth since 1995 despite enduring a three-game losing streak late in the season and losing to Oregon in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament.
Arizona State, a No. 10 seed, was the 60th of 65 teams announced in Sunday's telecast of the field chosen by the selection committee.
"The selection show went a lot like our careers," senior Kyle Dodd said. "It took a little while, but we finally got to where we wanted to go."
This game pits two of the country's better big men who have received very little attention.
Memphis' Chris Massie had 15 double-doubles and led the team with 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game after regaining his eligibility following the first semester. The 6-foot-10 forward nearly left school early to enter the NBA draft after last season, and is expected to be a first-round pick this summer.
Arizona State's Ike Diogu was the Pac-10's freshman of the year and just the ninth freshman to earn All-Pac-10 honors. Diogu was third in the league in scoring at 18.8 points per game - third-best all-time among Pac-10 freshmen - and grabbed 7.6 boards per game while shooting 61 percent from the field.
Diogu refuses to be intimidated playing on the national stage facing a seasoned senior of Massie's ability.
"It doesn't make me nervous at all," Diogu said. "When it comes down to it, all you're doing is playing basketball. If you can play, then you can just play. It doesn't matter who you're going up against."
PROBABLE STARTERS: Arizona State - F Tommy Smith, F Diogu, F Shawn Redhage, G Dodd, G Curtis Millage. Memphis - F Massie, F Rodney Carney, C Earl Barron, G Antonio Burks, G Anthony Rice.
TEAM LEADERS: Arizona State - Diogu, 19.1 ppg and 7.9 rpg; Dodd, 3.3 apg. Memphis - Massie, 16.5 ppg and 10.7 rpg; Burks, 5.6 apg.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Arizona State - At-large berth, Pac-10. Memphis - At-large berth, Conference USA.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Arizona State - 11-12, 11 years. Memphis - 18-16, 16 years.