No time to dwell.  Just breathe one final sigh of relief and get ready for tomorrow’s game against Maryland.  During yesterday’s NCAA basketball tournament first-round game between Memphis and Cal. State – Northridge, I allowed myself to think, ever so briefly, of how downtrodden our city would be if the Tigers didn’t rally and pull out the win.  But pull it out they did and, while it was not pretty, here are a few reasons the lackluster showing need not be cause for concern…

1)     Think back exactly one week, to the Conference USA tournament held here in Memphis.  The Tigers were coming off an ugly, sloppy, low-scoring win over Tulane, the lowest seeded team we would face in the tournament.  If that was how the team would play, another conference championship was certainly no guarantee.  The Tigers proceeded to completely dismantle two higher-seeded, more competitive teams over the next two days en route to the league crown.  Whether the ugly win served as a wake-up call or merely a chance to get their heads in the tournament, it clearly served as no indication of performances to come.

2)    Many a highly-seeded team in the big dance has survived an early scare to advance deep into the tournament.  Some of those close calls are great memories for lovers of the game, but they simply don’t impact what happens next.  Nor do commanding performances in the first round signify more of the same to come.  Take Kansas (I know.  Boooo!), last year’s champion:  two of the last three times they have been a 1-seed and have won their opening game by more than 20 points, they have been upset in the 2nd round.  Feeling better yet?

3)     Sure, the Tigers scared us fans yesterday, but I think the unveiling of yet another potentially dominating offensive presence - Roburt Sallie (who is currently featured on the front page of ESPN.com’s tourney coverage – likely scared potential future opponents even more.  Yet another wrinkle for which foes must prepare and another weapon that appears ready for deployment when needed. 

4)     Scores don’t matter.  Survive and advance is the whole ball game at this point.  Done and done.

I make no promises about what is to come, but yesterday’s game gives me no reason to doubt that the Memphis Tigers are on the verge of another glorious march through… well… March.  Last year’s frenzy of city-wide unity and excitement in support of the Tigers is something I will always cherish, and a 2009 reprise is more than welcome!  Go Tigers.

Memphis plays the 10-seeded Maryland Terrapins Saturday at 2:20 (central) on CBS.

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