Hey big Ike, meet big(ger) Chris.
Whether the Memphis Tigers end a seven-year NCAA tournament drought with a win or a loss depends on the match-up between Arizona State freshman forward Ike Diogu and Tiger senior Chris Massie.
The two will face-off when Diogu and the No. 10-seeded Sun Devils play No. 7 Memphis tonight at 6:10 in Oklahoma City in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Ford Center.
Although the 6-8, 242 pound Diogu does not have the same size and level of experience as the 6-9, 268 pound Massie, his numbers are equally impressive.
Diogu, who was named Pac-10 freshman of the year, is averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest. Those numbers are very comparable to Massie’s 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds this season.
Both post players led their teams in those categories.
Diogu expects Massie to come at him early and often but said he will be ready for the first-team All-Conference USA selection.
“He’s going to be jacked up and ready to play and so am I,” Diogu said. “He’s going to take it strong to me and I’m going to take it strong to him.”
Sun Devil guard Curtis Millage has a unique prospective on the inside matchup. Millage played with both Massie, at Oxnard (Calif.), and now Diogu, at ASU.
“Chris is a lot like Ike, but Ike has an advantage,” Millage said. “Ike can do more things. For instance, he can jump out on him and shoot the jumper.”
ASU head coach Rob Evans, who formerly coached at Ole Miss, said his team and the Tigers (23-6) resemble each other on both ends of the court.
“We like to do a lot of the same things,” Evans said. “We like to dictate tempo and they like to dictate it with their offense and their defense.”
The Sun Devils (19-11) are shooting 48 percent from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc, compared to the Tigers 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point land.
The winner of the game will likely face the Kansas Jayhawks who is the No. 2 seed and is expected to easily get by No. 15 seed Utah State Aggies. The Jayhawks are expected to be the last team standing out of the four in Oklahoma City for the West Region.
Memphis Senior center Earl Barron said he was surprised that Memphis, who he believed would be a No. 5-seed, slipped down the bracket to No. 7.
“It’s surprising that we’re a seven seed, but we’re just happy we’re in and that we have a chance to advance and win the national championship,” the 7-footer said. “We would’ve liked to have had a better seed and played a team that is not so good, but we’re prepared. This team has played well this whole season against some of the top teams in the country. If we go out there and play the way we’re capable of playing, we can play with anybody.”
Memphis head coach John Calipari was also miffed by his team’s high seed.
“I can’t explain it,” Calipari said. “But it’s a better one than we had a year ago. At least we’re coming down the right way.”
