Arizona was led by talented sophomore Derrick Williams who led the Cats with 22 points and 10 rebounds on just 11 shots. He was 9-9 from the FT line and 1-1 from three.  Lamont Jones scored 18 points as well to back Derrick and Zona.

Many NBA Draft experts predict Williams will be the #1 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

The Tigers controlled most of the first half after jumping out to an early 10-1 lead.  They then battled back to tie the game and take the lead after Arizona came out strong to start the second half.

Memphis hung tough after early foul trouble put prized big man Tarik Black and defensive specialist Chris Crawford on the bench.

Antonio Barton, the less heralded of the Barton brothers, led a balanced offensive attack from the Tigers with 17 points, including two 3-pointers.  His older brother Will added 12.  Wesley Witherspoon and Joe Jackson both finished with 10 points.

Memphis’ sole senior Will Coleman played one of his best games of the year scoring 9 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

Arizona won the game at the free throw line making 84% of their free throws (26-31).

Arizona – Memphis Box Score

The Wildcats will play Texas on Sunday with the winning advancing to the Sweet 16.

I will be live blogging the NCAA Tournament game this afternoon between the #12 Memphis Tigers and #4 Arizona Wildcats.  Be sure to check back at 2:45pm ET/1:45pm CT/11:45pm PT especially if you are a fan of the Tigers.

<a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a6bad6b7aa” mce_href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a6bad6b7aa” >(#12) Memphis vs. (#5) Arizona</a>

You will be able to submit your own thoughts, commentary, sarcasm, and questions throughout the game during the live blog. The Cover It Live blog will also include Tweets from some of the media that often covers the Memphis Tigers.

The game will air on CBS. Arizona is a -6 point favorite.

The word out of the Bluff City tonight is that the NCAA has reversed its previous ruling and that top 10 recruit Will Barton will be allowed to play for Josh Pastner and the University of Memphis Tigers this fall.

Both Dan Wolken reported the news via his Twitter:

Source just told me Will Barton has been cleared to play for Memphis this season. The NCAA reversed its ruling.

Barton news is confirmed. Memphis sending out press release momentarily.

I heard a week ago the NCAA “missed something” among the 2,000 pages that were submitted on Barton. Whatever it was, obviously they found.

Certainly an eventful day on the U of M basketball beat. There have been a lot of them the past four years, have there not?

Barton’s eligibility obviously huge for Memphis on many levels, but his impact on their rebounding might be biggest of all.

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The NCAA had ruled Barton ineligible on August 8th for taking too many semesters to graduate high school.

Great news for the Tigers for sure.  Barton handled the initial ruling with a lot of grace and maturity. By all reports he is a good kid, happy for him.

Head coach Josh Pastner’s video response:

Barton tweeted his disappointment earlier tonight:

Barton hinted at bad news Wednesday night via his Twitter account.

“It don’t get no worse than this,” Barton Tweeted. “The hardest thing I ever had 2 face is here. Need vision cuz everything blurry now. Where do I go from here?”

By all accounts Will is a great kid.  Most experts considered him a one-and-done college player. Hopefully, he can stay in great shape by playing overseas or in the NBADL.

Best of luck to Will the Thrill on his future.

Local Memphis product Tarik Black decided on Sunday to play his college basketball for the University of Memphis Tigers according to Memphis Roar.

Black, ranked #47 by Rivals, adds to a recruiting class for the Tigers that was already considered the #1 2010 class in the country after Atlanta native Jelan Kendrick’s (Rivals #8) surprise commitment over the weekend.

The pair joins Joe Jackson (Rivals #12), Will Barton (#11), Chris Crawford (Rivals #67), Hippolyte Tsafack (top 200), and Antonio Barton (top 200)

Some recruiting experts are calling it, not only the #1 class of 2010, but one of the top recruiting classes of all-time as well.

Rivals Top 150 College Prospects for 2010