Memphis made occasionally heavy work of dispatching a team ranked <span style="font-weight: bold;">No. 147 in the RPI</span> by realtimeRPI.com.
The Mavericks shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the first half, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and thus retained at least a slight hope of becoming the first 16th seed to beat a No. 1.</p>
The Tigers struggled to contain UTA's 6-7, 230-pound junior forward Anthony Vereen (20 points), who bulled his way to the basket against a Memphis team unwilling to stand in his way.</p>