Memphis Keeps Winning, but Off-Court Problems Cast a Shadow

No. 1 Memphis dispatched another inferior opponent Wednesday night, pummeling SMU 77-48, running its record to 22-0 and its home-court winning streak to 45 games.

But while the Tigers' record is perfect on the floor, not everything is perfect off it. Memphis played without Robert Dozier, who served a suspension related to an off-court incident. Dozier faces an assault charge after his ex-girlfriend claimed that Dozier followed her out of a club and hit her early Sunday morning. Memphis coach John Calipari said he's dealing with the issue:

"It just shows you that good kids do stupid things too," said Calipari to open his postgame remarks. "I'm going to figure out where we go from here. I'm disappointed. But when you sit back and look at your own children, you realize, boy, they do dumb things. They think they're bullet-proof, they think they're invisible. Hopefully it's a situation where he learns.

"I'll be firm and fair," Calipari continued, "like I am with all of these situations. It's hard for these kids to understand that they're all tied as one. When one of them screws up, it's ugly for everybody. He has a tough row to hoe if he's going to stay on this team. But I will not throw these kids under the bus. I treat them like they're my own sons, or their your sons. These kids are targets in this town. Right now, we've got the microscope on us. We're the number-one team in the country."

Sure, the microscope is on the No. 1 team, but plenty of No. 1 teams make it through a season without having a top player (Dozier had started every game until last night) accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend. And this isn't the first time Memphis has had an off-court problem; two players are due in court later this month after they were arrested at the same club where Dozier and his ex-girlfriend had the run-in over the weekend.

At that point Calipari said bars and nightclubs would be off-limits to Memphis players. Apparently that rule didn't last.