Memphis-Kansas showdown?

If No. 1 Memphis and No. 2 Kansas continue to take care of business, they’ll meet April 7 for the national title in San Antonio.

And even if the two teams get derailed along the way, Memphis coach John Calipari said he would like to schedule a regular-season game against the Jayhawks.

Calipari served as an assistant coach at KU for Ted Owens and Larry Brown in the early 1980s, and hopes the Tigers and Jayhawks continue their unbeaten ways this year.

“The only time I’m not going to root for Kansas this year is if it’s April 7 and we’re playing them,” Calipari said after Wednesday night’s 56-41 victory at Tulsa.

As for scheduling KU in the future, Calipari has often stacked his non-conference schedule with hefty opponents and said it’s not because his Tigers are members of Conference USA, which is perceived as weak.

“It all depends on what you’re trying to do. If you want to be the champion, you can’t fight in the undercard. You’ve got to take on all comers,” Calipari said. “Now will those teams play you on your home court? No, they’re not going to. So you’ve got to get in neutral events where you’re going to play those opponents.

“When I was at UMass we played Kentucky, we played Arkansas and we played
North Carolina; No. 1 ranked teams in the country all on neutral sites. And we won those games, but they were all on neutral sites. You’re never going to get those opponents at home, so you’ve got to risk it.