Memphis making an unusual habit out of No. 1 seed

And perhaps you haven't noticed, but non-traditional teams from non-BCS leagues just don't do this kind of stuff, at least not consistently for a three-year stretch like the three-year stretch the Tigers are enjoying. They were 33-4 two seasons ago and 33-4 again last season, within a win of the Final Four each time. They head into this NCAA tournament with a 33-1 record.

Though it would be naive to suggest some of this isn't the result of playing in an overmatched league, it would be equally foolish to discount it as nothing more because the Tigers aren't just some team preying on the weak.

Again, that's some of it.

But they have the high-level athletes to win in any league -- specifically a future NBA star in Derrick Rose, a first-team All-American in Chris Douglas-Roberts and a tough-to-make-sense-of rebounding machine in Joey Dorsey. With that core, it was no surprise when Memphis beat two of the best from the Big East (Georgetown and Connecticut), two of the best from the Pac-10 (Southern California and Arizona), one of the best from the Big 12 (Oklahoma) and the West Coast Conference champion (Gonzaga) this season. That's why this No. 1 seed shouldn't be a surprise either.

Though Calipari is still completely correct.

This shouldn't be happening at Memphis.

But it is happening.

Again and again.