Luke Thompson, William Powell and Greg Bowers talk about covering the successful season of the Missouri men's basketball team.

Despite such a surprisingly successful season, after losing to Connecticut 82-75 on Saturday in the NCAA West regional final, it was hard for Missouri seniors DeMarre Carroll, Matt Lawrence and Leo Lyons not to think about what could have been. 

A one-point Missouri lead in the second-half faded quicky, and the Tigers fell one game short of reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history.    

Missouri players and coaches spent as much time telling stories and cracking jokes as they did breaking down their Saturday matchup with Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight.

Connecticut's Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 Big East Defensive Player of the Year,  might be a big problem for the Missouri men's basketball team in Saturday night's NCAA West Regional final.

The senior guard scored 23 points, and the Tigers held off a furious Memphis comeback in the second half for a 102-91 win.

With the Tigers entry into the Elite Eight, it's hard to believe that men's basketball coach Mike Anderson might consider leaving. Athletic Director Mike Alden could offer him a contract extension at the season's conclusion.

For the second straight game, Missouri secured a big first-half lead then held on in the second half to earn a victory.

The Tigers coach, who is in his third year at Missouri, has been mentioned as a candidate for vacancies at Alabama and Georgia

The Missouri men's basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002 with a 102-91 victory against Memphis on Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz.

Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 junior from Tanzania, scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds to help Connecticut defeat Purdue 72-60 in the semifinal of the NCAA West regional in Glendale, Ariz. The Huskies meet Missouri in the reional final Saturday.

Missouri's victory over Memphis on Thursday and Elite Eight game on Saturday afternoon have faithful Tiger fans euphoric and businesses expecting large crowds.

Memphis and Missouri have more in common than being in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and sharing the same nickname.

Missouri coach Mike Anderson and Memphis coach John Calipari were familiar foes when the two coached against each other in the Conference USA.

Fans of all ages crowded into the Clinton Room at Mizzou Arena on Tuesday to wish the Missouri men's basketball team good luck on the journey to Arizona for the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Zaire Taylor said the team might even benefit from the quiet campus in preparing for the Memphis Tigers.

English scored a career-high 17 points off the bench in the Tigers' victory.

Trailing by four points with 1:59 left in the game against Marquette, junior guard Zaire Taylor pulled the Tigers into a huddle and told them, "This ain't nothing. We've been here before."  

This season is the fourth time Anderson has visited Boise as a coach in the NCAA Tournament. He has lost second-round games the past three times.