GRR: Memphis
It was a weekend of comebacks and IUP capped it all of with a little comeback of their own to win the Men’s DII NCR championship Sunday in Houston.
In one of the most exciting and competitive DII semifinals you’d ever want to see, Memphis defeated Northern Iowa 43-39 to advance to NCR’s DII national final.
The lead changed eight times in this game, which featured some thrilling attacking rugby and, despite the final score, some tough defense as well.
The men's DII college championships, regardless of who has run them, have been fraught with caveats over the last several years.
South Carolina and Memphis are now SCRC 7s champions, as each won their divisional tournament in the conference championship.
D1It was a solid showing for the Gamecocks, and a dramatic one as the USC players needed two late tries to edge Tennessee 26-24.
USC led 14-7 at halftime but three Tennessee tries put the Volunteers up 24-14.
Auburn and Memphis both won in the SCRC Men's DII conference, setting up those two, along with Middle Tennessee State, as the leading teams in the conference.
Memphis beat MTSU 26-17 in a game that certainly implied that everyone is pretty close (Memphis beat Auburn 12-7 earlier in the season).
But Memphis Head Coach Blake White had a different view.