Memphis, Tenn. ? Memphis believes it has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“We have done everything we could do,” coach John Calipari said after the fifth-ranked Tigers beat No. 24 UAB, 57-46, Saturday to win the Conference USA tournament.

“When we coach against another team, we’re trying to make it as hard as we can on them to beat us,” Calipari said. “On this committee, we’re trying to (make it) as hard as we can for them not to give us (the No. 1 seed). They may not, but we made it very difficult for them by winning the game.”

The Tigers (30-3) also were the league’s regular-season champs, with only one conference loss – to UAB on March 2 in Birmingham, Ala.

Joey Dorsey had 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for Memphis and led a Tigers defense that shut down the Blazers (24-6) inside and held them to 27 percent shooting.

“Our defense was phenomenal,” Calipari said. “Joey Dorsey was an absolute monster, and we need him to be a monster.”

Tournament MVP Shawne Williams had 18 points to lead Memphis, which became the second team in conference history to win 30 games in a season. Cincinnati, which just completed its first season in the Big East, had 31 victories in 2001-02.

Paul Delaney led UAB with 14 points.

“Everyone thought they were just going to hand the trophy to Memphis, but that didn’t happen,” Blazers coach Mike Anderson said. “I think we could be a dangerous team, and I still like our basketball team.”