Memphis’ road through AAC tourney could be bumpy
HOUSTON — Memphis will need to win four games in four days – something it never has done in a conference tournament – this week to assure itself of an NCAA Tournament berth. Up first: East Carolina (11-20). Memphis (21-10) will be the No. 6 seed at the AAC Tournament, which begins Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and is scheduled to face off against the Pirates (9 p.m., ESPNU). Any hope left of receiving a firstround bye was dashed when Wichita State beat Tulsa on Sunday. Cincinnati, Houston and Tulsa each claimed a share of the AAC’S regular-season title, while Wichita State finished fourth.
Uconn holds the tiebreaker over Memphis for the No. 5 seed because of its combined 3-3 record against Tulsa, Houston and Cincinnati. Memphis was 2-3 against those teams this season.
The Tigers won the only regular-season matchup with the Pirates 77-73 on Feb. 19 at Fedexforum. Precious Achiuwa registered one of his 18 double-doubles this season with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Boogie Ellis added 17 points. Tristen Newton’s 23 points and 13 rebounds led ECU.
ECU has just two wins in its past 11 games and will carry a three-game losing streak into the AAC Tournament. But the Pirates boast the AAC’S leading scorer, Jayden Gardner, who is averaging 19.8 points per game.
Should the Tigers eliminate the Pirates, Memphis would advance to the quarterfinals and take on third-seeded Tulsa (21-10) on Friday (8:30 p.m., ESPNU). Memphis was blown out in its only game against the Golden Hurricane this season. The 80-40 shellacking Jan. 22 at Tulsa was the most lopsided win by an unranked team versus a ranked opponent since 1993. The Tigers were No. 20 in the national poll at the time. It was the fewest points a Memphis team had scored in a game since 1979.
If coach Penny Hardaway’s squad advances to the semifinals, it would meet the winner of Houston’s game against the Smu-temple winner at 4 p.m. Saturday. That game would air on ESPN2.
The tournament championship game is set for 2:15 p.m. Sunday and will air on ESPN.
Memphis has won four of its past six and is 5-5 in its past 10 games.