Memphis’ loss to Auburn offers five things
ATLANTA — Hands on knees, Landers Nolley II hung his head near halfcourt.
With 1:13 left in Saturday’s game against Auburn, Memphis’ leading scorer had just missed a 3-point shot that would have tied the game. He stared back toward the goal in disbelief before showing his disappointment at State Farm Arena.
Allen Flanigan made both shots and Auburn (3-2) went on to win 74-71, snapping Memphis’ three-game winning streak. D.J. Jeffries led Memphis (4-3) with 16 points, while Moussa Cisse put up 9 points and 14 rebounds.
But Memphis’ issues from 3-point range haunted it once again, as the Tigers shot just 28.6% from beyond the arc.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday’s game.
Tigers pay for free-throw shooting
Memphis’ foul-shooting opportunities were hardly free against Auburn.
The Tigers, who have struggled this season (69%, 175th in the nation), found things difficult there again. Memphis finished 11 for 23 from the line.
Fortunately, Auburn’s free-throw shooting was also subpar (14-of-26).
Shutting down the ‘hot guy’?
During Memphis’ three-game homestand, coach Penny Hardaway saw his team take steps forward in several areas, including situational awareness.
“We always talk about (who is) most dangerous. We know who the guys are going into the game. We call them ‘hot guys,’ ” he said. “When you’re in the vicinity of a ‘hot guy,’ you don’t give him that much space to where he can get a shot up. We’ve got to get back to where we understand where the ‘hot guys’ are and we’ve got to run them off the line.”
The “hot guy” for Auburn has been freshman guard Justin Powell, who leads the Tigers at 14.5 points per game.
And Powell was that player again for Auburn in the early going Saturday. He scored 11 points in the first 3:33 of the game on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, single-handedly giving Auburn an 11-10 lead. After that, Memphis put the clamps on Powell, who attempted only one more field goal in the first half – a 3-pointer more than 10 minutes after his previous attempt. But Powell got going again in the second half in a big way, finishing with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting
Cisse controlling the boards
Nobody ever questioned freshman big man Cisse’s rebounding ability coming out of Lausanne, where he averaged 15.3 boards a game as a junior.
Seven games into his collegiate career, the 6-foot-10 Cisse continues to illustrate that it’s his strong suit. With 13 rebounds against Auburn, he has reached double-digits in four straight games. Cisse’s 14 boards are a careerhigh.
Thievery at work
Suffocating defense has been the hallmark of Hardaway’s teams at Memphis.
This season has been no exception and the Tigers’ brand of intensity was back on display against Auburn. Memphis held its opponent to under 45% from the field again Saturday – the seventh time in as many games it has done that. But recently, the Tigers have been particularly disruptive. Memphis collected 12 steals against Auburn, marking the third game in a row it has reached double-digits.
Sparks fly early
Memphis didn’t waste time jumping on Auburn.
Jeffries scored all eight of his firsthalf points within the first two minutes of the game.
The back-to-back 3-pointers on the first two possessions of the game gave him a season-high early.
Nolley’s turn came next. He rattled off back-to-back 3s of his own midway through the first half to give Memphis a 24-17 advantage.
Soon afterward, Boogie Ellis’ five consecutive points afforded Memphis its biggest lead of the first half, 29-21. Hardaway’s squad took a 38-37 lead into the break.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.