Memphis can assure spot in tourney
A win over Houston would give Tigers season sweep
Memphis is on the precipice of all but stamping its ticket to the Big Dance.
The Tigers (18-9, 12-5 AAC) have won nine of their last 10 games. In doing so, they've positioned themselves right on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
The team's recent surge has set the stage for a high-stakes showdown at Fedexforum on Sunday (11 a.m., CBS) against No. 14 Houston (26-4, 15-2), which has won six in a row since losing to the Tigers on Feb. 12. A win over the Cougars would give Memphis the season sweep, a fourth victory over a Quad 1 opponent and a rèsumé worthy of an at-large berth.
Meanwhile, Houston is already a lock for the NCAA Tournament and has already clinched the regular-season AAC championship. That leaves just seeding and pride on the table for the Cougars.
Memphis scouting report
Perhaps the biggest factor in the Tigers' 69-59 win at Houston – which snapped the Cougars' 37-game home winning streak, the second-longest active one of its kind at the time – was their work at the free-throw line. After Memphis missed its first attempt, the Tigers made 18 in a row, including 13 inside the final 95 seconds of the game.
Including that performance, the Tigers have been on a tear, hitting 79.6% of their free-throw attempts over the last six games.
Memphis has never lacked opportunities to make hay at the line. The team ranks 13th in the country in free-throw rate, averaging 38.6 attempts per 100 field goal attempts. But it's only just now taking advantage of those opportunities. Still 274th in the nation in freethrow percentage (68.6%), the Tigers shot just 57.5% in the seven games leading up to their current streak.
Houston has provided its opponents plenty of chances at the free-throw line. For every 100 field goal attempts they allow, the Cougars give up 35, which ranks 293rd in the country.
Houston scouting report
Among the stingiest defensive teams in the nation – the Cougars boast the third-best effective field goal percentage defense (43.2%).
Houston sports an effective field goal percentage of 53.5%, good enough for 43rd in the country. The team's offense is powered by balance. Kyler Edwards leads the team in scoring with 13 points per game.
But power forward Fabian White and guard Taze Moore, who is a Southaven, Mississippi, native, have been more consistent scoring threats in recent games. White is averaging 18.3 points in his last six games, while Moore is scoring at a clip of 12.8 over the same span. White and Moore both put up teamhigh
15-point showings in the loss to Memphis.
Memphis basketball score prediction vs Houston
Memphis 72, Houston 69: Not even the Cougars have the gumption to slow the Tigers' roll.