Memphis stomps No. 14 Houston
Lester Quinones stepped into his 3point shot and waited.
Memphis basketball's junior guard, along with the sellout crowd of 17,946 inside Fedexforum, watched as the ball bounced off the iron once. Then twice, before finally it went down, giving the Tigers a commanding 22-point lead over No. 14 Houston with 3:54 left in the first half Sunday.
It might have been the most suspenseful moment in an utterly one-sided 75-61 drubbing against the Cougars, the type of win in the regular-season finale that puts the Tigers in the driver's seat for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014.
With the classic pairing of Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery on the call for CBS, the in-house public-address system blasted "Whoop That Trick" and Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson sat down and covered his face. How it played out even prompted "Houston -2.5" — the points spread that favored the Cougars entering the game — to trend nationwide on Twitter.
After the game, Tigers coach Penny Hardaway grabbed a microphone. He thanked the fans before declaring, "Man, this feels sweet!"
The Tigers (19-9, 13-5 AAC) won for the 10th time in their last 11 games, beating Houston for the second time over that stretch. It's the first time any AAC team has swept a regular-season series from the Cougars (26-5, 15-3) since 2014-15.
The Tigers entered Sunday firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But the win over Houston – the No. 5 team in the all-important NET rankings – likely means Memphis will go into this week's AAC Tournament playing for improved seeding. The Tigers will play Friday (time, TBA) in the quarterfinal round at Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, against an undetermined opponent.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday's victory.
Senior day spectacular
The plan for the regular-season finale was to forego recognizing any of the Tigers' three seniors (Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris and Deandre Williams). Largely because, since all Division I players have an extra season of eligibility due to COVID-19, the entire roster could come back next season.
But earlier this week, plans changed and Lomax was spotlighted at halfcourt just before tip-off. He was presented with a framed No. 2 jersey, the number he wore his first three seasons, until he adopted No. 10 when freshman Jalen Duren arrived.
Lomax took his time to soak up the cheers and applause, then delivered a vintage "A-LO" game. A defensive menace, the Memphis native came away with five steals. He had eight points and three assists.
Fine at the line
The last time Memphis faced Houston, the Tigers became the first team to beat the Cougars at the Fertitta Center
in 37 tries. A big reason why: Memphis had its second-best free-throw shooting game in program history, hitting 18 of 19.
In three of the next five games, the Tigers connected on 80% or better at the stripe. On Sunday, it was more of the same. Memphis started 11 of 11 and finished 16 of 20.
T-R-O-U-B-L-E
One of the issues the Cougars have faced for much of the season is a shallow bench. Lead guards Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark went down early this season with season-ending injuries, but Houston managed well without them.
At Fedexforum, the Cougars found themselves in significant foul trouble early.
Starting center Josh Carlton was tagged with two fouls within six minutes. Starting guard (and Southaven native) Taze Moore had two even earlier than that. Fabian White, the Cougars' best player the last three weeks, fouled out late in the game.
Dynamite defense
Memphis came into the game ranked 35th in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency. But Houston's ability to limit turning the ball over (the Cougars came into the game ranked 65th in the country in turnover percentage) indicated it might be tough for the Tigers to take the ball away.
Think again. After forcing Houston into a season-high 19 turnovers last month, Memphis got the Cougars to turn it over 20 times Sunday. It's the most turnovers Houston has committed in a game since at least the 2018-19 season.
The Tigers turned those 20 turnovers into 28 points.
Big-time bench
Hardaway has said often he believes the Tigers have the most depth in the country. It showed Sunday. Memphis' bench outscored Houston's 29-2, led by Tyler Harris' 15 points.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.