Memphis tackles top-ranked Houston
Kendric Davis and the rest of the Memphis basketball team have a plan for Sunday’s game against No. 1 Houston.
“We’re planning to show the country who we are,” said Davis, the AAC’S leader in scoring and assists who did not play (ankle injury) when the Cougars beat the Tigers 72-64 in Houston two weeks ago. “That’s the game everybody wanting to see. It’s gonna be rockin’ in (Fedexforum), and we’re gonna be ready.”
The Tigers (23-7, 13-4 AAC) and the Cougars (28-2, 16-1) have already locked up their respective positions in the final standings. Memphis will be the No. 2 seed in next week’s AAC Tournament, where it will face the No. 7-No. 10 winner March 10 (6 p.m., ESPNU) in the quarterfinal round at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Regular-season champion Houston, its only loss coming against Temple, will be the No. 1 seed.
But there is still one final order of business before both teams turn their full attention toward the postseason.
“It is the biggest game of the year,” said Memphis coach Penny Hardaway. “It gives us the opportunity to be seen on national TV against the No. 1 team in the country at home. How can you not love that?”
Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of Sunday’s tip-off:
Getting Alex Lomax some rest
Earlier this week, the Tigers’ fifthyear senior guard revealed the injury that kept him on the shelf for more than a month involved his groin muscle tearing completely off the bone. Following a nine-game absence, Lomax returned to the floor against the Cougars last month and finished with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Houston won that game, 72-64.
Lomax said earlier this week his health fluctuates between 70-80% and he doesn’t expect that will change much until the season is over.
But Hardaway found a way this week hopefully to provide Lomax with a boost by allowing him to sit out Thursday’s win at SMU.
“That gave him some extra rest for Sunday,” said Hardaway.
Following last week’s win over Cincinnati, Hardaway indicated Lomax might have tweaked his groin injury slightly. But that wasn’t what kept him sidelined against the Mustangs.
“It really didn’t bother him to the point where he couldn’t go. If he could rest it, then we allowed him to rest it,” Hardaway said.
That second half
In the first meeting between Memphis and Houston this season, the Tigers were ultimately doomed by a rough first 20 minutes.
The team’s 14 first-half turnovers led to 16 of the Cougars’ 32 first-half points. Deandre Williams scored 10 points in the first half, but everyone else scored just 11.
The second half was a drastically different story. Memphis committed only four turnovers, which Houston translated into just six points. Williams, who scored eight more points in the second half before fouling out, was not a lone wolf. Elijah Mccadden scored all 20 of his team-high total during the final 20 minutes and the Tigers outscored the Cougars 43-40.
Houston scouting report
Kelvin Sampson’s team is No. 1 in the country in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 56.2 points per game. A big reason why: the Cougars also rank No. 1 in the nation in block percentage (16.7%) and 11th among all teams in steal percentage (13.2%).
Marcus Sasser makes Houston go.
The redshirt junior leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg). But the Cougars are far from a one-man show. Jamal Shead is second in the league in assists per game (5.3). J’wan Roberts is tied for fifth in the AAC in rebounding (7.3 per game).
If there is a weakness, it’s at the 3point line. Houston ranks 116th in Division I in 3-point field goal percentage.
Memphis vs. Houston score prediction
Memphis 77, Houston 76: The Tigers will stamp their ticket to March Madness.