Takeaways from AAC win over Charlotte
Memphis basketball picked itself up, dusted itself off and answered the bell Wednesday.
The Tigers (19-8, 8-6 AAC) showed there’s still some fight left in their locker room, blasting Charlotte 76-52 in front of a sparse but lively group of fans inside Fedexforum. The win over the 49ers (17-9, 11-3) is a welcome development for a team that had lost six of its last nine games.
Memphis has four regular-season games left, starting with a home game Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN) against FAU. An NCAA Tournament at-large bid is still unlikely, but the victory could give the Tigers some much needed momentum as next month’s AAC Tournament approaches.
Here are five observations from Wednesday’s game.
David Jones exits early
Memphis’ leading scorer David Jones scored 10 points in 23 minutes. The highlight came in the first half when Jones delivered a thunderous, lefthanded tomahawk dunk.
But, with 16:40 left in the game, the AAC’S top points producer left the game with a left eye injury.
Jones was already nursing a sore right thumb, which he jammed early in last week’s loss at SMU.
Nae’qwan Tomlin and Jahvon Quinerly
With Jones out, the offensive slack was picked up by Nae’qwan Tomlin, Jahvon Quinerly and others.
Quinerly finished with 17 points. Meanwhile, Tomlin dropped 16, while also leading the way with seven rebounds, including four offensive boards.
Slowing Charlotte’s roll
The 49ers tried to land a haymaker on the Tigers early. After missing their first two field goal attempts, they made their
next eight in a row and nine out of 11.
But Memphis held the line and made some effective adjustments. Charlotte hit some tough sledding as a result, connecting on just five of its next 20 field goal attempts.
By the time the wind returned to the 49ers sails, the Tigers enjoyed a 51-39 lead midway through the second half.
Fixing the fixables
One of the most bothersome things about the loss at SMU for coach Penny Hardaway was how the Tigers got dominated on the glass. The Mustangs owned the boards, out-rebounding
Memphis 40-29.
Especially problematic was SMU’S 17 offensive rebounds − 14 of which came in the first half.
The way the Tigers came out against Charlotte showed how much they wanted to ensure dissimilar results. Memphis worked the 49ers over, out-rebounding the visitors 38-20 overall. On the offensive glass, at one point, the Tigers held an 8-0 advantage. They finished with 14 to Charlotte’s four.
Shortening the rotation − by necessity
Hardaway typically favors a deep rotation.
The exception is when fewer than 10 Tigers get meaningful minutes.
But that’s the limit he had to work with Wednesday. Ten players saw playing time against the 49ers, because Hardaway never had the luxury of a deep bench.
Memphis was short-handed since backup point guard Jayhlon Young, reserve wing Jayden Hardaway and backup center Jordan Brown were all sidelined with various injuries.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.