Tigers' defense stymies Robert Morris 64-47

AP: Photo by: Lance Murphy

   It was a regular day at the office for the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team. Fresh off their holiday break, the Tigers (7-5) ambushed a decent Robert Morris team (10-4) 64-47 in front of an announced crowd of 16,486. The Colonials shot 16-for-69 (23.2 percent) for the game, including 3-of-18 from three and was blocked 13 times. But what was more telling was the all-around play from the team as a whole.

"I thought my guys gave good effort, valued each possession and play hard throughout the game," head coach Josh Pastner said. I thought the guys had carry over from practices. And people who say that Robert Morris isn't a good team just don't know college basketball - they're not basketball experts."

The Tigers led the Colonials 42-18 at half, though the first six minutes of the contest were a bit sloppy with Memphis turning the ball over on three of their first possessions. But the Tigers picked it up, led by sophomore Will Barton's three three-pointers and 15 first half points.

The second half picked up where the first half left off. The Tigers opened the half on a 12-2 run, including keeping the Colonials without a field goal. Memphis also held RMU guard Velton Jones to just seven points, his lowest total in the last 20 games that he did not reach double figures. Will Barton finished the game with another double-double, grabbing 13 boards to go along with his game high 27 points - the sixth double-double of the season.

"He's (Barton) our hardest worker, there's no doubt about that," Pastner said. "His whole game is efficient. He's playing like an all-american and that's due to his work ethic and maturity."

The Tigers' lineup was a bit different than usual. Sophomore guard Antonio Barton and junior transfer Ferrakohn Hall started in place of sophomores Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford. Pastner says this was not to discipline or get on guys, rather than to just get a better start or jump to the beginning of games.

"I thought the starting five was really good," Pastner said. "I just felt that this lineup would give us a better start because the last few games we haven't started well. Nothing personal against any one person, I just felt that after the last game this would get us a good start."

The Tigers don't have much time to celebrate this victory as they will play Charlotte on Saturday, New Year's Eve, at 8 p.m.

Tigers air out their problems after 2nd loss to Hoyas

Following their horrible lackluster performance in which they lost to No. 14 Georgetown 70-59, the second time this season, The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (6-5) and its head coach decided to have a meeting after the game. And this time there was nothing being held back.

"I told our guys that this will be the last time we have be having meetings," said head coach Josh Pastner. "We can talk, talk, talk, but it's got to be about actions. Being 6-5 is not acceptable - it's not acceptable for Tigernation and it's extremely not acceptable for anyone in that room last night."

The Tigers have now lost three of their last six contests, and Pastner remains winless against ranked opponents in his short three-year tenure at the U of M - going 0-for-10. Coincidentally, continuing to not live up to standards may have prompted the meeting, thus making Pastner miss the post game show. Show something he now regrets.

"I want to apologize for not doing the post game show last night," Pastner said. "I'm not a huge meeting guy, but not opposed to them. But guys needed to talk and things needed to be aired out, and with me being the head coach I felt as though I had to be there."

Though Pastner didn't get into specifics about the meeting after the loss to Georgetown, he did say that there would be no more meetings and that jobs have to be done.
"I told my guys that this was the last meeting," Pastner said. "The train's leaving the station after this and that everyone has to step up - coaches included."

One thing that Pastner eluded to that was one of the many reasons the Tigers have been struggling, was the fact that Memphis missed a ton of free throws, layups and wide open shots. But despite the struggles and missed shots, Pastner still proclaims that The U of M has been practicing really well.

"I don't know why we're struggling like this," Pastner said. "The shoot around that we had before the (Georgetown) game was our best one so far this year. But we've got to make those open shots, and we cannot be missing layups - we just can't."

Pastner says he will give the team Friday through Sunday off for the holidays, and they will pick back up with two-a-days beginning Monday after the break. Everything will be considered when trying to turn this once promising former top-10 ranked team around, even if that means using some old tactics that worked in the past to make this team successful again.

"I used the drowning incident around Christmas break last year in fact, Pastner said. "I'm hoping that I don't have to do it again, but I will if I have to. I'll paint myself blue if that's what works. I told the guys that open - we just got to get it done."

Tigers try to rebound this weekend at Louisville

During his press conference with local media on Wednesday after noon, University of Memphis head basketball coach Josh Pastner seemed quite upbeat following a 76-72 loss to now No. 24-ranked Murray State. Given how his players took the loss, combined with the way they played on the court (including their sluggish start), the third-year head coach surprisingly feels that the loss could possibly help the Tigers come Saturday.

"I told anyone who would listen to me, 'Let's get to the end of the year before everyone has all the judgments," Pastner said. "This season is just like last year, and there still are a lot of games to be played - there's a lot of basketball left."

Though Pastner's previous two seasons were indeed similar to this one, this season has something working against it that the former two didn't. . . a very tough schedule. Yes, there's still plenty of basketball left, but fans is this city are uneasy with the recent play of the hometown team.

This team was supposed to be the one mimicking the 2007-'08 squad that ran roughshod through non-conference and conference play, all the way to the national championship game. But unlike that team, this team still has some major flaws and Pastner isn't shying away from the obvious.

"I told people back in the day when I got the job that it was going to take some time," Pastner said. "The previous four years here of that run had never happened before in the history of college basketball. I want us to get back to that level, but I've got to tell everyone that it's not going to happen at the snap of a finger."

Well, with the snap of a finger, some help is just around the corner. Ferrakohn Hall, a junior transfer from Seton Hall and native Memphian who played at White Station, will be available for the first time this season. The 6-foot-9 post player is expected to add toughness, attitude, rebounding and a key lost post game to an already small front line.

"He (Pastner) hasn't spoken to me about how many minutes I will play or anything like that," Hall commented. "But I will key on rebounding because I know that's where we need help the most. I'm all about winning, so whatever it takes for us to win, I'll do it. I'm not expected to grab 20 rebounds or score 30 points, but I just want to contribute to the team the best way possible to help us reach our final destination."

The Tigers know that they have a tough opponent in Louisville. The Cardinals come into Saturday's contest ranked No. 4 in the nation, and they have one of the best coaches in the country in Rick Pitino. But what makes this contest so intriguing is the rivalry being renewed. The Tigers and Cardinals have met on the hardwood 85 times, with Louisville holding a 51-34 edge over Memphis. And not only the fans, but players and coaches as well know how important this game is to both cities.

"One of the reasons we're playing this game is because of the fans," Pastner said. "This was a give-back to the fans because they've been asking to get Louisville back on the schedule and this is a great rivalry.

"I can remember seeing that game where Darius Washington missed those free throws and I felt horrible for the guy. And then you can talk about all the great coaches in this rivalry - Gene Bartow, Dana Kirk, Larry Finch and of course Denny Crum who's in the Hall of Fame. So it's going to be a good basketball game."

Tigers' comback bid falls short to Murray State, 76-72

                       David Minkin

 

Before the tip of the game, things were happening that let you know that the outcome may have been what it was.

In a game where the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team, (5-3) were an 11-point favorite over an undefeated Murray State team, the Tigers came up short in a tough contested battle 76-72.

But the turning point really came when PA announcer Chuck Roberts introduced head coach Josh Pastner as John Calipari - so this was probably deemed to happen for the snake-bitten Tigers who may have been looking forward to their top-25 matchup with hated rival Louisville.

"We came out flat tonight," sophomore guard Will Barton said. "It's my job as a leader to have the guys ready and we didn't come to play in the beginning - I take the blame for this loss because we weren't ready."

Though Barton led all scorers with 27 points to go along with his two assists and four rebounds, it was his teammates that couldn't give him much help to offset the play of Murray State's three point barrage in the first half. The Racers began the game on a 11-2 run sparked by their brilliant outside shooting. They finished the game shooting 45 percent from long range and outshooting the Tigers from the field, going 23-of-53 (45.0 percent) in the process.

"Murray State is a really good team," sophomore guard Joe Jackson said. "We started slow, down like 14-2, and you fight to get back in the game. And in the end they made free throws and that's it."

The Tigers did put on a furious rally in the end, but to no avail. Down by 11 with only a couple of minutes left to play, Pastner employed his team to pressure the Racers. In that time span, the Tigers shaved 10 points off the lead with careless turnovers and the inability to get the ball over halfcourt. Thus setting the stage for an epic comeback. But clutch free throws down the stretch by the Racers combined with Chris Crawford's missed three-pointer at the end that would have sent the game into overtime gave Murray State a win over a ranked opponent.

"They (Murray State) deserved to win tonight, you've got to give them credit," Pastner said. "We talked about three keys going into the game. Take the three out of the game, keep them off the free throw line and we can't let the role players beat us. This loss is sickening, but we have to bounce back and we have another tough game on Saturday."