Tigers cruise past Rice 73-51

A lackluster first half performance turned into a rout and then a fight between the University of Memphis Tigers (14-6, 5-1 in Conference USA) and the Rice Owls (11-10, 2-4 in C-USA). Memphis used an 11-1 run right before halftime to open the game up 35-23 by halftime, and then closed out the game in the second in en route to a 73-51 drubbing of the Owls.

"We started the game a little rusty, but by the second half everyone shot we took, we felt like it was going in," said Chris Crawford, sophomore guard for the Tigers.

The Tigers continued their hot streak as they built their lead over Rice by as many as 27 points. Three Tigers scored in double figures, led by Crawford's 15 points and seven rebounds. Antonio Barton scored 11 points, including 3-for-4 from three point range, and sophomore forward Tarik Black chipped in with 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting, but left the game early due to an ejection.

The play of the night came when a Tigers steal led to a fastbreak by sophomore guard Joe Jackson. As Jackson was going up for a dunk, Rice's Tamir Jackson fouled him hard, sending him to the ground and prompting both teams' team bench to clear - thus ejecting three Tigers players (Black, Will Barton and Trey Draper) and Rice's Jackson for the flagrant foul, and having Pastner run unto the court to help save his players.

"We got clarification that Tarik, Will and Trey will not be out for Saturday's game," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. "I know Tamir well, Tamir's a really good young man. It was one of those things where I was protecting our players.

Both teams shot well in this game. The Tigers finished the game shooting 27-for-63 (42.9 percent) and the Owls shot 17-for-42 (40.5 percent) for the game. Both teams also shot it well from behind the arc - with Memphis going 6-for-15 (40.0 percent) and the Owls shot at a 44.4 percent clip (4-for-9). But despite the horrid defense by the Tigers, Pastner believes his team is still improving.

"I been telling you guys that the idea is to not be peaking at the beginning of the season, but to be peaking towards the end," Pastner said. "Since Christmas break, we've gotten better - we keep getting better every game and we will continue to get better every day. But it's got to carry over.

The Tigers will be back in action this Saturday at FedExForum when they take on the Thundering Herd of Marshall. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Tigers race past Mustangs 63-45

AP: Mark Weber

 

After a demoralizing defeat to UCF this past Wednesday in the final seconds, the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (13-6, 4-1in Conference USA) rebounded and got a much needed win over the SMU Mustangs, (10-9, 2-3 in C-USA) 63-45 at FedExForum. Sophomore guard Will Barton paced the Tigers with 24 points, five rebounds and 3assists. He also led the team with alley-oop plays with three electrifying dunks.

After shooting 12-for-31 (38.7 percent) and 2-for-11 (18.2 percent) Memphis came out of halftime pretty much the same, though they were able to find a way to win what was an ugly game. Memphis shot 42.6 percent in the second half and clamped down on the mustangs in the process. SMU shot an abysmal 32.6 percent from the field, (15-for-46) including 18.5 percent from downtown.

"That's a tough style to play, especially coming off that loss to Central Florida on Wednesday," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "I told my guys that we can't get into a three point shooting contest with them and we did do that in the first half. We're better when we take 10 or 11 three pointers, not when we're shooting 16."

The game did get a bit easier for Tigers fans down the stretch. A series of stops in the second half after both teams failed to take control of the game led to the Tigers opening up the lead on the Mustangs, a 21-2 run, eventually closed any hopes for a comeback by SMU.

"We just wanted to take out they're three point shooting, said Chris Crawford, sophomore guard for the Tigers. Coach told us coming out of halftime that the main focus was to stop the three."

Crawford, who finished with only five points and one rebound, affected the game in other areas. His task was to guard SMU's Robert Nyakundi and shut down the prolific scorer. Nyakundi finished with 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting and four rebounds.

Though many would say that tonight's game for the Tigers wasn't due to defense, rather that SMU was just ineffective from the field, Pastner believes his teams has made tremendous strides on the defensive end of the floor.

"We had hands in their face, we made them alter their shots," Pastner said. "If you just take a look at the numbers of our team from the Christmas break until now, we're a totally different team - night and day different from where we were in Maui when we were scoring points but not winning. If you look at the stats, you would think this team should be 16-3 or 17-2, not 13-6 - and that's what's frustrating.

Tigers' next game is Wednesday at FedExForum when they host the Rice Owls. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tigers dealt tough blow heading to Central Florida

Just when things were finally starting to click, the University of Memphis Tigers (12-5, 3-0 in Conference USA) received the message that they didn't want to hear heading into tonight's conference clash with the Central Florida Golden Knights in Orlando, Fla. -freshman star and former McDonald's All-American guard and forward Adonis Thomas will miss the season due to an ankle injury.

The injury to his ankle, which is called peroneal tendon retinaculm and suffered during practice on Friday, will keep the Tigers' third leading scorer out for two to three months. But the upside is that with today's modern technology, if Thomas rehabs swiftly and the Tigers make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, then he could come back before this season is over.

"I told the guys the news about Adonis this morning," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "The other guys on the team have got to step up, there's no other option."

Pastner said that after talking to the doctors and with Thomas and his family, that it was in his best interest to go ahead and do the surgery now to help protect his long-term future as a basketball player. Pastner also stated that Thomas could have elected to play throughout the season with the pain in his left ankle, but wasn't going to see a lot of playing time because of the injury.

"Once I heard I needed surgery, I broke down," Thomas said. "I've never had an ankle injury before. I couldn't handle that I couldn't finish my first season as a college basketball player."

Not only will Thomas be out, but senior guard Charles Carmouche who has missed the last three games, will not be available as well. Carmouche did go through light drills in practice on Tuesday, but Pastner says he will not play Wednesday against the Golden Knights due to tendonitis in both his knees.

"Everyone's in the rotation basically," said Pastner. "Everyone's got to be ready and got to get the job done."

The Tigers' next opponent is a tough, hard-nosed UCF team (13-4, 3-1 in C-USA) that lost to a Marshall team that many think will win C-USA this year. They're led by Marcus Jordan and Keith Clanton, both of whom average double figures. And the Knights have a big frontcourt that can rebound the ball well.

"Central Florida is a big team, a well-coached team," Pastner said. "Last time we went down there, if it wasn't for Will Barton's between-the-legs pass to Antonio Barton, we lose that game. We know it's going to be a tremendous atmosphere when we go down there, and if we want to come out victorious, we will have to play well."

The Tigers and Golden Knights clash tonight, at 7 p.m. (CT).

Tigers claw Cougars 89-55

AP: Mark Weber

Last night's defensive showing was one that Memphis Tigers fans have been accustomed to. The Tigers' defense held the Houston attack to just 19-for-56 shooting (33.9 percent) and just 1-for-12 from the arc, en route to a 34-point drubbing of the Cougars on the road, 89-55.

Memphis (12-5, 3-0 in Conference USA) is now on a six game winning streak - the longest this season. Their defense has been the staple of the six game run, holding opponents under 40 percent during the streak, with the last hiccup being a lost to Georgetown in mid-December.

Sophomore guard Chris Crawford, starting in place for the injured freshman Adonis Thomas due to a sprain ankle, led four Tigers in double figures with 19 points and dishing out four assists. Sophomore guard Will Barton also had a great night. Barton tallied his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Joe Jackson also scored 16 points and handed out a game high five assists. And sophomore forward Tarik Black, not to be outdone by his peers, also got into double figures and filled the stat sheet with 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks.

This game was never really in doubt from the start. Though the score was trimmed to 11 by halftime, 41-30, in a span of almost eight minutes the Tigers used an 18-0 run to run away from the Cougars - a lead that even grew to 40 at one point during the second half.

The Tigers shot 34-of-61 (55.7 percent) of its field goal attempts and 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from three-point territory. Memphis dominated nearly every statistical category, grabbing more rebounds than Houston (41-31), scoring more points in the paint (48-28), creating points off turnovers (21-8) and outscoring Houston's bench (34-19).

This was the 37th meeting between the Tigers and Cougars. Memphis has a 26-12 all-time advantage in the series, and a 23-9 lead in C-USA games. The 34-point win is the largest margin of victory in a conference game since a 43 point win over SMU 90-47 on Feb. 18, 2009.

The Tigers continue their road trip Wednesday in Orlando as they try to bring their winning streak to seven against Central Florida. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT).

Defense will be Tigers' mantra Heading to Houston

Leading up to tonight's Conference USA road game for the Tigers, as they take on the Houston Cougars (9-7, 1-2 in C-USA) all talk was about how Memphis (11-5, 2-0 in C-USA) has improved their defense over the last five contests - all wins for the Tigers. And all of a sudden, ranking 22nd among the Division-I college basketball programs for defensive field-goal percentage (38.1), Memphis may have found an identity heading to Houston.

"Anytime you're on the road in conference, you're going to get everyone's best shot," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. "They're better than their record, and I know people get tired of me saying that, but they have good players. They beat Arkansas, almost beat Oklahoma and had a chance to beat LSU at the very end."

Well another team who has sweated it out at the end of games lately, Memphis, has beaten the teams that they have faced. But that's in part because the Tigers have managed to play a lot of zone, mixing it in with man-to-man, seemed to have frustrated opponents with their back and forth style.

"Most teams think we're a man-to-man team, but we switch it up every now to play zone, said Adonis Thomas, freshman forward for the Tigers. "We have a long athletic team, so it can hurt other teams because we get into the passing lanes and take up a lot more space on the defensive end."

The Tigers have now been playing a 1-3-1 zone, going away from the ineffective 2-3 zone they employed earlier during the season. But with all things considered, they have been rebounding the ball better in the zone rather than man-to-man. And with that, it helps keep sophomore big man Tarik Black on the court longer and out of foul trouble.

"It does help a lot," Black said. "Being in man, you always playing the split-line help side, and that's how I get a lot of my fouls - either trying to front or trying to block a shot. But with zone, I'm just playing my area and keeping my man from getting the ball that's in my area - it's definitely a lot easier."

The Tigers look to extend their winning streak to six on Saturday night in Houston against the Cougars. The game will be televised by CBS College Sports and tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Tigers survive scare from Golden Eagles; win 60-58

AP: Photo by: Lance Murphy

 

     With just 10 seconds to go and Memphis up by two, Southern Miss had the game right where they wanted. But just like in years past, they couldn't overcome the Tigers and their last second wide open three point shot was missed - giving the Tigers (11-5, 2-0 in Conference USA) yet another victory over the Golden Eagles 60-58.

"I thought it was good from where I was," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "I was happy that it didn't go in, but I slapped the table because the guy was wide open and we missed the assignment - we just can't give wide open looks like that.

The game shouldn't have come to a last second shot by either team. Once the second half began, Tigers sophomore Antonio Barton took it upon himself to put the team on his back, scoring the first seven points of the session, and help sparking the Tigers to the biggest lead of the night at 44-32. But with three point shooting came the Golden Eagles. Three straight three pointers trimmed the Tigers' lead to four. And from that point on, it was a ball game.

"We won the game because we made free throws at the end, and we got stops," Pastner said. "We were fortunate to hang to and win this ball game. We got stagnant offensively, made some bonehead plays, had eight turnovers in the second half - we just can't do that."

The Tigers did do some good in the game. They held USM to just 35 percent (20-of-57) from the field, forced 11 turnovers, blocked eight shots and were even on the boards at 36 apiece. And though the Golden Eagles only shot 28.6 percent from three point range, they were able to get wide open looks and attempt 28 shots.

"We have to keep our composure, we had took the momentum from them," said sophomore guard Will Barton. "But they well coached and we knew that they hadn't beaten us in a while so we have to keep that same energy that got us the lead. I think we just resorted back to bad habits at the end."

Barton and his brother, Antonio, led the Tigers in scoring. Will had 11 points, nine boards and four steals - not reaching a double-double for the first time in five games. Antonio finished with 13 points and two rebounds. But it was the play of sophomore forward Tarik Black that saved the game for Memphis. Black came up with five huge blocks down the stretch, including nine points and clutch free throws to help seal the game.

"I was shocked that they fouled us," Black said. "I expected that they would make us come down and run our offense, but we lucked up on that foul."

The Tigers try to keep their 5-game winning streak going as they travel to Houston to take on the Cougars on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. local time.

Preview: Tigers vs. Southern Mississippi

Another daunting task sits in front of the suddenly surging University of Memphis Tigers (10-5, 1-0 in conference USA) on Wednesday evening as the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (15-2, 2-0) come into FedExForum looking to beat a Tigers team that is on a four-game winning streak, and have won the last 17 meetings between the two schools.

"All I can say about that is that I hope it (their losing streak against Memphis) continues," said Tarik Black, sophomore forward for the Tigers. "They're a great team, they have a great coach and I think they're No. 1in our conference, but we just have go out there and prove we're the better team."

The Tigers know that this is a new season and that this is a different Southern Mississippi squad, especially without former star forward Gary Flowers who is gone due to graduation, but this is also a different U of M team that has an undeniable advantage over USM - Will Barton. The sophomore guard is putting up numbers (18.9 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game) the caliber of an All-American candidate, and head coach Josh Pastner knows that if he keeps up his current pace of double-doubles, then he should garner some consideration.

"I'm surprised he (Will Barton) doesn't get enough talk about him," Pastner said. "People talk about him now because he's playing at a level of an all-American status. The rebounds he's getting is in traffic - he's at eight double-doubles right now and last year he had none. That just goes to show you the improvement of his game, his maturity level, but he needs to keep it going."

In order for Barton and the Tigers to keep it going, they will have to stop a potent backcourt of Angleo Johnson and Maurice Bolden. Not to mention they now have former Kentucky guard and Tigers recruit Darnell Dodson in the mix, so this could finally be the right team to finally get over the hump against Memphis.

"This is the best Southern Miss team since coach Eustachy took over," Pastner said. "They've got really good guard play, really good frontcourt, they've won 11 straight and they're 15-2 - they're really good."

Pastner is urging everyone to come out to the game Wednesday and to show support for the team though the game is at an earlier start time than usual. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m., but Pastner feels this should be an entertaining game.

"It's a 6 o'clock start for the fans, Pastner said. "We need everyone there ready to rock and roll so we can get this thing going - it should be a fun atmosphere and another fun game for Conference USA."

Tigers upend late comeback by UAB; win 62-59

The third annual Bartow Classic went as advertised. In a game that's usually electric due to the heated rivalry of both schools, but this one was because of beloved coach Gene Bartow, whom lost his battle with cancer, the University of Memphis Tigers (10-5, 1-0 in Conference USA) defeated the UAB Blazers (5-9, 0-1 in C-USA) in a closely contested game 62-59 to open the C-USA play for both teams.

"That was good win, I'm very proud of our guys," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "That was not an easy game, that was a very good UAB team and they're better than their record. So to win on the road like this, it's very hard to do."

The Tigers and Blazers went back and forth throughout the game, with the lead changing hands 16 times and 10 ties. UAB led the game at halftime 32-31, but it was Memphis who was able to hold the Blazers to just 6-of-22 shooting (27.3 percent) in the second half en route to beating the Blazers for the 12th consecutive time in the series.

"We just wanted to play hard and stay together, and that's just what we did tonight," said freshman forward Adonis Thomas. "This is a rivalry game and that's all the guys talked about. We knew we had a chip on our shoulders because this was a home game for them and a road game for us."

Thomas was second on the team with 15 points, on 7-of-8 shooting, to go along with three assists and three blocks. But it was standout sophomore guard Will Barton who registered his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Crawford also scored double figures with 10 points, three steals and two blocks.

Going down the stretch, it looked as though the Tigers would let the Blazers steal one at home. But after a Witherspoon turnover with three seconds on the clock, the Tigers' defense stole a UAB inbounds with one second remaining to seal the win.

"Everybody contributed," Pastner said. "I think Wesley (Witherspoon) gave us a heck of an effort in the second half to help us win this basketball game - Adonis Thomas did some good things offensively and defensively as well."

The Tigers open C-USA at home Wednesday against another rival in Southern Mississippi. Memphis has a commanding 60-23 edge is this series and have won the last 17 meetings. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Preview: Tigers vs. Tennessee

Now that the dust has settled and Joe Jackson will remain a Tiger for the foreseeable future, the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (8-5) must now turn their focus on heated rival Tennessee Vols (6-6). And for the second time this season, the Tigers will face a non-conference opponent twice on their schedule. And head coach Josh Pastner knows that his team has a tall order.

"Tennessee is a good basketball team, they're better than their record," Pastner said. "It's a rivalry game, it's an in-state game so you can throw out the stats."

And that maybe just what the Tigers would want to do against this tough and scrappy Volunteers team. After part one of this unusual double dip during the season between the Tigers and Vols, the Tigers were outhustled, outrebounded and almost lost a close double overtime decision 99-97 in the EA Sports Maui Invitational. The Tigers led pretty much throughout the game and even had a double-digit lead of 16 before letting the Vols back in it. But with Will Barton's 25 points and 11boards, to go along with Adonis Thomas' 19 and Antonio Barton's 21 points were enough for the Tigers to squeak out their second victory of the young season.

"I look at his game as a rivalry so I expect it to be close," Barton said. "We're going to go back and look at the film from the last game and be ready to play because they'll be ready to play."

Sophomore Joe Jackson returns to the team after a one game absence due to a personal matter. All signs indicated that Jackson hinted at transferring although Pastner decline to comment on it and Jackson said the rumors were untrue. But the one thing that was glaring during this whole debacle was that Jackson is indeed frustrated with his play and the minimal success of the Tigers thus far this year.

"I never thought about leaving here, I don't know where that came from," Jackson said. "I always wanted to play for Memphis. It's where I wanted to go since 7th or 8th grade. I just been frustrated with the way I've been playing and how he we been losing. I hate losing because I'm a winner and I guess I just need to work harder."

The Tigers look to keep the momentum going and build on a modest two-game winning streak when Tennessee comes to town on Wednesday. After that game, the Tigers begin conference play on the road against UAB on Saturday.