Tigers beat down UCF 84-55

AP: Mark Weber

Tigers sophomore Will Barton makes one of his game-high four blocks

 

     If this game was any indication of what The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (22-8, 12-3 in Conference USA) could do to teams, then the rest of America needs to be on notice. The Tigers embarrassed the UCF Knights last night, giving them payback from a loss earlier this season, en route to an 84-55 victory on Senior Night.

"Great win, I'm really proud of the guys," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "That's a good Central Florida team. They're big, they're talented, but we've gotten better and it was due to our defensive effort."

The Tigers were never threatened in this game. By halftime they had a 33-18 advantage - by way of senior Wesley Witherspoon's three-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, and the lead had grown to 37 at one point in the game at 81-44. The Tigers shot 53.8 percent in the first half, 63.3 percent for the second half and 58.9 percent for the game. But what was more eye-popping was the Memphis defense. The Tigers held the Knights to just 7-for-23 shooting in the first half and 19-for-49 (38.8 percent) for the game.

"I sound like a broken record, but we've gotten a lot better since Christmas break," Pastner said. "I think our non-conference schedule allowed us to see some things that we needed to do, and that's why we were able perform on the defensive end of the floor."

Nine of the 13Tigers that played scored in the game. Four Tigers scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Will Barton led all scorers with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Sophomores Tarik Black and Chris Crawford each chipped in 14 points and 11 points respectively. But no points were more beloved than the 15 points scored by Wesley Witherspoon and the three points scored by Preston Laird. Both graduating seniors went out in style on their last regular season home game.

"This was a nice way to send me and Preston off," Witherspoon said. "Our teammates said that they were going to come out and give it their all, and that's exactly what they did."

Not all news about this game came out positive. Starting sophomore guard Antonio Barton injured his foot on a play right before halftime and it was initially ruled that he had broken his foot and would be out the rest of the season. But upon further review from doctors, Barton will be listed as day-to-day with a mid foot sprain and bone bruise.

The Tigers go for the outright C-USA title this Saturday as they travel to Tulsa. Game time is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Tigers owe payback to UCF

 

     The one that slipped away - Memphis' 68-67 loss to Central Florida in the closing seconds was one tough defeat to swallow.

But the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (21-8, 11-3 in Conference USA) has redemption on their minds as they prepare for tonight's 8 p.m. contest against a UCF team that's poised for a regular season sweep of the Tigers. And by head coach Josh Pastner's standards, this game is very important to both teams.

"It's going to be a high-level game and we're going to have to be ready to play at a high level," Pastner said. "We had a couple chances there at Central Florida at the end. We missed a dunk, a layup, free throws, didn't grab a few boards here and there - both teams are playing for a lot."

Not only is it that pressure to not lose to UCF twice in one season, but it's the added pressure of this game being senior night for two graduating seniors and one athletic director - Wesley Witherspoon, Preston Laird and R.C. Johnson. Pastner says to include the incumbent AD because this is his last game at FedExForum as Memphis' athletic director. So the Tigers would want to not only win this game to help their push for a postseason bid, but to send Laird, Witherspoon and lame duck athletic director R.C. Johnson out on a winning note.

"Preston broke his hand so he's not medically cleared to play, but I plan on starting Wesley tomorrow night," Pastner said. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for R.C. taking a huge leap of faith, an out of the box hire on me - so I'm forever loyal to him."

Tigers senior Witherspoon needs to have a great game. And what better way to redeem yourself from that loss than to go out on senior day and have an impact against the very same team that beat you earlier in the season and have their student section storm the court. But Witherspoon ensures he's focused and will try to not let the emotions of senior night get the best of him.

"I remember Memphis Madness when I first got here and now it has went so fast that you tend to take that time for granted - and tomorrow it's going to really show," Witherspoon said. "Hopefully I'll be able to keep all my emotions in tomorrow - I don't want y'all to see my soft side."

Tigers trample Thundering Herd, win 87-67

U of M Media Relations

Sophomore guard Chris Crawford stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

 

     Four Tigers scored in double figures, and The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (21-8, 11-3 in Conference USA) used a 52 points in the paint to secure a win on the road against the Marshall Thundering Herd (17-11, 8-6 in C-USA), 87-67, Saturday afternoon in Huntingdon, West Virginia.

The game was much closer than the final score indicated. Memphis had only a five point lead at halftime, 42-37,but a see-saw battle over the next few minutes would eventually end up in the Tigers' favor.

Memphis took a 63-50 lead, its largest of the game up to that point, when sophomore guard Chris Crawford split a pair of free throws at the 10:06 mark. Marshall's DeAndre Kane connected on a three-pointer to cut the lead to the 63-54, but sophomore forward Tarik Black dunked on the other end for Memphis to regain the double-digit lead.

Will Barton made two more free throws to push the lead back to 13 at 67-54, but Johnson made a long-range triple on the next play for Marshall to make it 67-57 with 7:43 to go. DeAndre Kane made a second three-pointer for the Herd, and Marshall pulled within 67-60 with 6:45 to play, but it was the closest the Herd would come for the rest of the game.

Over the final 6:45, Memphis closed the game on a 20-7 run, spurred by back-to-back three-point plays by Will Barton (who finished with a game-high 24 points, along with six rebounds and three steals). The Tigers put four other layers in double figures: sophomores Black, Crawford and Joe Jackson.

Black finished with 18 points (8-for-8 from the field), Jackson tallied 21 points while sinking 13-of-15 free throws, and Crawford did it all with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

With the win, Memphis will have a first-round bye in the upcoming C-USA tournament held in Memphis, TN. The Tigers return to Memphis to play its final home game of the regular season at FedExForum against UCF on Tuesday night, February 28th, at 8 p.m.

Tigers football begin spring practice

by Adam Douglas

 

     Things are finally underway for the 2012 version of the University of Memphis Tigers football team. And with a new leader at the helm, former TCU co-offensive coordinator Justin Fuente taking over for now former head coach Larry Porter, the Tigers look to head into a new direction - offensively and defensively.

"I can't wait until we can teach the kids how to practice, Fuente said. "I'm not sure they understand it yet - the effort, focus and attention to detail that it takes to practice for two full hours to get a really good practice in."

Like his predecessor, Porter, Fuente has inherited a deeply inept team that has won only three games over the last two seasons. So finding someone in the locker room that has the experience and leadership to lean on for the underclassmen may be a difficult task. But Fuente knows that he and his staff should be able to carry the bulk of that role.

"I have told the kids already that what has happened in the past was the past," Fuente said. "I want them to know that we're here for them, to teach them and that we care about them and the community." "Some people may think that when a new coach comes in, that he already has his guy," Fuente said. "Well, that's not any of that here. They're all our guys and that's how we get them to lead others when they get recruited to come here."

Though spring ball has just begun, Fuente is still unfamiliar with his new team. He says that there are no starters or backups at this point, and that he also doesn't know anything about who will be taking snaps this fall. But the one thing that players can be sure of is the ability to compete for spots. Fuente has been reluctant to watch any film on the team in order to not form an opinion, rather to give each person a sure fire chance to earn his spot.

"I've watched some film, but I want them to know that they're coming in with a blank slate," Fuente said. "I find it rather hard to not form an opinion if do watch, and I don't want to do that."

Tigers stunned by UTEP 60-58

A last second three point attempt by Tigers sophomore Will Barton fell short as the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team ((19-8, 9-3 in Conference USA) lost a game that they once controlled by as many as 13 points to Texas-El Paso (13-13, 6-6 in C-USA) at home, 60-58.

Memphis easily was the aggressor in the first half. The Tigers began the game on a 9-0 run before UTEP finally scored a bucket. The lead quickly grew to 13, at 19-6, but the Miners began to fight back. By halftime the score was initially ruled 28-22. But a last second three point attempt to beat the halftime buzzer by UTEP was ruled late and the Tigers took a 28-19 into intermission.

After halftime the Tigers came out lethargic. UTEP started the second half on a 5-0 run to close the gap to 28-24. The Tigers would answer back with a couple of buckets of their own, but UTEP would not be pushed over. Poor shooting and offensive execution by the Tigers down the stretch allowed the Miners to take their first lead of the game at 57-55 after a pair of free throws by UTEP's Cedrick Lang. And that's what set the stage for an upset of the Tigers - Will Barton's missed three-pointer at the buzzer gave UTEP its second win in Memphis in six games.

"When you lose a game, the coach has to take the blame so I got to take it all," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. "Nobody played well today, besides Tarik Black. Everyone else laid an egg today - including me."

Tigers' sophomore Tarik Black had the game of his life in a Tigers uniform. UTEP had no answer for the Memphis big man. Being the only person on Memphis to score in double figures, Black finished the game with 26 points, 10 rebounds, on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. No other Tigers player scored more than 10 points - Will Barton was the closest Tiger to Black, scoring nine points.

"It wasn't just a game we lost, we lost more than that today and it really hurts," Barton said. "I let the team down, I let my coaches down, I let myself down. I can't play like this and expect us to win. "I was terrible, defensively I was off," Barton said. "I sucked today - and I can't do that."

The Tigers will remain home for their next C-USA matchup. On Wednesday they take on the Pirates of East Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tigers blister Green Wave 82-64

It wasn't pretty, but the University of Memphis Tigers (19-7, 9-2 in Conference USA) used a 50-point second half to pull away on the road from the Tulane Green Wave (15-10, 3-8 in C-USA) 82-64. Tigers sophomore Will Barton led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Memphis played a bit lackadaisical in the first half, falling behind the Green Wave at halftime 33-32. The first 20 minutes was pretty much nip-tuck going into the break, with sophomore Tarik Black being slowed by two fouls, a slight ankle injury and playing only a total of five minutes, the Tigers relied on sophomores Antonio Barton and Chris Crawford to pick up the slack. They scored seven and five points respectively in the opening period.

Though the second half started much like the first, with the Tigers finding themselves behind early 45-41, it was the switch to the 1-3-1 zone defense that befuddled Tulane and eventually propelling the Tigers ahead for good.

"Teams are not used to our length and athleticism," Black said. "We play the zone well. And when you have someone like Will Barton at the top of the zone getting his hands on balls, you're not used to that - we can cover space very well."

Five Tigers scored in double figures. Along with the aforementioned Will Barton, Black finished the game with 18 points, also playing all 20 minutes in the second half. Chris Crawford chipped in 13 points, six assists and five steals. Senior forward Wesley Witherspoon and sophomore guard Joe Jackson each added 10.

Both teams shot it well during the game. Memphis shot exactly 50 percent in the first half (14-for-28) and Tulane hit 52.0 percent (13-for-25) of their shots. But it was the red-hot shooting of the Tigers in the second half that was the difference. Memphis shot over 74 percent (20-for-27) to gain the edge on the Green Wave make a tightly contested game look like a blowout.

Up next for the Tigers will be Texas-El Paso this Saturday at noon at FedEx Forum. Though this year's team is young and don't have the same players that blew out the Tigers last season, both the Tigers and Miners still remember last season's matchups.

"They're young but they have a good team, and they have some pro prospects on their team, Pastner said. "I know that they like to throw multiple defenses at us. Plus, we beat them on their floor in order to get into the tournament - so they haven't forgotten and will be ready for us."

Tigers burn Blazers 79-45

AP: Mark Weber

 

     The University of Memphis Tigers (18-7, 8-2 in Conference USA) shot 11 first half three pointers to build a 47-21halftime lead en route to a 79-45 victory over the UAB Blazers. Memphis shot 66.7 percent from the field (16-of-24) and connected on 11-for-14 from behind the arc to stymie the Blazers.

The first half saw the Tigers dominate the boards with a 15-5 advantage, commit only five turnovers, have 12 assists on 16 made baskets and sophomore guard Chris Crawford went 5-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three point range, scoring 14 points.

"Whenever we get to shooting like that, we're going to be a hard team to beat," Crawford said. "We know it's not going to happen every night, but when it happens like it did tonight, I don't think we can't lose like that."

The second half was much of the same. The Tigers continued to build their lead over UAB. Though Memphis didn't score as many points in the second half, only 32, the lead still increased. The Tigers lead by as many as 36 at one point due to the shooting of senior forward Wesley Witherspoon and junior D.J. Stephens. Both players continued Memphis' hot streak from beyond the arc, with Stephens hitting two three pointers and Witherspoon with one.

"He (Stephens) shoots it well in practice," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. "It's one of those things that if he's open then I don't mind him shooting it as long as he can stick it."

The Tigers were pretty much thorough on both ends of the floor. They only gave up one offensive rebound, were a plus -13 on the boards (33-20), committed nine turnovers in the game, held the Blazers to 34 percent shooting and kept star forward Cameron Moore in check with only four points and one rebound. But Pastner knows that his team is not done yet.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Pastner said. "We can still clean up some things offensively when it comes to running our plays. We still need to take better care of the ball, but it still was a nice victory."

Three Tigers scored in double figures in last night's contest. Both Chris Crawford and sophomore guard Will Barton led all scorers with 16 each; Crawford added five steals and Barton grabbed nine rebounds. And sophomore guard Antonio Barton chipped in with 10.

"It feels good to get a win like this," Will Barton said. "We knew they came in here confident because they just came off a huge win and a winning streak, and then when we went down to Bartow Arena we barely escaped with a win. So for us to win like this, it just shows our maturity."

The Big East at Last!

photo by Adam Douglas

 

     After months of speculation and watching former Conference USA foes leave for greener pastures, The University of Memphis has finally reached its goal that it's been trying to achieve for so long - getting into a BCS Conference. And on Wednesday afternoon, it was formerly announced to everyone that The Big East Conference and its commissioner John Marinatto, has accepted Memphis as its newest member in all sports, beginning in July 2013.

"It's a great day to be a Tiger," said R.C. Johnson, the incumbent athletic director who will retire this June after the school's fiscal year. "We've worked long and hard to get into the Big East - and we did it. They can no longer say that we're not in a BCS conference anymore."

This is a very promising and lucrative opportunity for the Tigers. It means more television exposure, recruiting elite players for football will be a lot easier and more money will be invested into the school. Johnson says that as of right now, C-USA schools get sharing revenue of about 2.2 million dollars, and Big East schools receive around eight million. So, that means better facilities, being on a level playing field with the competition and stiffer competition.

Memphis will reunite with former conference allies Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, DePaul and Marquette, as well as current Conference USA members UCF, Houston and SMU. Memphis, Louisville and Cincinnati were founding members of the Metro Conference in the 1970s and competed in Conference USA in the 1990s.

"This is a historic day for The University of Memphis," said Shirley Raines, president of the University of Memphis. We are pleased to be renewing some old rivalries that our fans enjoyed in years past, and we look forward to competing against other formidable opponents from the Big East."

Though the Tigers won't officially join the Big East until 2013, Tigers first-year head football coach Justin Fuente knows that this will be a formidable challenge for a team that has won only three games in the last two seasons.

"Everybody job is harder now, Fuente said. "The expectation level, the commitment level from everybody just got raised. It's huge for the community, its huge for the athletic department and now we just have to get out there and go to work."

In 2015, the BIG EAST football membership will consist of Boise State, UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Navy, Rutgers, San Diego State, SMU and USF.

In 2015, the BIG EAST basketball membership will include UCF, Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Houston, Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, SMU, USF and Villanova.

 

Tigers struggle early, but win late against Xavier 72-68

This was the last chance to prove to the NCAA tournament committee that the Memphis Tigers (16-7) were in fact worthy of a possible at-large bid into next month's big dance just in case they didn't take care of business within their conference. And that question was answered, albeit it had its doubts, as the University of Memphis Tigers fought back from an 11-point second half deficit to down the Xavier Musketeers 72-68 in a hard fought battle.

"That was a great win for the Tigers," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. A few key factors contributed to us winning this game - we didn't get too high with the highs and too low with the lows. We had to grind and gut it out and we converted 24-of-28 free throws."

The Tigers used a 21-4 run to close out a game in which was seemingly going to be a win for Xavier. But senior forward Wesley Witherspoon put the team on his back and hit timely three pointers and grabbing rebounds down the stretch to spark a comeback for the Tigers.

"Wesley Witherspoon came in and gave us a great lift in the second half," Pastner said. "Not only from the three point line, but getting some 'man' rebounds and Joe Jackson was terrific from the free throw line."

Memphis and Xavier fought a see-saw battle to the tune of a halftime score of 35-34 in favor of the Musketeers. But at the start of the second half Xavier opened the lead to 44-34 on consecutive made three point baskets combined with lackluster defense by the Tigers. The Tigers would cut the lead to five at 46-41, but another mini run by the Musketeers pushed the lead out to its largest of the game to 11at 54-43.

But that's when Witherspoon decided to show up and help bring the Tigers back. Witherspoon, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half, was one of four Tigers to eclipse double figures in the game. Sophomore guard Joe Jackson led the Tigers with 14 points, going 12-for-12 from the free throw line, and also dishing out nine assists. Sophomores Will Barton and Tarik Black were the other Tigers to get into double figures with 13 points apiece.

"Their length, athleticism and quickness over the last five minutes really took over and you have to give them (Memphis) credit," said Chris Mack, head coach for Xavier. "We didn't get clean looks, and then they went on that run. I feel sick for our kids - that is a tough one."

The Tigers will resume conference play on Wednesday as they take for road against East Carolina. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tipoff.