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."