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.

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.