After opening American Athletic Conference play with a win at Tulane over the weekend, the Memphis Tigers returned to FedExForum Monday night for their home conference opener against Tulsa. Back in January, it was the Golden Hurricane who dealt coach Penny Hardaway his most lopsided defeat to date, drubbing the Tigers by forty points in their lone meeting last season.
Monday night, with Alex Lomax and Malcolm Dandridge each out nursing injuries, Hardaway would turn to the position-less style that has taken the modern NBA by storm in recent years, starting the game with players all standing 6’5” or above: D.J. Jeffries, Landers Nolley, Lester Quinones, Deandre Williams and Moussa Cisse.
Memphis relied on its length and athleticism to stifle the Golden Hurricane early, limiting the visitors to just 28% shooting in the first half. Williams and Quinones were everywhere in the opening period, combining for 14 points and nearly outrebounding the entire Golden Hurricane roster (11 for Williams/Quinones, 15 for Tulsa)
Despite the Golden Hurricane’s scoring woes, the Memphis lead at halftime was only nine. The wheels would fall off soon thereafter.
To describe it as abysmal would be putting it lightly: Memphis only connected on five baskets the rest of the way. They finished the game with more turnovers than made field goals. (The second time that has happened already this season) While the Tigers floundered down the stretch, a 9-0 run in the game’s waning moments propelled Frank Haith’s team to a huge road victory, 56-49.
“I think it’s the communication of five guys being together. I think we turn into individuals if things aren’t going our way offensively,” Hardaway said. “We turn into being more about ourselves instead of being five individuals together. If they huddle, talk about things and stay in tune with what is going on at the moment, instead of worrying about the last shot that we missed or even the last defensive possession that we messed up on, if we correct it and put it in the play the next time, we’ll be okay.”
Both teams turned in their lowest point total of the season thus far and combined to finish 10/41 from three. Simply put, it was a slugfest.
Considering neither team looked particularly sharp, perhaps the biggest difference came at the free throw line, where Memphis only knocked down a porous 10/21. Meanwhile, Tulsa finished 17/28 from the charity stripe. With each side struggling to find a consistent groove and buckets hard to come by, defense, and ultimately persistence, won the night.
“I think it is focus,” Hardaway said. “We work on free throws every day but it’s not in the arena. You just have to lock in. There is no crowd, so to me, it should be easier for you to knock down free throws, but we’re just not doing that right now.”
For a team that began the year with expectations of contending in the AAC, Monday night’s result was just the latest disappointment in what has been a baffling start to the campaign.
“In the game, everybody has their own individual goals,” Jeffries said after the loss. “We can’t be worried about ourselves, it’s a team. We’re playing for the name on the front of our jerseys. It’s bigger than just the names on the back.”
They’ll get a week to recalibrate before returning to action next Tuesday night vs South Florida. Tip-off vs the Bulls is set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at FedExForum.
