The high-flying University of Memphis Tigers take their game to the Big Easy tonight as they take on Tulane.
Memphis is coming off a 34-point drubbing of Conference USA rival UAB, and they need a win to remain in the hunt for the C-USA regular season title.
Memphis and Southern Miss are tied atop the C-USA standings with identical 8-2 records, while Tulsa is hovering a half-game back at 8-3. Southern Miss faces Tulsa tonight, so wins by Tulsa and Memphis would move the Tigers into sole possession of first place with five games to go.
The Tigers credit their position in the standings to better focus and tighter defense.
"We've improved in a lot of areas," said head coach Josh Pastner. "We continue to get better, which allows you to have carryover, which allows you to have confirmation that you're getting better."
In the last two games, the Tigers have held their opponents, East Carolina and UAB, to 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.4 percent from three-point range. For the season as a whole, Memphis has limited its opponents to 38.5 percent shooting, and just 31.9 percent from deep.
In addition to scoring defense, Memphis has stepped up in other areas. Despite getting outrebounded by East Carolina on Feb. 8, Memphis racked up 13 steals, two shy of matching the season high. The Tigers also stole the ball eight times against UAB and forced the Blazers into 12 turnovers. Memphis is averaging 7.6 steals per game overall.
Memphis' paint presence has continued to develop as the season has progressed. The Tigers are averaging 35.1 rebounds per game while limiting their opponents to 33.6 boards per game.
The Tigers' tight defense has helped them recover from a 6-5 start to the season. Memphis has won 12 of the last 14 games, and is on a three-game winning streak. The only losses for the Tigers during this run came to Central Florida (68-67) and Southern Miss (75-72), both on the road.
The Tigers will need their defense to stay at that level when they head to New Orleans to face Tulane. The Green Wave has three players averaging more than 10 points per game. Ricky Tarrant (14.4 ppg), Jordan Callahan (12.3) and Josh Davis (10.3) are all potent weapons for the Green Wave, and Pastner is well aware of the threat.
Last year, Memphis got all it could from Tulane, who pushed the Tigers for 39 minutes before finally falling 66-61 at the FedExForum. Kendall Timmons and Callahan combined for 25 points and five steals in that game, as the team hit nine threes to keep the game close into the final minute.
"In conference play, anybody can beat anyone," Pastner said. "There are no gimmes. Everyone is good."
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