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Tigers aim to build momentum at Houston

<p>Tigers’ starting point guard Sam Craft has committed just five turnovers in 164 minutes since joining the team midseason.&nbsp;</p>
Tigers’ starting point guard Sam Craft has committed just five turnovers in 164 minutes since joining the team midseason. 

Following the team’s most impressive victory of the season against Cincinnati on Saturday, the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team has a chance to build momentum for the end of the season as they travel to Houston to take on the Cougars Wednesday night.

Houston (16-7, 6-5 AAC) has had an erratic season so far, with both impressive highs and concerning lows. The Cougars knocked off then-No. 12 SMU at home last week, but have also suffered a 10-point loss to 13-10 Rhode Island in non-conference play and a four-game slide against conference opponents in mid-January.

The matchup between the guards of both teams will likely be critical Wednesday night, and after giving freshman Craig Randall a surprise start against Cincinnati on Saturday Tigers’ coach Josh Pastner is keeping his options open moving forward.

“I could start Caleb Wallingford and Dante Scott as my backcourt — that’s where our mentality moving forward is,” Pastner said. “We’re just going to take it one day at a time and have fun with it and see where it all falls.”

Randall, who has played only 71 total minutes this season, totaled just two points and two points in 12 minutes while shooting 1-5 from the field Saturday.

Pastner has continually shifted up the starting lineup this season in an effort find something that works. Twelve different Tigers have made at least one start this season, and Pastner will have to find a combination that can slow down Houston’s dangerous backcourt duo of Rob Gray Jr. and Damyean Dotson.

The pair leads Houston offensively with 17.3 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. Gray has been especially important to the Cougars’ success. Houston is an undefeated 6-0 when the sophomore scores 20 points or more. Gray has only scored in single-digits twice all season, both losses.

Gray has missed four games this season, and in all four Dotson stepped up in his place, averaging 17 points as the team treaded water with a 2-2 record.

Memphis doesn’t need its guards to match Houston’s in the scoring column since forwards Dedric Lawson and Shaq Goodwin have dominated in that department this season. Instead, defense will be key from the Tigers’ backcourt unit as they hope to minimize the impact of Gray and Dotson.

The contest against the Cougars is particularly important due to the position of the two schools in the American Athletic Conference standings. The teams are currently separated by only half of a game, with Houston in sixth place with a 6-5 record in conference play, and Memphis tied for seventh alongside UCF at 5-5. A win would pull the Tigers ahead of Houston in sixth place, but a loss would drop Memphis to a sub-.500 conference record, making it very difficult to get a first-round bye in the conference tournament in March.

Tipoff between the Tigers and Cougars is set for 7 p.m. from Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston Wednesday night, and the game will be televised on ESPNU.

Tigers’ starting point guard Sam Craft has committed just five turnovers in 164 minutes since joining the team midseason. 


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