Preview: Memphis prepares for rematch against the University of Central Florida

After an impressive performance in Thursday’s game against Tulane, the University of Memphis men’s basketball team advances to the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament. They will play the UCF Knights on Friday at 1 p.m. at FedExForum.

Memphis beat the Green Wave 83-68, led by Jeremiah Martin with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. But, the surprise of the afternoon was the contribution from the big man out of Cleveland, Mike Parks Jr. He contributed his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. 

UCF is coming off a loss in their last regular season game against Temple, 67-62. Aubrey Dawkins dropped 36 points and 13 rebounds for the Knights, but it was not enough to get the win. Memphis will look to exploit the Knights’ hard-nosed defense and score in transition just like Temple did.

There are three keys to the game for Memphis.

Take Tacko Fall out early

 Memphis did a great job against the 7-foot-6 giant Tacko Fall when UCF came to town in late-January. For the Tigers to win, they need to use Fall in the pick-and-roll offense and draw fouls against him. His presence on the floor makes UCF a better team physically and statistically. He is the team’s leading rebounder and shot-blocker. 

Fall picked up an early two fouls in the January matchup against the Tigers, and he didn’t return to the game until the second half, the same result will be beneficial for Memphis. 

Memphis must continue shooting hot

Not only did the Tigers shoot the ball well from the field, but the three-ball was there for them in the last few games. Memphis found the touch from deep, and it could not be a better time to display their ability to knock down shots from behind than the AAC tournament.

In the last three games, they have shot the ball from deep at 40 percent. The three-point shot will be a huge stat to win, as in both meetings against the Knights, the winning team won the deep ball stat. Memphis did a great job of spreading Tulane out and driving in the lane and kicking it out to the open man. I expect the Tigers to do the same thing against the Knights. 

The rest factor

After taking care of business at the start of the tournament, the hard part of this run to the big dance begins for the Tigers. Because UCF landed in the top four of the confererence, they got an extra day of rest unlike the Tigers. Memphis needs to find time to keep their bodies relaxed.

After taking care of business at the start of the tournament, the hard part of this run to the Big Dance begins for the Tigers.

“You don’t need much to get up for those guys,†said Penny Hardaway, the UofM men’s basketball team head coach, about UCF during post game. “They can blow you out if you don’t come to play. Although UCF is not a run down your throat team, they still can score in transition as well as anyone in the country, winning four games.

Four days is tough at this level of basketball. Memphis must stay sharp for their matchup with the Knights. 

Overall

This will be a fun matchup to watch in the AAC tournament because these two teams are dog-fighting teams. They like to grind and play tough and gritty defense. The winner of this game will play either the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars or the No. 9 seeded UConn Huskies.