Tigers fall short in AAC tourney run
Memphis set for postseason play, will host NIT game tomorrow night
sports@theeveningtimes.com
MEMPHIS — Faced with the unenviable task of trying to win four games in four days, Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway attempted to manage his best players’ minutes the best he could on Thursday in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
With his team up by as many as 23 points over Tulane in the second half, Hardaway’s club couldn’t quite seal the deal as early as he wanted, but in the end the Tigers ended up with an 83-68 victory over Tulane.
Leading scorer and AAC Player of the Year runner- up Jeremiah Martin sat four minutes in the first half, but ended up playing 31:28 and scoring a gamehigh 21 points.
In round two, the Memphis Tigers got one field goal out of the American Athletic Conference’s leading scorer Friday against UCF.
Normally a recipe for disaster, the Tigers turned it into their most dominant performance of the year as Martin’s cast provided the punch in a 79-55 victory over the Golden Knights in a quarterfinal game in the AAC Tournament.
With a nearly 20 points per game average coming into Friday’s game, Martin was held to just 1 for 6 from the field against UCF, but junior center Isaiah Maurice had the game of his life with a career-high 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting.
“Isaiah, to me, is one of the best five’s in the conference, but his game just hasn’t gotten going until today,” said Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway.
The Tigers (21-12) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals against Houston, which thrashed UConn earlier on Friday. And that’s where the Tigers’ tourney run ended, playing from behind the entire game, Memphis managed to make it close before coming up short 61-58.
But there’s mor basketball to be played.
The University of Memphis will be a No. 3 seed in the National Invitation Tournament that starts this week and will play No. 6 seed San Diego Tuesday night at FedExForum in an opening-round game.
Tipoff is 7 p.m. and the game will be shown on ESPN3.com or WatchESPN. com.
The Tigers (21-13) were seeded third in the Lower Right Bracket. TCU is the top seed and Creighton is seeded second. There are four brackets of eight teams each.
The Toreros (21-14) reached the semifinals of the West Coast Conference before falling to Saint Mary’s.
San Diego, which posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time, is led by senior forward Isaiah Wright. Wright is averaging 19.1 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Memphis will be playing in its first postseason event since the 2013-14 season.
The Tigers participated in the 2014 NCAA tournament, where they fell during the opening weekend to Virginia in a thirdround game.
Times Staff Photo
The Tigers were last in the NIT during the 200910 season, Josh Pastner’s first at the UofM. The UofM beat St. John’s in an opening-round game, but fell to Ole Miss, 90-81, in a second-round game played at Oxford, Miss.
The Tigers own an NIT title, winning in 2002 under coach John Calipari. Memphis won the title game, 72-62, over South Carolina. Dajuan Wagner was the MVP.
This year’s team has been led by senior guard Jeremiah Martin, whose 19.7 scoring average paces the American Athletic Conference. He was a unanimous first-team, all-conference selection and was voted to the AAC all-tournament team Sunday.
