Only 1:30 remained and the game was tied at 70 points a piece. That’s when Dajuan Wagner put Memphis on his back and carried the Tigers to their 20th win and their best conference start in school history.
Wagner ripped the ball from the hands of Tulane forward Linton Johnson and then pushed the ball coast-to-coast for a soaring dunk and two of his game-high 25 points on 9-of-24 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the line.
“Dajuan took over the game in the second half when he needed to,” said head coach John Calipari.
Wagner followed up his enthusiastic dunk by draining a three-pointer from the left side, putting Memphis on top, 75-70, with 43 seconds left.
“Coach told me that he needed me in the last five minutes,” Wagner said. “In the second half, Kelly said he needed me to take over.”
After the three-pointer, Wagner collected his second steal in a little over a minute to seal the victory. Wagner then drew two consecutive fouls and hit 3-of-4 free-throw attempts to cap off his game-ending 8-0 run to defeat the Green Wave.
“The dunk wasn’t as important as the steal after the three-pointer. The steal was crucial,” Wagner said.
Tulane played tough, physical defense, banging Wagner around for most of the game and forcing him to throw up low-percentage shots.
“He’s gotta learn to play through fouls,” Calipari said. “He’s gets the crap beaten out of him.”
Wagner, who is recovering from a sprained ankle, did not play like he was injured, moving up and down the court quickly on breakaways.
“The ankle’s doing good, it’s never been better,” he said. “I don’t think about it when I’m out there playing.”
When asked if this was his most satisfying win, Wagner said, “All the games we win are the most satisfying, as long as we get the W.”
