A little more will be riding on the Tigers’ rematch with Temple tonight at 6 p.m. than when Memphis and the Owls faced each other in Philadelphia earlier this season.
This time, it’s in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament at New York’s Madison Square Garden and this time, the loser’s season is done.
With a win, the Tigers (25-9) would advance to Thursday’s NIT championship game against the Syracuse/South Carolina winner.
“It’ll be good,” Memphis head coach John Calipari said of tonight’s matchup. “He does a great job, John Chaney.
“We’ve played them twice now, last year and this year. He ruined our debut here as a staff (in 2000) and we went in (this season) and ruined his day in Philly. It should be an interesting matchup against a good team that’s playing well right now.”
Back on Dec. 20, the Tigers defeated Temple (18-14), 64-54, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
Sophomore guard Scooter McFadgon led Memphis in scoring that night with 22 points while freshman guard Dajuan Wagner added 15.
Senior forward Kelly Wise, who is still recovering from the effects of a strained right knee, missed his usual double-double performance by a point and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Temple senior guard Lynn Greer, who is questionable for tonight’s game after spraining his right ankle in a win against Louisville last week, scored 22 points for the Owls in the teams’ earlier meeting. Greer, one of the nation’s premier scorers, is averaging a team-leading 23.2 points per game for Temple.
Memphis, which knocked off Tennessee Tech, 79-73, Saturday to advance to tonight’s semifinal game, will need big games from McFadgon and big man Chris Massie if the Tigers are to beat Temple for the second time this season.
McFadgon played an integral role for the Tigers on Saturday, scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half to go along with six rebounds.
With Memphis trailing, 36-30, at halftime, McFadgon nailed two three-pointers out of the gate to pull the Tigers even. Memphis went on to outscore Tennessee Tech, 49-37, in the second half.
Massie was also key for Memphis in that game, scoring 14 points while grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds. Massie has averaged 15 points and 12.7 rebounds in three NIT contests, but he’ll face a tougher assignment tonight in Temple’s Kevin Lyde, who stands 6-10 and weighs in at 260.
Two other Tigers are averaging double figures in scoring for the tourney — Wagner (19.7 ppg) and point guard Antonio Burks (12.3). Memphis, which is averaging around 80 points per contest in the NIT, will have to be patient offensively to have any success against the Owls’ vaunted 2-3 zone defense.
“For me, it’s nothing,” Calipari said. “I’m not playing. John Chaney and I, we’ve had our battles and he’s getting older and I’m getting older so it’s not like I’m trying to prove anything, nor is he.”
