If The University of Memphis men's basketball team was looking for a rival to fill the shoes of departed Louisville, then UAB has taken the role.
When UAB (14-4) took on the Tigers (18-2) Thursday night, the Blazers held on to a half game lead in over The U of M in Conference USA despite the Tigers 3-0 conference record.
"We knew that this game would put us in the No. 1 spot," said Darius Washington, U of M guard. "We had our minds prepared for physical play."
The Tigers looked well prepared at the game building a 13-point lead half way through the fist half thanks to two Darius Washington three-pointers.
"Darius had a monster game," said U of M forward Rodney Carney.
Washington scored a game high 26 points and two assists.
Even though four of the five U of M starters finished with double-digit point totals, the Tiger bench struggled finishing 0-11 from the floor and one point.
"Our bench has been the strongest thing we have," said John Calipari, U of M coach. "We get them down 13 and then we go the wrong way."
UAB evaporated the Tigers' 13 point lead thanks to a 8-0 run at the 14:28 mark giving UAB their first lead after a Paul Delaney free-throw.
"We don't like to be down," Carney said. "They slap and foul and it works, but we came out under the right mind frame."
The right mind frame and a dominating rebounding performance by U of M forward Joey Dorsey helped the Tigers fight back from a three point deficient with 12 minutes left in the game.
"The rebounding edge put us over the top," Calipari said. "Joey Dorsey had ten offensive rebounds. I don't think I've ever had a player with 10 offensive rebounds."
Dorsey would finish with 16 rebounds and 12 points and helped The U of M to a 6-0 run, but UAB wouldn't go away.
A quick trey by UAB guard Squeaky Johnson cut the Tigers lead to two with under two minutes to play.
"Give UAB credit, they are a top-25 team," Calipari said. "They stayed in the game and led late and had a chance to win the game."
Despite being in the game until the end, a phenomenal alley-oop from Washington to Carney at the 37-second mark would put an exclamation point on a 73-66 victory for the Tigers and cap off.
Washington and Carney, along with forward Shawne Williams would finish the night scoring The U of M's last 30 points.
"Every game we got to come in with a chip on out shoulders and try to win every game we can," Washington said. "We can't look at the scoreboard, we just have to make big plays."
The U of M's win marks the first meeting between the two teams this season, with a rematch scheduled at UAB March 2.
While Thursday night's back-and-forth game is enough to prove to Tiger fans that UAB is a rival, there is still a long way to go to replace Louisville, Carney said.
"(UAB) is our rival and we still have to go down there and play," he said. "But it's not the severity of Louisville. That was a game we circled and looked at all year."
