It seemed to be a blue Christmas break for the University of Memphis men's basketball team, who dropped two games over the break, but head coach Josh Pastner and the No. 17 ranked Tigers turned things around, salvaging three straight conference-road wins to close out the break.
Pastner felt the road trip was big for his team, but they have to put it in the past and keep pressing forward.
"Great road trip this past weekend," the fifth-year coach said of the two wins over Louisville and Temple. "The guys played well, but that's history. Now, we're locked in on a great Connecticut team."
Since the final day of classes, the Blue and Gray (12-3, 3-1 AAC) played nine games winning seven and losing two.
Memphis racked up wins over Northwestern State, Arkansas Little Rock, Southeast Missouri, Jackson State, South Florida, Louisville and Temple.
Unfortunately for Pastner and the Tigers, it wasn't all smooth sailing.
The U of M traveled to New York to face Florida in Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 17. The Blue and Gray fought the Gators - currently ranked 7th - to a near draw all game. Memphis' senior guard Joe Jackson drove to the basket as time expired missing a well-contested layup that would have sent the game to overtime.
Praise for the Tigers poured in from the national media even in defeat. College basketball writers took to Twitter and the blogosphere to commend Memphis for the way the battled on the national stage in the 77-75 loss.
The atmosphere was much grimmer following the embarrassing 59-63 home loss to Cincinnati.
Jackson felt the Bearcats came to Memphis and simply wanted to win more the Tigers.
"They really wanted to beat us," Jackson said. "They did a great job with second-half adjustments, and we didn't want to beat them as bad."
Memphis' four senior guards combined to go 2-17 from three-point range and 14-49 from the field, contributing to a worrying trend of poor shooting by the Tigers.
Pastner made it clear from the start of the season the four senior guards would dictate the success of this year's team.
"When our four senior guards play poorly collectively like they did, we're going to struggle," Pastner said after the loss. "We put a lot of eggs in their basket, and they've got to get the job done. But, we're going to roll with them."
Seniors Chris Crawford and Geron Johnson both believe the shots will start falling, but they both said the team has to keep shooting with confidence.
"When you aren't making shots it just sucks the life out of you," Pasnter said. "It's hard to get energy and it affects everything."
Memphis has made a habit this season of bouncing back from tough losses. They bounced back from a tough loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., beating the Cowboys to win the Old Spice Classic.
The Tigers rebounded again after losing to the Bearcats. Just five days after the home loss, Memphis stole a win from the defending national champion Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.
Just two days following the Louisville win, Memphis won a tight contest at Temple, giving the Tigers their third conference win in four tries.
Memphis can extend their conference-winning streak to three on Thursday night when they square off against the UConn Huskies at 6 p.m. inside the FedExForum.
Pastner urged fans to be there on time for the early tip to showcase the Tigers' great fan base to those watching nationally on ESPN.
The Huskies (13-3, 1-2 AAC) sit just outside the AP top 25, and they boast two of the best guards in the country - Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright. The Tigers' game plan hopes to slow the Huskies' backcourt duo down, but it won't be an easy task.
"Their two guards are really really good," Pastner said. "The first thing you think about is their two guards are excellent, but they have other pieces that can play."
