The University of Memphis men's basketball team can see the light at the end of the tunnel with only two games remaining in the regular season, but the games couldn't be more important with the top half of the American Athletic Conference still jockeying for tournament seeding.
The No. 20 Tigers play the first of their two final games Thursday in Cincinnati, Ohio.
It wasn't pretty the first time the University of Cincinnati visited the FedExForum. They flattened the Tigers (22-7, 11-5 AAC), handing them a 69-53 loss in front of the home crowd.
Cincinnati's head coach Mick Cronin said the game came down to controlling the Tigers on the offensive end.
"Our defense was tremendous," he said. "Once we got Jackson under control, it made everything easier. The key is adjusting to their speed."
The loss served as a wake up call for Memphis, who defeated Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center five days later.
The No. 15 Bearcats need a wake up call of their own after a meltdown against Connecticut on Saturday. Cronin made headlines for a confrontation with official Ted Valentine, and the Bearcats (24-5, 13-3 AAC) faltered down the stretch.
Cincinnati blazed out to a hot start at the beginning of the year, going 7-0 to begin the year. Then, after a two-game setback, they rattled off another 15 wins, finding themselves inside the top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.
However, the top of the American Athletic Conference proved too much for the senior-laden Bearcats.
Losers in three of their last five, Cincinnati will be eager for a win. Not to mention, their five seniors will be amped to play in front of their home crowd for the final time.
Both of the Bearcats' leading scorers are seniors. Guard Sean Kilpatrick paces the Cincinnati attack, averaging 20.3 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds. Forward Justin Jackson scores 11 points per game and grabs 6.9 boards.
With only two players scoring in double figures, Cincinnati focuses their efforts on the defensive end.
The Bearcats own the third best defense in the country in terms of opponent's scoring. They allow only 57.2 points per game. They rank 16th in nation in opponents field goal percentage, allowing 39.1 percent.
Cincinnati likes to slow the game down, but Memphis wants the game played at a lightning pace. Senior forward David Pellom said it's key for the Tigers to dictate the pace of the game.
"We can't let our opponents change our pace," Pellom said after the first matchup with the Bearcats. "We played at their pace instead of playing up-and-down basketball. They slowed us down."
The Tigers hope to offset the Bearcats' stalwart defense with multiple options on the offensive end. Shaq Goodwin, a sophomore forward, and senior guards Joe Jackson and Michael Dixon Jr. all score in double digits for the Tigers.
Memphis' freshman forward Austin Nichols, who averages 8.9 points per game, struggled in the Tigers' first matchup with Cincinnati. He scored just two points in 11 minutes-half his usual playing time.
Nichols has enjoyed a recent uptick in his level of play, garnering two consecutive American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week awards.
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said it's all about aggression for the freshman.
"He's a confidence guy, Austin," the fifth-year coach said. "When he's aggressive, he's better. When he's full throttle, he's a high-level guy."
However, the ball has to be pounded inside to Goodwin and Nichols for them to be successful. The U of M got away from their inside-out approach the first time around with the Bearcats.
"Getting the ball inside early is very important," senior guard Chris Crawford said. "When the defense starts sagging down on them it opens it up for us guys on the outside."
These next two games will be instrumental in deciding the postseason seeding for the Tigers.
They currently sit at fifth in the American, but a lot can happen over the next week. A win over the second-ranked Bearcats would pull the Tigers within a game in both the win and loss columns, meaning another Cincinnati loss would force a tie.
Memphis also faces the third-seeded Southern Methodist University Mustangs on Saturday. A win could force a Tie with SMU as well.
Tipoff against Cincinnati is slated for 6 p.m., and ESPN will broadcast the game nationally.
