The Memphis Tigers took care of business on their home floor on Wednesday Night defeating the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, 74-48.
Memphis (14-8) shot 52 percent in the first half and took a 34-24 halftime lead over Jacksonville State (9-16) and never looked back.
One key part of the Tigers win was the play of forward Shaq Goodwin. After a 0-6 showing against Gonzaga, Goodwin led the team with 16 points on 7-12 shooting and also grabbed seven boards, he also surpassed 500 career rebounds as a Tiger in the first half.
Coach Josh Pastner said he was pleased with Goodwin’s performance but knows he is capable of this every night.
"We need Shaq to be 16 and seven like he was," Pastner said. "We need that every night. He's capable of doing it. He's good enough to do it. For our team to do what needs to be done and what Tiger nation wants to be done, we need Shaq to be a high-level guy. He was aggressive tonight. He was active, and that's a good thing to see."
Forward Austin Nichols also put in a strong performance as he held a block party at the Forum on Wednesday as he blocked seven shots, two away from the Tigers single-game record. He also had 12 points and seven rebounds in the victory.
Trahson Burrell who got the start ahead of Markel Crawford because he violated a team rule took advantage of the minutes as Burrell scored 13 points on 5-9 shooting and had four rebounds and four assists. Crawford had two points, four rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench.
Point guard Kedren Johnson had one of his better games in Tigers’ uniform as he scored 10 points on 2-3 from long range and dished three assists and committed zero turnovers in 26 minutes.
In fact, the Tigers only committed three turnovers on the night and Pastner said the team has come a long way since the first game of the season against Wichita State in which they turned the ball over 24 times.
"I'm really proud that we only had three turnovers," Pastner stressed. "I know Jacksonville State is not Wichita State. I understand that. But our first game of the year, we had 24 turnovers. This game, we had three. So, we've come a long way."
The Gamecocks stayed in the game in the first half part because of their three-point shooting, much like East Carolina did against the Tigers last Wednesday. Jacksonville State shot 4-8 from downtown in the first half, Malcolm Drumwright shot 2-3 from three and led the Gamecocks with 10 points in the first half. He finished the game with 12 points.
However, Tigers defense did well to hold the Gamecocks to 33 percent shooting from the field for the game and the Gamecocks only attempted three three-point attempts in the second half. The Tigers also dominated in the paint outscoring the Gamecocks 46-8 and on points off turnovers 22-0.
Memphis will return to conference play on Saturday as they will host the Temple Owls at FedExForum the game is schedule to tip at noon. ESPNews plans to show the game.
