Memphis will begin the first of their conference season defining four game set, when the no. 21 SMU Mustangs visit the FedExForum on Thursday.
The Tigers (17-10, 9-5 American Athletic Conference) will head into this game on a three-game winning streak after beating the University of South Florida, UConn and the University of Central Florida.
But the upcoming game could prove to be a challenge for the Tigers. The Mustangs (22-5, 13-2 AAC) are one of the hottest teams in the country heading into this matchup. They’ve won 20 of the last 22 games with their only two losses in that span coming against the Cincinnati Bearcats (18-9, 9-5 AAC).
Despite the challenging lineup, Coach Josh Pastner expressed enthusiasm for the game Wednesday.
“We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us with the final home stand of the year,” Pastner said. “We’re playing against really good teams. Not just these two (SMU, Tulsa), but the next two (UConn, Cincinnati) on the road next week. Then you’re going into the conference tournament. Every game will be a possession game, and it will be a heck of a stretch run. I’m excited as can be.”
SMU is currently in first place in the AAC, half a game ahead of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Memphis is currently tied for fourth place with the Bearcats.
SMU had their way with Memphis beating them convincingly 73-59, during their first matchup on Jan. 8 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The Tigers allowed the Mustangs to shoot 52 percent from the field and let them get to the line 26 times. SMU went 18-26 from the charity stripe.
One assuring sign for Memphis going in is that point guard Kedren Johnson will probably play a much bigger role than he did when the two teams faced off last month. He went scoreless and assist-less, registering a single rebound in eight minutes played.
Although the Tigers will need star forward Austin Nichols continue the level of play that earned him American Player of the Week honors on Monday. He only had 11 points on 5-12 shooting, three rebounds and three blocks in the Jan. 8 matchup.
Pastner said he will need his upperclassmen Johnson, forward Shaq Goodwin and Nichols to play at a high level for the Tigers to be successful.
“If our upperclassmen and I would say Kedren is a junior, Shaq is a junior, and as much as Austin has played he’s literally a junior,” Pastner said. “Those upperclassmen who are starting have got to be big for us.”
Pastner also said, if he could vote for his own player for AAC Player of the Year—he can't—he would vote for Nichols.
“I think he’s (Nichols) as good as anyone in the league,” Pastner said. “If I got a vote and I had chance to I would vote for Austin Nichols as (AAC) player of the year.”
The Tigers defense will have to contain forward Markus Kennedy. Kennedy, who was ruled academically ineligible for the first semester of the season, terrorized Memphis in the first matchup scoring 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench in the 73-59 win.
Nichols said they’ll have to try and take Kennedy out of the game on Thursday.
“He’s physical. He’s a good player,” Nichols said. “He has a big body. He has high-energy and a high motor. Just one of the factors we have to take out early is Kennedy. He’s a great player.”
Memphis’ defense did hold SMU to 1-6 from the three-point line in the loss. That seemed to be more of an aberration because the Mustangs lead the American in three-point shooting percentage at 37 percent.
Three players Memphis will hope to keep off the three-point line are guard Nic Moore (45 percent), guard Sterling Moore (43 percent) and guard Ryan Manuel (43 percent).
Moore also happens to be one of the point guards in the country. He’s averaging 14.5 points and leads the AAC in assists with 5.4 a game.
Nichols said the Tigers must protect home court regardless of the opponent.
“I’ve said it before the season, we’ve got to protect home court,” Nichols said. “We just got to win. We’ve got to find a way to win.”
Memphis will take on SMU on Thursday at 8 p.m. at FedExForum. ESPN2 will televise the game.
