The University of Memphis (18-7, 8-4 AAC) basketball team will look to win their second straight game and seventh straight at home when they take on the Temple Owls (13-11, 4-7) Sunday Feb.12 at the FedEx Forum. Temple took the first of the two meetings earlier this season 77-66.
The last time these teams played, Shizz Alston Jr. led the owls with 22 points going 9-15 and 4-8 from three. Daniel Dingle added to that with 16 points on 5-8 from the field and 2-4 from three. Temple outshot Memphis by making 11 threes and shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
Guard Jeremiah Martin had a team high for the Tigers with 16 points and five assists. Markel Crawford had a similar stat line with 15 points and five assists. The Owls played solid defense on Dedric Lawson who had 13 points on 13 shots.
Three-point shooting and bench production was a problem in the first meeting with Temple. Memphis shot 26.3 percent from the arch, and the bench was outscored 20-14.
The Tigers shooting and bench production was better Tuesday against Tulsa when they made eight threes and the bench provided vital minutes and brought much needed energy to after going down 12-2 in the first half.
The Tigers are looking for a postseason bid to the NCAA tournament, but unless they win the conference tournament, this game is a must-win. Memphis already has loses to lesser teams and they cannot afford anymore.
This game provides a chance of redemption for the Lawson brothers. In their last meeting with Temple, KJ was held to four points going 1-7, and Dedric was held well below his season averages.
Dedric has been playing well as of late averaging more than 23 points per game over the last three and brought is double-double total to 16. Lawson also became the program’s 51 member of the 1,000 point club. The sophomore is now tied for 48 on the all-time Tiger scoring list, and his 33 career double doubles currently have him tied for sixth all-time.
K.J. has been struggling the past two weeks to score efficiently. His field goal percentage the past five games is 10 points down form his season average of 40.1 percent.
The Tigers’ defense will have to watch Alston Jr. to keep him from having another big game. The freshman guard is the Owls leading scorer and passer on the season. He is averaging 14 points and four assists per game. Alston Jr. is also finds way to disrupt opposing offenses with nearly two steal per contest.
Obi Enechionyia had just seven points in the first game against the Tigers, but he leads the Owls with 54 made threes on the year and averages six attempts per game. He is the teams second leading scorer and has made at least five three pointers three times on the year. He has the ability to have a big game if the Tigers do not defend the three.
Dedric and K.J. out jump the opposing team for the rebound. They are averaging a combined 32 points and 18 boards per game.
Markel pulls up and shoots over the defenders. He led the team with 19 points in the win against Tulsa Tuesday.
