The University of Memphis men’s basketball team continues to work towards the AAC tournament. After their win over UCF, ranked 30 spots above them, their ranking has improved and helped their chances at obtaining a bid to the tournament.
Coming off a convincing 83-61 win over Southern Methodist University that improved their conference record to 4-1 overall, the Memphis men’s basketball team now turns their attention to what will likely be one of their toughest league games of the season. Thursday night, the Tigers will take the floor in Philadelphia for a clash against the Temple Owls, who currently sit at 14-4 and already boast a home victory over 18-1 Houston.
In their win over SMU, the Tigers combined a relentless defensive effort with an efficient offensive attack to run away from their opponents in the second half. Combo guard Kareem Brewton continued his recent hot streak and finished with 20 points on a career best 6-11 from three-point range.
 More importantly, Memphis was able to limit the Mustangs’ top two scorers, Jahmal McMurray and Jimmy Whitt Jr., to a combined 18 points on a collective 6-23 from the field. Against the Owls, that same type of energy on the defensive end will go a long way in in securing a huge road win.
Temple’s roster features a trio of highly productive guards in Shizz Alston, Quinton Rose, and Nate Pierre-Louis. Alston Jr. leads the team in points per game with 18.9, but both Rose and Pierre-Louis average above 14 per contest as well. Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway knows containing the opposing backcourt will be vital to his team’s success in this one.
“They’re really good,†Hardaway said. “They’re all aggressive, and everybody knows that those guys are going to shoot the ball on a nightly basis, and they come out and take care of business on a nightly basis.â€
As January comes to a close and the end of regular season play approaches, games like this one will be extremely important in determining the ultimate outcome of the Tigers and their season. Against a tough, competitive team away from FedexForum, Hardaway’s Tigers will be tested greatly. Games like this one go a long way in helping build an NCAA tournament-worthy resume, and Hardaway is eager to see how his guys respond to the pressure.
“To talk about your question with the NCAA (tournament), I’ll never back off that,†Hardaway said. “We’ve had a good run, we feel like we have won the games that we were supposed to win, and now it’s time to go on the road and win a game that nobody is giving us a chance to win because everybody knows Temple is playing really well at home.â€
With their minds set on making the NCAA tournament field for the first time since Josh Pastner’s tenure as coach, the Memphis basketball team will have yet another opportunity to prove themselves Thursday night. Against a veteran group that includes an extremely dangerous scoring threat in Shizz Alston Jr., the Tigers will need to show up with the energy they displayed against SMU. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and both teams will be looking to avoid picking up their second conference loss.
