Head coach Penny Hardaway (tan suit) huddles with his team.
After splitting their road matchups against ECU and UCF, the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team (15-11) returns home to take on the Tulane Green Wave (4-20) on Feb. 20. The Tigers handled the Green Wave earlier in the season with a 83-79 victory in one of Memphis’ few road victories, which bodes well for a second matchup at the FedEx Forum.
Rebounding woes
While Tulane enters the game against Memphis with a 14-game losing streak, they should not be taken lightly, as they lost to the Tigers by only two possessions. A large factor in the close game was rebounding issues for the Tigers, as the Green Wave out rebounded Memphis 48-35 and secured more boards on both ends of the court.
Tulane had 19 offensive rebounds compared to Memphis’ 10, allowing for many second chance opportunities for the Green Wave. Memphis will need to fight for the second chance shots and not give Tulane the chances they were given the first time.
Jeremiah Martin leads the way
Senior Jeremiah Martin has transformed himself into not only a leader on the team, but also an offensive power house, averaging 27 points per game over the past five matchups and leading the Tigers in points in four of those games. He shot 52 percent from the field during that span.
Martin aims to repeat his stellar performance against the Green Wave last game in which he dropped 27 points on 9-of-15 from the field for 60 percent. The offense runs through Martina, and if the Tulane defense does not try to slow him down from the start, it will be a long night for the Green Wave.
Offensive advantage
While both teams give up an average of roughly 76 points against them, Memphis is far and beyond averaging more points per game with 81.3 points compared to Tulane’s 65.6 points per game. The game will take place in Memphis, which gives another huge advantage for the Tigers since the only teams they have lost to at home have been ranked opponents.
Memphis has a team average of shooting 45.9 percent compared to the Green Wave’s 40.9 percent from the field. For Tulane to pull off an upset, they will need to go shot-for-shot with the Tigers in the FedEx Forum and get the most out of their star players, such as their 6-foot-4 guard Caleb Daniels.
Daniels leads the Green Wave in points per game with 15.4 points while shooting 42.8 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from beyond the arc. Even then, Tulane may have trouble keeping up with a Tigers team that goes on runs, especially at home.
Conference standings
Tulane currently sits at the bottom of the American Athletic Conference with an 0-12 record. The Tigers are in the middle of the pack at the six seed with a record of 7-6.
Memphis still has a chance to secure a top seed for the conference tournament, but losing to a last place Tulane team would ruin the Tigers’ chances. Every game from here on out is a must-win.
