Memphis defeats Tulane in the opening round of AAC tournament

With their backs against the wall and their objective of four wins in as many days clearly laid out for them, the University of Memphis men’s basketball team opened the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament Thursday with a mid-afternoon clash against the No.12 seeded Tulane Green Wave.  

Early on, the Tigers struggled to get into their usual rhythm, and the Green Wave was able to dictate the pace of play in the game’s opening minutes, but with Jeremiah Martin’s veteran presence and Tyler Harris’ electric shooting, with three triples in the first period, the Tigers clawed their way back and managed to take a 14-point lead before halftime. 

Although they were never able to fully break the score open in the second, contributions from across the board helped the Tigers pick up their third win against the Green Wave this season. Martin, who shook off a rocky start, lead the way once again with a game-high 21 points, seven assists, five board and three steals.  

“Tulane, to us, had nothing to lose because they didn’t win a game in conference,†UofM head coach Penny Hardaway said after his team’s 83-68 win. “So, we knew they had a week to prepare for us. We knew they were going to have something going with Jeremiah where they were going to try make someone else beat them.â€Â 

While Martin’s performance should not come as a surprise to anyone, it was his teammates, production that helped the Tigers get it done. Kyvon Davenport finished with 17 points and seven boards, and he managed to come alive in the second half when Tulane was keying their defensive efforts on Martin.  

“They had a five-man guarding him,†Hardaway said. “He’s too quick for that. There was not enough spacing for Kyvon to get going. We didn’t really recognize just how to get spacing and allow him to work more because he could have done more things. But the things he did in the second half were basically knock down his jump shot, and then he took advantage of his speed against the five-man and made plays because they tried to take Jeremiah out of the game.â€Â 

To go along with Davenport’s 17-point effort, Harris and Mike Parks Jr. also both finished with double-figure scoring totals. Harris ended with 12 points, all courtesy of three-point makes, and flashed the type of quick-trigger confidence that has helped him have such a successful freshman year. Meanwhile, Parks Jr. finished with a 14-point  13-rebound double-double performance in what was ultimately one of his best games of his collegiate career.  

“The one thing coach said, ‘We’re going to need everybody,’†Martin said. “So, everybody he put in, we will need from the guys on the bench that don’t even play. It’s great when you get production around the boy because he’s only going to make stress less on the people that need to make plays.â€Â 

Now, with the first round in the rearview, the Tigers turn their attention to Friday’s opponent, the No. 4 seeded UCF Knights. The teams split their two meetings during the regular season, but when they meet this time around, a spot in the conference semifinal will be on the line.  

“We felt like, you know, in both games, we had a good game plan,†Hardaway said. “So, we feel they will make adjustments on what we did to them to affect them. Here, we had a really good game and beat them by 20. Down there it went to the wire. They have a really good team. They might be the hottest team in our league right now, the way they finished the season and put themselves in the top 25.â€Â 

As they prepare to lock in for what will be their second game in less than 24 hours, the Tigers will be looking for a similar team-wide effort like they got against the Green Wave. For the sake of their NCAA tournament hopes, they’re going to need it.