Memphis extended their winning streak to three as they defeated East Carolina 82-58 in Greenville.
The Tigers once again played great defense and had great effort for the entire game. All the starters played well.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin led the team in scoring with 20 points and shot 7 for 8 from the field. David Jones was great as well with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Nick Jourdain and Jahvon Quinerly also had great games on both ends of the floor. Jourdain had 14 points on 6 for 8 from the field while Quinerly had 10 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals.
Both teams started out slow. Memphis eventually picked it up and played great defense as well. They led for the entire first half and were up at halftime 36-24. Both teams struggled greatly in the first half with turnovers, Memphis had nine and East Carolina had ten. Memphis shot well from the field, shooting 55.6% but only 27.3% from three.
Out of the half, Memphis quickly forced three straight turnovers and jumped out to a 41-24 lead. It was never very close after this with their smallest lead in the second half being 15.
Memphis played a good offensive game but struggled with turnovers. They had 15 turnovers, but they shot 57.1% from the field and moved the ball well.
The Tigers’ defense was the difference maker in this game as it was in their previous two contests. They forced 17 turnovers and played hard for the entire game. They held East Carolina to 30.3% from the field and 14.8% from three.
Memphis’s defense has really picked up and it will determine how far they can go this season. The Tigers have struggled defensively at times this year, but if they play like they have recently, then they can make a run to the NCAA tournament and do damage in it as well.
Memphis is currently not on the NCAA tournament bubble according to Joe Lunardi’s projections, but they could get there if they win their final two games and go far in the American Conference tournament. Their next game is at home against UAB on Sunday at 4:30 P.M. CT on ESPN 2. Then they close out the regular season at Florida Atlantic.
