Penny Hardaway's Memphis Tigers(18-4, 8-1) fought through adversity and got the job done against conference foe Rice(11-11, 2-7) who gave the tigers a run for their money in an 86-83 game.
Both teams started off sloppy, but Memphis quickly jumped out to an early lead, thanks, in large part, to PJ Haggerty who scored early and often after struggling against Tulane.
Rice made it dicey late, but the Tigers prevailed to improve to 8-1 in American Athletic Conference play and take sole possession of first place.
Here's the good, the bad, and the big picture:
Good: Rebounding
A reoccurring struggle for Memphis so far this season has been rebounding, but the Tigers were able to win the battle of the boards by two against Rice.
PJ Haggerty finished with 8 rebounds for the Tigers, while Nick Jourdain nabbed 7 in the contest.
Good: PJ Mania
Memphis' two PJs, who both had a personal connection in this game, led the way offensively for the Tigers.
Haggerty, who grew up 30 minutes from Rice, went for 26 points, 8 boards, and 5 assists in his homecoming. Meanwhile, PJ Carter, who originally committed to Rice this offseason before switching to Memphis, scored 19 points in 25 minutes shooting 6-9 (5-7 from 3).
Carter, who is now 19/19 from the charity stripe on the season, calmly sank two big free throws late. He also got the game clinching steal in the final seconds.
Carter's continued growth has been huge for Memphis. In the past 3 games, he has scored 47 points.
Bad: Turnovers
Yet again, the turnover bug plagued Memphis. The Tigers turned the ball over 16 times to Rice's 14, helping the Owls stay in the game.
Rice scored 23 points off Memphis turnovers, while the Tigers were only able to get 15 points off of the Owls' giveaways.
Bad: Foul Trouble
Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse each picked up their fourth foul with more than ten minutes left in the game, limiting Memphis' ability to trap defensively.
Like the FAU game, Dainja was able to play heavy minutes down the stretch without picking up his fifth, but the Tigers can ill afford to have both of their centers in danger.
Big Picture
Memphis was up 11 at one point in the game and with 2 minutes to go they had a 10 point advantage, but the Tigers allowed Rice to stay in the game.
With the calendar turned to February, Memphis will need to continue to win, regardless of the margin to maintain their solid positioning for NCAA tournament seeding.
Memphis’ next game is Tulsa at home Wednesday at 7p.m. CT.
