Tramon Mark’s desperation heave from nearly 30 feet banked in at the buzzer Sunday afternoon to give 9th-ranked Houston a win over the Tigers. The shot came less than two seconds after Memphis guard Boogie Ellis tied things at 64 with a three-pointer from the right wing. The Cougars earned their 25th consecutive win at the Fertitta Center on a day the teams were originally scheduled to play at FedExForum in Memphis. (The venue was changed because their meeting in Houston was postponed due to positive Covid tests in the Memphis program.) Houston will enter next week’s American Athletic Conference as the second seed (behind Wichita State) with an overall record of 21-3 (14-3 in the AAC). Memphis will be the third seed with a record of 15-7 (11-4).
The game featured nine lead changes, and the Tigers were up by seven points in the first half. But three particular areas killed the Tigers’ chances for their first win over a top-10 team in seven years. Junior forward DeAndre Williams picked up his second foul less than six minutes into the game. After sitting on the bench for the final 14 minutes of the first half, Williams made an immediate impact after halftime, helping Memphis seize the lead (42-39) with a 7-0 run. But he picked up two more fouls and was limited to 19 minutes of action (in which he scored 11 points and handed out four assists).
The Tigers missed half of their 20 free throws. A few more makes and they wouldn’t have needed the late Ellis trey to stay in the game. Making matters worse, the Tigers surrendered 14 offensive rebounds to the active, attacking Cougars. Thus a team that shot 37 percent for the game beat a team that shot 46 percent from the field.
DeJon Jarreau led Houston with 19 points and Quentin Grimes added 17. Landers Nolley led Memphis with 14 points and Lester Quinones scored 11. (Quinones missed the front end of a critical one-and-one opportunity at the foul line in the game’s final minute. Memphis trailed by three points at the time.)
The loss is a significant blow to the Tigers’ chances for an at-large NCAA tournament bid. They’ll likely need to at least reach the final of the AAC tournament to make the field of 68 for the first time since 2014. The tournament opens Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. If seeding holds, Memphis would face Houston in the semifinals on Saturday.
