In a game that began late Thursday night and ended early this morning, the Tigers fell to Baylor in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Invitational. The U of M played well Thursday night (at least in the central time zone), taking a 32-29 lead over the Bears into halftime. But after midnight . . . all pumpkin. Baylor outscored the Tigers 42-15 over the game’s final 20 minutes to improve to 5-0 on the season. Memphis dropped to 1-2 and will face Indiana State in tonight’s consolation game.
The Tigers shot poorly (34 percent from the field, including a dreadful 4-for-21 in the second half) and again had trouble distributing the ball (eight assists against 14 turnovers). Baylor commanded the glass, too, pulling down 43 rebounds to the Tigers’ 32.
Pookie Powell led Memphis with 13 points off the bench but was the only Tiger in double digits. Shaq Goodwin (1 for 6) and Austin Nichols (3 for 10) never found a rhythm on offense. Goodwin again came off the bench but contributed only two points and four rebounds in 24 minutes. The most encouraging figure for the Tigers was their 40-percent mark from three point range (6 for 15). Powell, Avery Woodson, and Markel Crawford each hit two from long distance.
The U of M has not started a season 1-3 since the 2000-01 season, John Calipari’s first as head coach at Memphis.
