Josh Pastner knows his team won’t break any shooting records. Since well before the current season opened two months ago, the Tiger coach has preached defense and ball protection. To win consistently, the 2015-16 Tigers must keep opponents from lighting up the scoreboard, and they must value every possession. Saturday at FedExForum may become the 40-minute prototype for the balance of the campaign.
The U of M held USF to 32 percent shooting and committed only three turnovers in beating the Bulls to improve to 12-5 (3-1 in American Athletic Conference play). Freshman forward Dedric Lawson earned his seventh double-double of the season (18 points and 12 rebounds) and the Tigers pulled away with a second-half sequence that featured two dunks each by Trahson Burrell and Shaq Goodwin. But if you’re looking for a sign this team may be turning a corner, look at that turnover total. (The team’s previous low was seven against Southern Miss in the season-opener.)
Larry Kuzniewski
Sam Craft
“You gotta give a lot of credit to Sam [Craft], the starting point guard,” said Pastner. “And Ricky [Tarrant] played 34 minutes: three assists, no turnovers. He’s had a total of 25 turnovers all year, and he’s played a lot of minutes. But Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson had no turnovers. Our biggest problem has been our bigs turning it over. We’ve got to take care of the ball Thursday [at Cincinnati].”
Craft started his second game less than a month after playing in the Birmingham Bowl for the Tigers’ football team. The junior hit four of six shots from the field for nine points. And Tarrant played every second of the first half, three days after getting three teeth loosened in a late-game collision with a Temple opponent. He scored nine points and picked up a pair of steals.
Goodwin struggled against a big USF frontcourt in the first half, but rallied late in the game to finish with 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Markel Crawford twisted an ankle early in the second half and had to be helped to the Tigers’ locker room, but he returned to the court not long after.
Angel Nunez led USF with 16 points and Jaleel Cousins grabbed 16 rebounds. The Bulls are now 3-16 and 0-6 in the AAC.
“We were knocking on the door,” said Pastner, reflecting on the season to date. “I think we were actually able to get through the door against Temple. We needed that, a confidence boost. But we’ve got to keep it going. The one thing we haven’t done well this season — in addition to shooting — is finish. Today, and this week, we finished strong.”
Craft is becoming the season’s most distinctive story line, having replaced Jeremiah Martin in the starting lineup without so much as practicing — basketball, that is — until January. “I feel myself getting better every day,” said Craft. “I’m just listening to Coach Pastner, soaking in what he has to say. Like everything else, it takes time. I’ll keep pushing forward.”
The Tigers will next push forward against longtime rival Cincinnati (now 13-6, losers to Temple Saturday). The Tigers and Bearcats meet Thursday night in Ohio.