Tag: Shaq Goodwin

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Memphis Tigers Postmortem

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

An offseason brings questions, and for the 2015-16 Memphis Tigers the questions are big (“yuuuuge,” a certain Donald might say). Josh Pastner’s seventh team applied a bit of lipstick to a pig of a season with a run to the American Athletic Conference championship game last weekend. But in coming up short against UConn, the Tigers (19-15) will be filling out brackets like millions of other fans this week instead of analyzing an opponent (and potential opponents) in the NCAA tournament.

A few questions that need answering by November:

Larry Kuzniewski

Josh Pastner

• How did the Tiger program fall so far?
After his team’s win over UCF on February 17th, Pastner went in an interesting direction with his postgame comments. The win over the Knights had improved the Tigers’ record to 15-11. Said the coach, “Besides the Ole Miss game at home — and we had an hour-and-a-half black-out [before tipoff] — and the game against UConn at home, the other nine losses . . . we should have won the game probably. We had chances to win in the last two minutes of the game. We should have won the games. Even if we had won six of the nine, it would be a different deal. We’ve blown a lot of games. We haven’t gotten some breaks, whether it’s injuries or the ball hasn’t bounced our way, the whistle hasn’t gone our way. Basketball is a make-and-miss game. You gotta be really good defensively, and we got away from that.”

Pastner didn’t mean the comments to be self-incriminating, but they encapsulate the view held by most of his critics. He’s not helping the Memphis program win games. Coaches have little, if anything, to do with blowouts (wins or losses). Talent disparity will turn some games ugly every season. But the close games, those decided in the final minutes . . . these are the moments a coach makes himself valuable, the moments where he stabilizes his team and secures his job standing. Recruiting and development will determine a team’s talent level. But there will always be close games, and a coach has to help win them. If the Tigers lost nine games (at least) this season they should have won, their coach is a primary culprit.

• Did the Tigers’ run in the AAC tourney help Pastner’s job status?
The wins last weekend were the most fun the Tigers (and their fans) had this season. But it’s hard to imagine a pair of March wins — over Tulsa and Tulane — in a near-empty arena in Orlando helping to fill FedExForum next November. Memphis finally did have some breaks: 1) No SMU in the field, 2) Opposite side of the bracket from UConn and Cincinnati, 3) Tulane’s quarterfinal upset of Houston. And they took advantage for a pair of blowout victories. But back to the previous question: Coaches have little to do with blowouts. I don’t see Pastner’s Q rating getting a bump.

• Will Dedric Lawson be back for a second season?
Having been wrong so often, I’ve quit forecasting a star underclassman’s return to the Memphis program. There have been young Tigers needing more college development who have still left after one or two seasons: Darius Washington, Elliot Williams, Will Barton, Adonis Thomas. Whatever the mock drafts might say (and none have Lawson going in the first round this year), whatever our eyes might tell us about a player’s shortcomings, the mighty dollar is the loudest and most consistent influence on a player’s decision to stay in college or declare for the draft.

Larry Kuzniewski

Dedric Lawson

I’d like to think family sentiment might keep the talented Lawson in a Tiger uniform. Would he like a full season playing with his older brother, K.J.? (K.J. was redshirted after suffering an early-season foot injury.) Would he like to play another year under his dad’s watch? (Keelon Lawson completed his second season as an assistant on Pastner’s staff.) Dedric’s decision will come down to Keelon’s view of his son’s value (or future value) for an NBA team. Only one scout or GM needs to suggest Lawson is a pro for him to take the leap. And I think that’s what will happen.

• Is there anything positive to Pastner remaining head coach at Memphis?
This, of course, is the $10.6 million question. It’s hard to imagine Josh Pastner wanting to stay in a place where a fan base and, yes, media have turned so sour on his job performance. To date, he’s spoken (publicly) as though he intends to be back for an eighth season, to welcome Charlie Moore and Jimario Rivers to a roster that will require much more to make next season an improvement over the last two. You could say he has 10.6 million reasons to make this his public stance. That buyout clause hinges on Pastner being fired.

And $10.6 million is a lot of money to pay someone not to work for you. That’s the only positive I see in a scenario that has Pastner back on the bench for the U of M. The athletic department at the university will spare itself the embarrassment of the worst contract in college basketball history blowing up in the lobby.

An announcement will be made soon, one way or the other. And there will be angry Memphis Tiger fans, either way. This is one definition of misery. Sad but true, 19-15 seasons are beneath the standard for the University of Memphis. For now, be grateful for one season with the sublime Dedric Lawson and four with Shaq Goodwin. And take comfort knowing football season is less than six months away.

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AAC Championship: Connecticut 72, Tigers 58

The UConn Huskies extinguished the Tigers’ last flicker of hope for an NCAA tournament bid in winning the 2016 American Athletic Conference tournament title today in Orlando. UConn led virtually start to finish and and answered a pair of second-half Tiger runs with tears of their own. Despite committing four fouls, Shonn Miller led Connecticut with 13 points and Rodney Purvis added 12 as the Huskies improved to 24-10 with their third win over Memphis this season.

The Tigers trailed by 13 (32-19) at halftime, having missed 19 of their 25 shots over the game’s first 20 minutes. But a 13-1 run keyed by a three-point shot and three free throws from Ricky Tarrant Jr. brought the Tigers within four (36-40) with just over 13 minutes to play. UConn stretched the lead back to 17 (59-42) only to later see Memphis score nine straight points to pull within eight with 3:05 left on the clock. The Huskies countered once more, though, scoring 10 of the game’s final 14 points. The win is UConn’s first in the AAC final after losses the previous two seasons.

Four players for each team finished the game with four fouls. UConn shot 46 percent from the field while Memphis hit 38 percent.

Tiger forward Dedric Lawson scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to tie the program’s freshman record for double-doubles (17) set by Keith Lee in 1981-82. Tarrant was the only other Memphis player with double figures (11) on the scoreboard.

While the Huskies await their seeding and placement in the NCAA dance party, Memphis (19-15) is left to wonder if its run to the tourney final will be enough for a bid to the NIT. (An 18-14 record wasn’t enough last March.) If theTigers don’t land a berth in the second-tier event, today’s game will have been the last in a Memphis uniform for seniors Shaq Goodwin, Trahson Burrell, and Tarrant. Speculation will begin on the status of Lawson, the AAC Rookie of the Year and now eligible to enter this summer’s NBA draft.

The last time Memphis missed consecutive NCAA tournaments was in 2001 and 2002 under coach John Calipari. The Tigers reached the NIT semifinals in ’01 and won the event the next year.

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Senior Day ’16: Love Shaq?

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Senior Day can be awkward. Before the Tigers’ 2014-15 home finale, the only senior on the roster — Calvin Godfrey — walked to center court to receive the customary salute, along with a framed jersey from coach Josh Pastner. It’s a special moment to witness every year.

But Godfrey played exactly one season of basketball for Memphis. We were just getting to know the lunch-pail forward when it was time to say goodbye. Such will be the case again this Sunday, when two more senior “one-and-dones” suit up at FedExForum for the last time. Caleb Wallingford made more impact as a U of M pitcher than he did as a guard on the hardwood. (He started 13 games for the 2015 Tiger baseball team.) Ricky Tarrant Jr. took over point guard duties this winter and became, in the eyes of Pastner, a member of this team’s key trio, pivotal to the success (or failures) of the squad. He’ll be saluted, though, having played more college games for Tulane than for Memphis (and a few for Alabama).
Larry Kuzniewski


Kedren Johnson and Trahson Burrell are a bit more familiar, having spent two seasons in blue and gray, with Burrell taking star turns this season as the Tigers’ sixth man. (Against East Carolina on January 24th, Burrell finished one assist shy of becoming just the third Memphis player to record a triple-double.)

But we know Shaq Goodwin, know him well. The Atlanta native — a McDonald’s All-American from Southwest DeKalb High School — is a member of a dying breed in college basketball: the four-year starter. If you’re good enough to start as a freshman at a prominent program these days, surely you’ll be cashing your first NBA paycheck before any music is played on Senior Day. Not Shaq Goodwin, though.

If Goodwin doesn’t miss another game, he should finish his Tiger career at least tied for 10th in games played. With 39 more points, Goodwin will join an exclusive club in Memphis history, players who rank among the program’s top 15 in scoring and top 10 in rebounds. The three others: Keith Lee, Forest Arnold, and Kelly Wise. Having entered the season with career averages of 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, Goodwin saved his best basketball for his senior campaign. His 14.9 points per game this season rank ninth in the American Athletic Conference. His 8.2 rebounds per game rank sixth. Only teammate Dedric Lawson ranks as highly in both categories. A second-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore, Goodwin will get plenty of votes for the first team at season’s end.

But Shaq Goodwin’s legacy as a Tiger will be one with contradictions. He was awarded the AAC’s Sportsmanship Award as a junior and has played with the brightest smile this program has seen in recent memory. But his senior year has been tarnished by a suspension for tripping an opponent (from the Tiger bench) and the technical foul he earned for dangling from the rim — by his right elbow — following a breakaway dunk at Tulane. The latter penalty provided the Green Wave a precious point in a game Memphis lost in overtime, one of the most embarrassing defeats in Goodwin’s college career. This is a young man you’d want babysitting your kids — especially with a basketball court nearby — but not necessarily occupying the next seat in a boardroom. Childish exuberance can be endearing until it presents as immaturity.
Larry Kuzniewski

When I asked Goodwin last fall about his primary objective as a senior, he emphasized consistency. And he has indeed been the most consistently solid performer on the Tigers’ current roster. Alas, Goodwin’s elevated play won’t be enough to reach the NCAA tournament unless the Tigers catch lightning in a bottle at the AAC tournament next month in Orlando. Among all the games Goodwin has played as a Tiger, only four were in the Big Dance. It’s a contradiction matched only by Anthony Rice (three NCAA tournament games) among the U of M’s career-games leaders.

I’ll miss Shaq Goodwin. He stuck around while prominent teammates like Tarik Black, Nick King, and Austin Nichols chose to jump ship for other programs where they’d be more comfortable. (Goodwin will graduate in May with a degree in Human Services.) Goodwin has stood by his embattled head coach, displaying the kind of loyalty rarely seen in boardrooms of struggling companies, let alone college basketball programs in the crosshairs of a fed-up fan base. There’s maturity in that, a grace that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Sunday’s game will not be a sellout. Who knows how many Tiger fans will be standing and cheering for the pregame senior salutes. It won’t be as many as Shaq Goodwin envisioned when he played his first game as a Tiger in November 2012. But he will have earned the cheers. As for those in attendance, they should be grateful for one last smile, among the brightest in Memphis Tigers history.

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USF 80, Memphis 71

It’s time we no longer classify these losses as embarrassing. East Carolina. Tulane. Now a USF team that entered this morning’s game in Tampa having lost all six of its home games in AAC play. No, the Memphis Tigers are among the have-nots in the AAC, to say nothing of the larger, 351-team Division 1 picture. If not to be expected, these losses are the state of things at the U of M.

Nehemias Morillo (19 points) and Jahmal McMurray (17) led the way for the Bulls, who ended a nine-game losing streak in the series with Memphis (dating back to January 2003). The Tigers led, 51-49, with eight minutes to play, but USF enjoyed a 7-0 run on its way to outscoring Memphis 31-20 the rest of the contest.

The Tigers shot 36 percent from the field and worse (28 percent) from three-point range. And they missed free throws (10 for 20). Senior forward Dedric Lawson earned his fifth straight double-double (and 13th of the season) with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but senior forward Shaq Goodwin had his worst game in two months (6 points, 2 for 10 from the field). Avery Woodson scored 17 for the Tigers and Nick Marshall added nine points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Now 15-12 (6-8 in the AAC) with only one road win, the Tigers will book the program’s worst road record since at least 1999-2000 when they went 3-8 away from home in Johnny Jones’s lone season as head coach.

The Tigers will host 21st-ranked SMU next Thursday at FedExForum then play their home finale (against Tulsa) on February 28th.

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Tigers 63, Cincinnati 59

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Thirty-nine hours after their most dispiriting loss of the season, the Tigers secured their biggest win to date. With double-doubles from Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson (each had 20 points and 11 rebounds), the U of M never trailed Cincinnati and avoided what would have been the first three-game losing streak in seven years under coach Josh Pastner. Junior guard Avery Woodson drained a three-pointer from the right wing after the Bearcats’ Troy Caupain had closed the Memphis lead to one with 1:45 left in the game. He and Ricky Tarrant Jr. combined to hit four free throws in the game’s final 15 seconds to lock up the victory. And the win couldn’t be more of a relief, particularly for Pastner.
Larry Kuzniewski

Dedric Lawson

“We just needed to start fresh,” said Pastner, who spent almost the entire game seated in his chair on the Memphis bench. “Nine-game [regular] season, let’s see how it goes. No regrets. Let’s leave it on the floor, have fun, have toughness. New day, new season. Let the chips fall where they fall. We had a good practice yesterday, and a good team meeting. The guys responded. All credit goes to the players. That’s not an easy situation to play in: two-game losing streak, tons of negativity, and a quick turnaround against a very good Cincinnati team.”

Among the players who responded with the greatest impact was swingman Trahson Burrell, back in the rotation after a one-game disciplinary suspension. Burrell contributed nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block . . . and could have played better (he missed 11 of 14 attempts from the field). He exuded the positive energy his coach craves after the game. “I love Coach P,” said Burrell. “He’s looked out for me the last two years; helped me become a man.”

Freshman Craig Randall made his first start for the Tigers (in place of Sam Craft). Pastner said he wanted to “get a look” at Randall in the interests of relieving the minutes load Tarrant has carried all season. Randall’s only two points were the first two of the game. He delivered a pair of assists in 12 minutes on the floor. (Tarrant only took one shot from the field and played just 18 minutes.)

Similar to Thursday night against Connecticut, the Tigers played much better in the first half than they did in the second. But their halftime lead today (15 points) proved to be just enough for the win, despite only six field goals made in the second half. Memphis outrebounded the Bearcats, 49-38, and made 18 of 24 free throws. The Tigers committed 13 turnovers, seven fewer than in the loss to the Huskies.

Memphis improves to 14-9 for the season and 5-5 in the American Athletic Conference, while Cincinnati falls to 17-7 (7-4). The Tigers and Bearcats have split their two meetings each of the last two seasons. Caupain led Cincinnati with 17 points and Gary Clark added 15.

The U of M hits the road for its next two games, at Houston (Wednesday) and at Tulane (next Saturday).

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#13 SMU 80, Tigers 68

No contest. The SMU Mustangs may be ineligible for postseason play this season, but they made clear the disparity between their talented roster and that of the Memphis Tigers Saturday night at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Led by point guard Nic Moore (the favorite for American Athletic Conference Player of the Year scored 22 points), the Mustangs led by 11 points just nine minutes into the game and Memphis never closed within single digits.

The loss is a damaging opener to the hardest four-game stretch of the Tigers’ season. Now 13-8 and 4-4 in the AAC, the U of M will face Connecticut (Thursday) and Cincinnati (Saturday) at home in what amounts to must-win games for any chance at a favorable seeding in the AAC tournament come March. The team’s chances for an at-large NCAA tournament bid likely died last Sunday when East Carolina won its first league game at FedExForum.

The Tigers were held to 34-percent shooting (22 for 65) and missed 15 of 20 attempts from three-point range. SMU controlled the glass with 47 rebounds to the Tigers’ 32.

Senior Shaq Goodwin led the Tigers with 18 points before fouling out late in the second half. Two Memphis starters — guards Sam Craft and Markel Crawford — failed to score, freshman forward Dedric Lawson missed seven of eight shots from the field (seven points, 12 rebounds), and Ricky Tarrant Jr. was held to 10 points before also fouling out. Freshman guard Jeremiah Martin contributed 11 points off the bench, his highest point total of the season.

Shake Milton scored 13 points for SMU with Sterling Brown and Ben Moore each adding 12. The Mustangs are now 19-1 for the season and in control atop the AAC standings with an 8-1 mark. SMU will visit FedExForum for a rematch on February 25th, by which time both teams may be playing solely for pride.

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East Carolina 84, Tigers 83

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

“I didn’t see this coming. I thought we were ready to go.” Josh Pastner can only hope that Sunday afternoon represents the nadir in his seventh season as coach of the Memphis Tigers. In front of a typically sparse FedExForum crowd, Memphis fell to an East Carolina team that entered the contest 0-6 in American Athletic Conference competition and 0-7 in road games. Prince Williams hit two free throws with four seconds left on the clock, erasing the one-point lead Tiger forward Trahson Burrell had given Memphis five seconds earlier. (Burrell missed the first of his two free throws.) With the win the Pirates improve to 9-11 overall while Memphis falls to 12-7 (3-3 in the AAC). The loss is a damaging blow both to the Tigers’ chances for a regular-season AAC championship and thoughts of an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament.

“I’m not going to say we took them lightly,” said Burrell after the game. “But we weren’t as up as if we were playing [top-ranked] Oklahoma again. It’s natural to play to the level of your competition, but I wouldn’t say we took them for granted. We came out in the first half very sluggish.”
Larry Kuzniewski

“They shot 75 percent [six for eight] on threes in the first half,” emphasized senior Shaq Goodwin, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds despite playing most of the second half in foul trouble. “You can say it came down to this play or that play, but really it comes down to us holding our principles as a team. You’ve got to forget the good and the bad. I’m gonna talk to the team and tell them to forget about what just happened; we can’t go back. All we can do is prepare for UCF and get better.”

The Tigers were indeed dreadful in the first half, allowing ECU to shoot 61 percent overall and take a 45-36 lead after 20 minutes. The team’s top scorer and rebounder, freshman Dedric Lawson, had only four points at the break and not a single rebound. He hit nine of ten shots from the field in the second half and was central to the Tigers’ comeback, finishing with a game-high 27 points (one more than the Pirates’ B.J. Tyson). Lawson scored six points on consecutive possessions — a layup, free throw, and three-pointer — to give Memphis a 74-73 lead with six minutes left to play. Memphis would surrender the lead and take it back three times before the final sequence at the free-throw stripe won the game for ECU.

Burrell had his second consecutive strong game off the Tiger bench, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Ricky Tarrant Jr. committed his fourth foul with 12:27 left and never re-entered the game. Pastner said he felt both Tarrant and Sam Craft fell short of expectations as floor leaders in the loss. Tarrant missed five of his six shots from the field while Craft scored 10 points in 24 minutes.

The Tigers committed 16 turnovers, their most in 10 games, leading to 25 points for the Pirates.

“A bad loss,” stressed Pastner. “We were in quicksand the first 20 minutes of the game. They hit a bunch of threes. Markel Crawford cut a screen [early], and they hit a three for some confidence. They were on fire. I’m disappointed, but there’s no time for self-pity or pointing fingers. We need to find a way to get a win Tuesday [at UCF]. The last two games, our perimeter defense has not been good. It’s kicked our butt.”

The Tigers’ next two games will be on the road, Tuesday at UCF then next Saturday at SMU. (The Mustangs lost their first game of the season today at Temple.) They’ll return to FedExForum to host Connecticut on February 4th.

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Memphis Tiger Basketball: Midseason Musing

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Four thoughts on the Tigers’ season as conference play heats up.

• When Ricky Tarrant Jr. stepped to the foul line last Wednesday against Temple, I thought of Darius Washington Jr. and the very same foul line, not quite 11 years ago. Washington, you may recall, went to the line with his team trailing Louisville by two points in the 2005 Conference USA championship game, time having expired. Having been fouled attempting a three-point shot, Washington had the chance to earn an unlikely NCAA tournament berth for Memphis. With the no players on either side of the lane for the shots, Washington made the first but missed the next two, falling to the FedExForum floor in a heap of misery. If you were there and had a heart, it was painful to witness.

Tarrant made his two shots. And with a mouth full of blood and three loose teeth. The shots beat a tough Temple bunch, many of whom remembered winning a nail-biter in the same building last season. And there really seemed to be little doubt the shots would hit their mark, Tarrant being this team’s best free-throw shooter (86 percent) and, more and more it seems, its metaphorical backbone. A team — and a season — often has moments that flip the script. These Tigers have not beaten many talented teams. But they did last Wednesday, and with a late-game comeback that included their leader’s ability to literally swallow blood and answer the bell. The challenge now, of course, is to make that moment the start of something big.

Larry Kuzniewski

Sam Craft and Josh Pastner

• The Sam Craft story is developing momentum. Less than three weeks after playing in the Birmingham Bowl for the Memphis football team, Craft started his first game at point guard for the Tigers (in the win over Temple). Now with two starts and a total of 54 minutes (over four games) under his belt, Craft has exactly zero turnovers. Pastner insists he believes in freshman point guard Jeremiah Martin, who started five games before Craft took over against Temple. But the coach described Craft’s skill at “organizing our team” in making the decision to start the former (and presumably future) tailback. 

And there’s this. “Bigs are hard to get,” said Pastner after last Saturday’s win over USF, “but for perimeter players, I believe in guys who have been around winning. I’ve really shifted toward that. And Sam’s a winner. He won in high school [a 2011 state championship at Craigmont, where he was the state-tournament MVP], and he’s won in football. That matters. He’s a flat-out winner.” In playing terms, Craft is a basketball freshman. In winning terms, he’s a veteran. Consider this an intangible worth watching the remainder of the season.

• How will these Tigers handle the road? It’s really impossible to tell, the team having played 14 of 17 games to date at FedExForum. (What other sport includes this kind of home-cooking in drawing up a schedule? In seven years under coach Josh Pastner, the Tigers have played 66 road games, 30 on neutral courts, and a whopping 127 at home.) The Tigers have 14 more regular-season games, eight of them away from home, starting Thursday night in Cincinnati. Pastner’s winning percentage at home is .842. His winning percentage in those 66 games with hostile fans: .576. The U of M went 5-5 on the road in each of its first two seasons in the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers lost their only two true road games this season, but played well at both South Carolina and Connecticut. Starting Thursday night in Ohio, we’ll see if this group is worthy of NCAA tournament consideration. Another 5-5 season away from home won’t do it.

• With seven double-doubles already, Dedric Lawson is well on his way to becoming just the third Tiger freshman to have ten such games. Keith Lee had 17 in 1981-82, a season that saw Memphis [State] go 24-5 and reach the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 a year after missing out on the Big Dance. Lorenzen Wright had 15 in 1994-95, a season that saw Memphis go 24-10 and reach the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 a year after missing out on the Big Dance. 

Can Lawson be the swing variable for another Memphis team trying to return to the only college basketball tournament that matters? He’s currently averaging 14.5 points and 8.9 rebounds, not quite the numbers posted by Lee (18.3 and 11.0) and Wright (14.8 and 10.2) as rookies. But with Shaq Goodwin playing like a senior with McDonald’s All-American on his resume (13.8 and 8.3), Tarrant in command of the offense, and role players like Avery Woodson and Trahson Burrell making a difference, Lawson can continue to quietly climb the Tiger freshman-record book. But he needs to register a few double-doubles against the AAC’s best. Against UConn two weeks ago, Lawson had but 10 points and four rebounds in 36 minutes. This week’s tilt in Cincinnati is the kind of game that measures a player’s impact, freshman or otherwise.

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Tigers 71, USF 56

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

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.

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#23 Connecticut 81, Tigers 78

For the second straight Saturday, the Tigers battled a Top-25 team to the final minutes on the road. And for the second straight Saturday, they came up short. Tonight in Storrs, Connecticut, Avery Woodson gave Memphis a 75-74 lead with a three-pointer from the left corner with 51 seconds to play. But the Huskies drew fouls on their next two possessions and made all four free throws (two by Sterling Gibbs and two by Daniel Hamilton). Trahson Burrell missed a jumper and Woodson missed a three-point attempt that would have tied the score at 78. A desperation heave by Dedric Lawson missed its mark as time expired.

The loss drops Memphis to 10-5 for the season (1-1 in American Athletic Conference play), while UConn improves to 11-4 (2-1).

Senior forward Shaq Goodwin picked up two fouls in the game’s first four minutes and watched the rest of the first half from the Tiger bench. (This after serving a suspension and missing the Tigers’ win over Nicholls State four days ago.) He dominated much of the second half and finished with 23 points before fouling out with just over a minute to play. Lawson also battled foul trouble, finishing with 10 points but making only four of 13 attempts from the field.

Gibbs led the way for UConn with 26 points, draining five of seven shots from long range. Rodney Purvis added 13 and Hamilton 12. As a team, the Huskies hit nine of 19 three-pointers (47 percent) and shot 43 percent overall.

Ricky Tarrant Jr. scored 15 points for the Tigers and Burrell added 17 off the bench. The Tigers kept in the game by hitting 84 percent of their free throws (26 for 31) and winning the rebound battle, 32-26. The case could be made the Tigers’ three most impressive outings this season have been losses, against Oklahoma, South Carolina, and now the Huskies.

The Tigers return to FedExForum Wednesday night to host Temple and will host USF next Saturday.