The Tigers cruised to their sixth straight win Tuesday night at USF – and their ninth victory in ten games — to set up a huge clash this Sunday in Houston. Sophomore guard Boogie Ellis led the way with 18 points, hitting five of eight attempts from three-point range. The win was a dramatic improvement for the Tigers from the teams’ first meeting, a game won by a single point by Memphis at FedExForum on December 29th. The Tigers are now 15-6 overall and 11-3 in the American Athletic Conference while USF falls to 8-11 (4-9).
USF Athletics
Boogie Ellis
The Bulls missed 11 straight field-goal attempts in the first half and the Tigers enjoyed a 13-point lead (36-23) at the break. The Tigers extended the lead to 20 points eight minutes into the second half and continued to apply the clamps defensively, holding USF to 32 percent shooting. (The Bulls missed 15 of their 18 three-point attempts.)
DeAndre Williams scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Tigers, his second straight double-double. Lester Quinones added 12 points and seven rebounds. D.J. Jeffries came off the bench to put up nine points, four rebounds, and four assists. The Tigers played their second game without junior guard Alex Lomax, sidelined by an injury to his left ankle.
Memphis will now travel to Houston to face the 9th-ranked Cougars Sunday. And a win could clinch an NCAA tournament berth for the Tigers, currently considered on the “bubble” by most bracket prognosticators. It’s been more than seven years since the Tigers have beaten a Top-10 team, the program’s longest such drought in more than half a century. (Memphis beat 7th-ranked Louisville on March 1, 2014.) A win in Houston would also give the Tigers a dozen AAC regular-season wins, a total they’ve only reached once before (in the league’s inaugural 2013-14 season). Sunday’s game will tip-off at 11 a.m. and be televised nationally on CBS.
