The Tigers survived a frenetic, sloppy final minute of play Sunday afternoon to beat a longtime rival and secure their eighth win in nine games. The Cincinnati Bearcats reduced a 10-point Tiger lead to two points (73-71) with twenty seconds to play (thanks to consecutive Memphis turnovers on in-bounds plays), but the Tigers hit seven of eight free throws to escape with a win and improve to 14-6 for the season and 10-3 in the American Athletic Conference. Cincinnati drops to 9-9 (7-6).
The Tigers led start to finish and five players hit double figures in the scoring column. Boogie Ellis drained four three-pointers on his way to 17 points. Landers Nolley and Malcolm Dandridge each scored 14, Moussa Cisse had 11 (to go along with six rebounds), and DeAndre Williams came close to a triple-double with 10 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. As a team, Memphis shot 43 percent from the field and dominated the glass, pulling down 45 rebounds (15 offensive) to Cincinnati’s 32.
Mike Saunders Jr. and Keith Williams led Cincinnati with 19 points each.
The game will be the only meeting between the Tigers and Bearcats before the AAC tournament, the game in Memphis (scheduled for February 11th) having been cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions in the Tiger program. It’s only the Tigers’ third win this season on the floor of an AAC opponent. (They won at Tulane and East Carolina.)
Memphis played without junior guard Alex Lomax, sidelined with a left-ankle injury. Lomax is expected to miss the Tigers’ next game, Tuesday night at USF.
Should the Tigers beat the Bulls Tuesday, they could be playing for an NCAA tournament berth next Sunday in Houston. Their game with the 12th-ranked Cougars was originally scheduled for FedExForum, but has been moved to Texas by the AAC because Houston’s home game was among the postponements during the Covid shutdown.
For Penny Hardaway, the win gives him one more (two) as a coach against Cincinnati than he had in two years as a Tiger player.
