Memphis ended the regular season with a perfect record in Conference USA, not a perfect performance.
“This game was stressful for us,” Chris Douglas-Roberts said.
Instead of another runaway victory against SMU, the No. 6 Tigers needed a late basket and two second-chance free throws from Douglas-Roberts to win 64-61 on Saturday night for their 19th straight victory — including all 16 C-USA games.
The Tigers (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) overcame an early 11-point deficit to lead at halftime, but didn’t go ahead for good until Douglas-Roberts hit a 3-pointer to make it 59-57 with 3:47 left. Douglas-Roberts had 19 points, including two free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining right after he had missed two.
“We’ve been playing for March for 1½-2 months,” coach John Calipari said. “We know we have to play better than this to advance.”
Memphis played its third game since clinching its second straight C-USA title, but capped the regular season as the first to go through the league without a loss since Cincinnati in 1999-2000.
The last victory was much more difficult than expected. …
