Count Tulsa among the programs Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers are chasing.
In a game only an empty FedExForum could love, the Tigers made more turnovers (20) than field goals (17) and coughed up a late lead in falling to the Golden Hurricane 11 months after a 40-point embarrassment in Oklahoma. Landers Nolley gave the Tigers a 44-38 lead with a three-pointer with 4:30 left in the contest, but following a technical foul against Nolley, Tulsa scored 14 of the game’s next 15 points to secure its first win in American Athletic Conference play. (Nolley apparently said the wrong thing to the Tulsa bench after his trey.) Tulsa is now 3-3 on the season (1-1 in the AAC), while Memphis falls to 5-4 (1-1).
Memphis Athletics/Joe Murphy
DeAndre Williams
The Tigers took the lead early in the game on a dynamic dunk by Jayden Hardaway, son of a coach who earlier in the day signed a five-year extension to lead the Memphis program through the 2025-26 season. The Tiger lead extended to eight points (27-19) at halftime, though neither team showed any offensive fluidity.
A Darien Jackson field goal gave Tulsa a 45-44 lead, the midway point of that late 14-1 run that decided the game for the defending AAC champions. (Tulsa shared the 2019-20 regular season title with Cincinnati and Houston.) Jackson added two more layups in the final minute and finished with nine points off the Hurricane bench. Austin Richie led the visitors with 14 points.
Junior transfer DeAndre Williams made his first start as a Tiger and led Memphis with 13 points. No teammate scored as many as 10. Williams also pulled down nine rebounds. The Tigers made only 17 of 53 field-goal attempts.
The Tigers return to FedExForum for their next game on December 29th when USF comes to town. No tickets will be sold for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus restrictions.
