So much for life without Jeremiah Martin. After a pair of wins without their star point guard, the Tigers suffered their worst home loss in memory Thursday night at FedExForum. The USF Bulls — 1-15 in the American Athletic Conference and number 295 (out of 351) in the RPI rankings entering the contest — led start-to-finish, taking a 22-point lead at halftime and never allowing the Tigers to close within 20 after the break. The win was the Bulls’ second since Christmas and the Tigers’ second-worst loss of the season as measured by scoring margin. (They lost by 34 at Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve.)
Larry Kuzniewski
Jimario Rivers
Memphis fell to 18-12 with the loss and is now 9-8 in league play. Much, if not all, of the spirit built over a four-game winning streak was broken by the beat-down at the hands of the Bulls. You could see it in a disconsolate coach Tubby Smith after the game, and hear it in the words he spoke. “I’m really disappointed in us,” he said. “I obviously did something wrong in preparing for this game. We weren’t ready. Physically or mentally. We went through pretty the same routines we normally go through. But I give [USF] credit. They played hard, and we didn’t respond.”
The Tigers had more turnovers (10) than field goals (8) at halftime. Forward Payton Banks hit four of six three-point attempts in the first half to help the Bulls gain separation. More often than not, Tiger defenders dropped under screens as opposed to fighting over them to crowd USF’s long-distance shooters. Banks finished with a game-high 19 points, a total matched by reserve forward Malik Martin, who connected on eight of ten field-goal attempts.
The Tigers couldn’t find their shooting touch from anywhere on the court. They missed 10 of 18 free-throw attempts and 16 of 19 three-point shots. Kareem Brewon — Martin’s replacement at point guard — missed nine of ten shots from the field. Brewton, Jamal Johnson, and Raynere Thornton missed all 11 of their combined three-point attempts. (Thornton had hit nine of 11 treys in the Tigers’ last two wins to earn the AAC’s Player of the Week honors.) Junior forward Kyvon Davenport led Memphis with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Jimario Rivers scored 11 points in his penultimate game at FedExForum.
“Some guys looked at this game as an easy win,” acknowledged Rivers. “Look at their record. But that’s something we can’t do. It’s a matter of us focusing.”
“We gave them too many uncontested shots,” added Davenport. “We definitely played bad, but it’s nothing to hang your head about. We still have something to play for.”
About all the Tigers have left to play for is an AAC tournament championship, and the unlikely NCAA tournament bid such a run would provide. Thursday’s loss all but eliminates the Tigers’ chances of a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.
“You gotta guard against prosperity,” said Smith. “You have to appeal to their pride, of getting better every day. You gotta practice harder, to get mentally ready, tougher. They out-toughed us. They made shots early, and we had no answer.”
A lopsided, disjointed regular season will come to a close Sunday when East Carolina visits FedExForum. The lowly Pirates beat Memphis in overtime on February 3rd.
“I hope this got their attention,” said Smith. “Hopefully a new vision, a new spirit. It’s going to be tough. I’m at a loss. We tried to duplicate how we won those games [during the streak]. But we didn’t have energy. They were better than we were in every facet of the game.”
