Memphis Roar

The Memphis Tigers basketball team failed to get a resume’ boosting victory against in-state rival #14 Tennessee Volunteers, as the Tigers were defeated 66-59. A brutal battle took place inside the FedEx forum, as both teams combined for 50 personal fouls just hours before the beginning of a new year, one that will hopefully be a better year for Memphis sports.  If anyone felt the Memphis/Tennessee rivalry left with John Calipari, the near max capacity of the FedEx Forum spoke to the contrary. The only disappointing sight apart from the final score was the absence of student support in the partially empty student section.

The opposing team once again exploited the Memphis Tigers main flaws, as the Volunteers out-rebounded the Tigers 42 to 26. Additionally, the Volunteers were able to play ten men whereas the Tigers only played seven (DJ Stephens’ and Drew Barham’s 30 seconds barely count) throughout the game. The Volunteers also forced Memphis into 16 turnovers and brought down 14 offensive rebounds. Three of the Tiger starters fouled out by games’ end (Mack, Sallie, and Williams).

Memphis trailed at the end of the first half by 7 points, 31-24. The Volunteers scored on a last second jump shot by Wayne Chism after Will Coleman apparently lost all perception as to where the ball was. Elliot Williams was limited in minutes after picking up his second foul just three minutes in to the first half. Williams reentered the game with ten minutes left in the first half but was ineffective scoring just two points. Williams was seemingly very hesitant on the offensive end of the floor, apparently afraid of getting his third foul. Six of the seven Tiger players who contributed minutes in the first half picked up two fouls with the exception being Will Coleman.

The Tigers were once again out-rebounded by a large margin 22 to 10 in the first half. The poor Tiger rebounding caused Roburt Sallie to display his frustration by yelling at Will Coleman after missing an easy defensive rebound resulting in another Tennessee scoring opportunity. The Volunteer defense forced the Tigers in to 8 first half turnovers and the Tigers only shot 30 % in the first half.  The Tigers missed some easy scoring opportunities including two layups by Wesley Witherspoon, who had zero points in the first half. The only positive for Memphis in the first half was Doneal Mack, who continued his emergence as the Tiger go to clutch scorer, leading the way with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. However, the Tennessee pressure did not allow Memphis to get in to the lane and the Tigers’ frontcourt was extremely ineffective on offense.

Doneal Mack led the Tigers with 15 points but fouled out with 3:30 left in the game. The Tigers struggled offensively throughout against the Volunteers newly motivated and passionate defense. The Tigers went a combined 29 minutes without a field goal and shot just 31% from the field and 33.3% from deep. Elliot Williams only made one field goal but still managed 13 points on 11 of 12 free throws. The Tigers did manage 11 assists on 16 field goals.

The Tiger frontcourt (Niles and Coleman) was outscored 7 to 15 by Wayne Chism alone. Chism also managed 9 rebounds compared to Niles’ and Coleman’s 8 combined rebounds. Witherspoon and Coleman did combine for 7 blocks with Sallie contributing 3 more. Will Coleman’s play and attitude has to be a major concern for Memphis. His lack of rebounding, tendency to attempt a block on every shot, and general attitude were all on high display. Coleman had confrontations with Witherspoon, Sallie, Pastner, and Wayne Chism. The Wayne Chism bump led to a double-technical, another shining moment for Coleman.

Josh Pastner’s coaching decision to switch the Tigers in to a 2-3 zone was a turning point in the second half for the Tigers. The decision was made because of extreme foul trouble for the Tigers and the inability to rebound underneath the basket.  The zone seemed to shake the Volunteers allowing the Tigers to keep the game within arms’ reach, but the Volunteers were too much. As the Tiger starters disappeared to the bench after fouling out of the game, the hopes of every Memphis fan in attendance disappeared with them.

The game was not lost because of lack of heart. The Tiger emotions would have been seen on the sleeves of all the players, if they were wearing sleeves. Josh Pastner was more expressive than ever, using the coaching box lines more as suggestions than rules. The Tigers wanted the win more than ever, but this was a year when Memphis has wanted a lot of things and failed to get them.

But, Oh how the future looks so bright.

NOTES

The road team has won the last three games in this series.

Doneal Mack is shooting 43.2% (16-of-37) from three over the last four games.

Elliot Williams is shooting 90% (28-of-31) from the free-throw line over the last four games.