The losing streak continues for Memphis after a sixth-straight loss on Sunday against East Carolina. The Tigers took an early lead, but the Pirates controlled most of the game and led for 34 minutes of game time, leading to a 84-68 victory.
Aaron Bradshaw returned to the lineup, but Memphis played without Ashton Hardaway and Tariq Ingraham after both were listed out with injuries. While the Tigers returned to a lineup that they’ve used fairly often over the last month, they couldn’t get much going offensively and shot only 37.3 percent for the game.
Memphis made five three-pointers and shot only 65 percent from the free-throw line, and it was out-rebounded, again, 38-to-30. While the team struggled most of the game, Julius Thereford was a bright spot, leading the team with 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
The Pirates shot 53.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep and 75 percent from the free-throw line, and three players finished in double digits.
After trailing by 14 points at the half, the Tigers got the lead down to seven points with 16:11 remaining in the game, but ECU went on a 17-7 run to get the lead back up to 17 points. The Pirates were able to put the game in cruise control after that and never led by less than 12 points the rest of the game.
Memphis struggles defensively
Earlier in the season, Memphis was ranked inside the top 50 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, but it didn’t show much resistance on Sunday against the Pirates.
On the other side, ECU entered the game outside the top 300 in both two-point percentage and three-point percentage, but it looked like one of the best shooting teams in the conference against the Tigers. The Pirates shot their third-best percentage from the field and best percentage from three in Sunday’s game, and they made nine three-pointers, a season-high for the team.
Memphis had very few answers for Mike Schwartz’s team, but Jordan Riley gave the Tigers the most problems. Riley, who was named the conference player of the week and the Lute Olson National Player of the Week, led the team with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and he brought the house down with a posterizing dunk over Thierno Sylla.
Aaron Bradshaw returned but was limited
After missing a pair of games with an elbow injury, Bradshaw was listed as questionable going into Sunday’s game, but he was able to play and returned to the starting lineup in Greenville. Bradshaw only played 17 minutes and recorded four points, a rebound, an assist and a steal.
Following the game, Hardaway was asked about Bradshaw’s return and said that, while the big man returned, he was still dealing with pain in his elbow and was essentially playing with one arm.
It’ll be interesting to see how Bradshaw manages the injury moving forward and if he’s able to be more effective on Thursday against South Florida. Bradshaw has played better during conference play, and the Tigers need Bradshaw in the frontcourt as a rebounder and rim protector, especially over the next two games.
Losing streak moves to six
With the loss to ECU, Memphis falls to 12-17 on the season and has lost six games in a row, including five straight conference games. Most of those losses have been by wide margins, and four of the last five losses have come by 11 or more points.
Similar problems that have plagued the Tigers continued to pop up on Sunday against the Pirates. It seems like they can’t find answers to the same issues that have led to most of the losses on this streak.
The Tigers haven’t won a game since February 8, when they beat Charlotte by 23 points inside FedExForum, and they only have two more opportunities to break the streak before the end of the regular season. Hardaway’s team will host USF on Thursday before heading to New Orleans for the regular-season finale against Tulane.