Takeaways from Memphis’ 21-point win over Alabama State

Memphis snapped its three-game losing streak Monday night in an 88-67 victory over Alabama State. The Tigers led by double digits for the entire second half, giving Penny Hardaway an opportunity to get a look at all 15 players on the roster. 

While he played everyone on the team, the minutes for some key rotation players were notable. Hasan Abdul Hakim, Thierno Sylla and Sincere Parker all played fewer than 10 minutes. 

After the game, Hardaway said that Parker is dealing with an injury, while he labeled Abdul Hakim’s lack of playing time as “an energy thing.”

Zach Davis, who has started six games this season, didn’t play in the first half, but he played 13 minutes in the second half and recorded nine points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a turnover.

As a team, the Tigers shot 50.8 percent from the field, 43.3 percent from deep and 61.1 percent from the free-throw line, and three players finished in double-figures. The Tigers also won the rebounding battle 40-to-37, and they scored 14 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.

While they shot the ball well, Hardaway’s team turned the ball over 18 times.

Defensively, the Tigers held Tony Madlock’s team to 35.9 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three. Former Tiger, Damarien Yates, finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, an assist and a steal in 12 minutes of action.

Hardaway sticks with starting lineup

Entering the game, Hardaway used a different starting lineup in nine of the first 11 games of the season, but he used the same starting lineup last night against the Hornets that he used against Mississippi State.

The starting five played much better than they did in the road game on Saturday, and McDaniel and Ashton Hardaway combined for 38 points on 50 percent shooting. Outside of those two, the other three starters combined for six points, which all came from Julius Thedford.

Abdul Hakim and Sylla both started but played fewer than 10 minutes, and neither took a shot attempt. This is the second game in a row that Sylla has started but hasn’t played more than nine minutes.

It’ll be interesting to see if Hardaway sticks with this lineup next week against North Texas or if he makes a change, especially with the two players that didn’t play many minutes.

Tigers make a season-high 13 three-pointers

The Tigers had their best three-point shooting performance of the season Monday night against Alabama State. Memphis finished with 13 made three-pointers, including seven from McDaniel.

McDaniel was a 37 percent three-point shooter as a sophomore at Michigan, but last year he struggled and only shot 25.8 percent from deep at Kansas State. He’s been up-and-down this season, but it would be a huge boost for Memphis if McDaniel could be a consistent three-point shooter for them.

While they finished with 13 threes, only three other players made a three-point shot in the game. Hardaway and Givens combined for five three-pointers, while Davis added one.

Curtis Givens shines off bench

Curtis Givens missed five games with an injury, but he’s played extremely well in his first two games back in the rotation. Against the Hornets, Givens finished with 18 points, a rebound, an assist, three steals and two turnovers.

The guard has now recorded 18 points in both games since returning from injury, and he’s shooting 59 percent from the field. Givens also got it done on the defensive end of the court, and he has now recorded two or more steals in four of the seven games he’s played in this season.