Memphis made it look easy Wednesday night with an 86-70 win over New Orleans. The Tigers never trailed, and it’s the first time that they’ve won back-to-back games this season.
Before tip-off, it was reported that neither Curtis Givens III nor Ashton Hardaway would play due to injuries. This is the second straight game Givens has missed with a thigh injury, while Hardaway missed the game with a knee injury.
Aaron Bradshaw also sat out the entire game, and after the game, Penny Hardaway called it a coach's decision.
Thierno Sylla, who has been a constant in the starting lineup, sat most of the night, and there was a thought that he was also dealing with an injury. Sylla checked into the game with nine minutes left and only played 1:51 of game time.
With the injuries, Penny Hardaway rolled out a new starting lineup, and two players made their first starts of the season. The starting five consisted of Dug McDaniel, Julius Thedford, Hasan Abdul Hakim, William Whorton and Simon Majok.
Thedford made his second start of the season and hit the ground running with Memphis’ first eight points of the game. Thedford’s hot start continued, and he led the team 13 points, 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep, before he left the game with an injury.
Thedford wasn’t the only player with the hot hand. The Tigers had no shortage of shot-making, especially early, and six players finished the game in double figures.
Quante Berry led the team with 17 points off the bench, and Majok added 13, which is a career-high for the freshman. Three starters ended the game with 11 or more points, and Memphis recorded 44 bench points.
As a team, the Tigers shot 49.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe, and they finished the game with 21 assists. The 10-made threes are the second most this season, and it’s the third time Memphis has made double-digit threes.
The Tigers won the rebounding battle 40-to-35, and Zach Davis led the team with nine rebounds, one shy of recording a double-double.
Defensively, the Privateers struggled most of the night, and they only had 28 points at the half. It felt like Memphis took its foot off the gas late in the second half and allowed New Orleans some good looks when the game seemed to be out of hand.
Memphis led by as many as 24 points, but the Privateers went on a 17-6 run midway through the second half and cut the lead to 13 with 4:58. Memphis responded with a 7-0 run, and that pretty much wrapped up any threat from New Orleans.
Junior TJ Cope led the Privateers with 21 points, and four players ended the night in double figures for Stacy Hollowell’s squad. Memphis held New Orleans to only 39.3 percent from the field and 28 percent from three, and it forced 13 turnovers.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 3-4 on the season, and they’ll wrap up the homestand Saturday against Baylor. The Bears are off to a 6-1 start, and they’ll travel to Memphis following a 110-88 win over Sacramento State.