Memphis extends winning streak to five after defeating Tulsa

Four straight wins to right the ship.

The Memphis Tigers (16-5, 6-2, 3rd in AAC) looked to make it five straight against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-14, 1-7, 11th in AAC). For all the success Penny Hardaway and company have found over the past few years, wins in Tulsa have been few and far between. Former Tulsa coach Frank Haith was something of a kryptonite for Memphis. Now, he’s on the Tiger sideline as an assistant coach as he and the Tigers looked to maintain their momentum.

1st Half

Tulsa’s defensive strategy was clear early. Get the ball out of DeAndre Williams’s hands. Williams was trapped in the post early. But he found Keonte Kennedy for a wide-open triple to start the scoring. Kendric Davis nailed a deep three to give Memphis an early 6-0 lead.

Though Tulsa scored seven straight, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu hit Tulsa with back-to-back blocks getting his afternoon off to a strong start. Williams hit a third straight three followed by a Davis fade-away as the Tigers led 11-10 at the under 16 minute media timeout.

Memphis clearly knew Tulsa’s plan to trap Williams as Hardaway drew up a beautiful play. As the ball was brought up the court, Williams caught a pass on the left elbow and dribbled right. Kao was in the right corner. Immediately after a Tulsa help side defender took a couple steps off Kao and towards Williams, Kao cut to the rim. Williams tossed up the alley, and Kao rocked the rim with the alley-oop posterizing a Tulsa defender.

Chef’s kiss.

Skywalkin' @CASHMONEYKAO‼️

15:15 1H | MEM 13, TU 10 pic.twitter.com/siD6T7anmu

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 29, 2023

Memphis hit its next three shots to jump out to an 18-12 lead with 12:01 in the first. But Tulsa hit a deep three that Jayden Hardaway couldn’t answer on the next possession.

Tough shot making was keeping Tulsa in this game. The nearly half court three was followed by a tough fade away bank-shot and a contested lay-up to give Tulsa an 19-18 advantage as turnovers troubled the Tigers.

A DeAndre Williams offensive-foul was their seventh turnover at the 8:27 mark, compared to only two for Tulsa. After an Elijah McCadden lay-up, he forced a steal only to turn the ball over right after. Eight turnovers in less than 12 minutes of game time.

More sloppy play, this time on the defensive side, cost Memphis. After a solid defensive possession forced Tulsa into a last second heave to beat the shot clock, Kendric Davis inexplicably fouled Tulsa’s Sam Griffin putting him on the free-throw line for three shots. He hit all three. Tulsa led 25-22 with 6:55 in the first.

After a strong offensive start, Memphis couldn’t buy a bucket during this Tulsa run. The Tigers finally hit some shots as they regained the lead, 26-25. A little high-low action between Williams and Kao helped things. But on the next defensive possession, Williams got called for a questionable blocking foul giving the Golden Hurricanes a three-point play to tie the game at 28 all.

Two Elijah McCadden free-throws gave Memphis the lead back and allowed the Tigers to set up their full court press. It worked to perfection forcing a Tulsa turnover. Davis took advantage with a sweet jump shot. Tulsa’s Tim Dalger sent a jolt through the stadium with a put back slam and an offensive foul on the defensive end. Up to this point, it was Tulsa playing with more swagger and confidence.

Tulsa took the lead with another deep three. But Keonte Kennedy answered with a triple of his own. Davis couldn’t give Memphis the lead after uncharacteristically missing two free throws. He channeled his frustration on the defensive end with ferocious on-ball defense that caused another Tulsa turnover. Though he missed a floater to close the half, Elijah McCadden was there for the put back.

Memphis led 37-35 at the half.

Keonte Kennedy paced the Tigers with 10 points continuing his hot shooting streak.

2nd Half

McCadden has been improved from the free-throw line as of late and got the Tigers going. Kendric Davis was quiet the entire first half with only seven points. But you could almost guarantee he would come back with a vengeance. He did exactly that hitting back-to-back threes and letting out a roar of relief. 45-43 Memphis with 16:25 to play. Kendric Davis also became the AAC’s second all-time leading scorer with that make.

𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙧📈@150__KD is now the 2nd all-time leading scorer in @American_MBB history!#GoTigersGo pic.twitter.com/IQg0UrLq3O

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) January 29, 2023

Back and forth both teams went as they traded buckets on the next few possessions. Give credit to Tulsa for its fight. Though the season hasn’t gone how the Golden Hurricanes expected, they still have talent and a ton of pride.

McCadden showed off his playmaking with a nice no-look dime to a cutting Keonte Kennedy for the slam. DeAndre Williams followed that up with a put-back lay-up as the Tigers led 55-50 at the 11:08 mark. The next few minutes would be pivotal for Memphis to extend its lead or for Tulsa to stay in the game.

Kendric Davis tried to make the former happen with 7-0 run all by himself. He started it off with a silky, lefty lay and the foul shot to push the lead to eight. He followed that up with a pull up jumper and another contested finish at the rim. Tulsa responded with an and-one for themselves cutting the Memphis lead to nine, 64-55 with 7:51 left.

A couple Jayden Hardaway free-throws, a Jonathan Lawson lay-up and a DeAndre Williams finish gave Memphis its largest lead of the game at 15, 70-55. But Tulsa kept the game interesting as the Tigers only led by 10, 72-62 with only 4:12 to play.

Keonte Kennedy tried to send the dagger home with a ferocious slam. Though he was stuffed by the rim, Elijah McCadden made up for it with a fastbreak dunk. A couple of Dre free-throws put the game out of reach.

Memphis exorcised some demons in Tulsa with an 80-68 win extending the streak to five.

Quick Takeaways

1. Can’t Count Kendric Davis Out

With only seven points at half, Kendric Davis was visibly frustrated. He failed to finish at the rim or hit jumpers and even missed back-to-back free throws. The last time that happened was probably in middle school. But you can’t count Davis out. That switch can be flipped at any time. As soon as the second half started, you could sense it. Davis was a different player with 19 points in the second half, finishing with 26.

2. Less Fouls, Less Problems

Keeping the fouls down was a key to the game mentioned in my game preview. Memphis averages 19.1 fouls per game. Against Tulsa, the Tigers only committed 15. It’s no secret good things happen when Memphis defends without fouling too often. Though Tulsa isn’t good at forcing teams to commit fouls, it was still good to see the Tigers stay below their season average.

Next up, Tulane comes to the FedEx Forum Saturday, February 4.