Memphis prevails over No. 13 Clemson in an epic in the FedEx Forum

History was made today. The Memphis Tigers and Clemson Tigers faced off for the first time ever. After a long trip away from home that yielded good results, Memphis was ready for some home cooking and pick up a win against a talented Clemson squad. While Clemson is in the ACC, its basketball program isn’t rich with tradition by any means. However, this team came into Memphis undefeated and ranked No. 13 in the country. Led by center PJ Hall, Clemson entered with tons of confidence and looked to silence the FedEx Forum.

1st Half

With Memphis coming off of a big win on the road against a ranked Texas A&M squad, there was a ton of buzz around the program as it came back home. But it was Clemson who got off to an early 2-11 lead. While containing Clemson’s PJ Hall was paramount for Memphis, Hall’s teammates contributed to the hot start as they went 4-4 to start the game.

Memphis is no stranger to an early deficit. Think back to the Villanova game. If the home team Tigers were to keep the visiting Tigers within reach, defensive rotations and communication had to improve. Thankfully for Memphis, they did. Memphis forced two turnovers from the next four Clemson possessions as the Memphis Tigers went on a 13-2 run taking a 15-13 lead. A couple floaters from Jayden Hardaway and a smooth ball-fake sending PJ Hall Christmas shopping had Memphis up 19-16 at the under 16 minute media timeout.

Speaking of Clemson’s PJ Hall, the game plan against the 6’10 center averaging 20 points per game thus far was clear early on. Get the ball out of his hands. If he caught the ball in the post, Memphis sent help defenders his way to make life difficult. For a couple minutes, it worked. But Memphis couldn’t capitalize on stops because of one main reason: horrific three-point shooting.

Other than an incredible Caleb Mills finish around the rim and a Jayhlon Young floater, Memphis took and missed six threes. For as good as Jaykwon Walton has been to start the season, he has been just as bad in the past few games. The man couldn’t buy a bucket if he won the lottery. But it wasn’t just him missing.

Jahvon Quinerly, David Jones, and Caleb Mills helped push the cold front through FedEx Forum. Even when Malcolm Dandridge got a good look at the rim, he missed the easy layup. Overall though, credit must be given to Clemson’s defense for packing the paint and forcing Memphis to take outside shots. Clemson led 25-35 with 3:23 left in the half.

Memphis kept fighting though. Dandridge found a cutting Nick Jourdain. Then, a miracle happened. Jayhlon Young hit a three that cut the lead down to five. Clemson responded with four quick points before Walton found Jourdain for an easy bucket. Memphis was still in this one down 32-39 at hafltime.

Jahvon Quinerly and David Jones led Memphis in scoring with 7 and 6 points respectively. Though Clemson’s PJ Hall had 11 points, Memphis had done a decent job on him. The 2nd half would be all about Coach Penny Hardaway and his staff’s offensive adjustment to deal with Clemson’s zone.

2nd Half

After Memphis couldn’t throw a pebble into the ocean to close the 1st half, Memphis immediately went inside with back-to-back finishes at the rim from Nick Jourdain and Jahvon Quinerly. Then, David Jones got downhill and drew a foul before hitting 2 free throws. Caleb Mills got in the act with a couple free throws as well. Just like that, Memphis went on an 8-0 run and took a 40-39 lead with 16:27 to play.

But that wasn’t all. A Nick Jourdain triple and an offensive foul drawn by the aforementioned Jourdain sent the FedEx Forum into a frenzy. This was exactly what Memphis needed. Another lay-up from The Swiss Army Knife pushed the lead to five before Clemson went on a run of its own.

NICHOLAS FOR THREEEE 💦

That's an 11-1 run to start the half!

MEM 43, CLEM 40 | 2H 15:42 pic.twitter.com/BHTzEYcmbx

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) December 16, 2023

PJ Hall is the real deal. He’s almost impossible to guard one-on-one in the post. If a help defender doesn’t come, he uses his strong frame and athleticism to bully defenders and finish over them. Hall scored seven of Clemson’s next 12 points and was the main reason for Memphis’s 54-57 deficit at the 11:27 mark in the 2nd half.

Both teams traded buckets and hit some really tough shots. Clemson’s lead teetered from one and three for what felt like an eternity with Memphis never able to take the lead back. That was until Malcolm Dandridge turned into a defensive end forcing a fumble, then rumblin, bumblin, and stumblin down the court to get the loose ball. Though he missed the lay-up, Jayhlon Young was there to clean up and finally give Memphis the lead, 62-61 with 7:53 to play in the ball game.

BACK IN FRONT!

What. A. Game. pic.twitter.com/zFcK8ltR6l

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) December 16, 2023

As mentioned before, you can’t leave PJ Hall on an island to operate in the post. On the next possession, Memphis had the athletic Jaykwon Walton on him, but Clemson viewed this as a mismatch and threw PJ the ball. Right when he caught it, Jayhlon Young sprinted to the strong side and forced Hall to turn baseline, which is definitely not his preferred move. Hall gave the ball up, and Clemson forced a contested three that was rebounded by Walton.

What followed was a visionary pass from Jahvon Quinerly akin to another Memphis point guard, Ja Morant. With Clemson sitting back in its zone defense, David Jones caught his man sleeping and cut to the rim. A bit of wizardry from JQ, and he found Jones amidst the congested paint for an easy lay-up. My words can’t do that pass justice. That lay-up from Jones gave Memphis a 64-61 lead. Though Clemson wouldn’t go away, JQ turned from facilitator to finisher and scored Memphis’s next six points before an assist to Malcolm Dandridge and a free throw from David Jones.

73-70, Memphis ball. 1:54 left. This was Memphis’s chance to create some slight separation, and the person who should have the ball in his hands down the stretch did. Jahvon Quinerly drove in the paint and found a cutting David Jones for an emphatic two-handed sla… Wait, never mind. PJ Hall had other ideas and stuffed Jones at the rim. This didn’t phase Memphis though.

DEFENSE STANDS TALL 😤😤😤

📺 https://t.co/VicTGgHkRf pic.twitter.com/dXYjJYjE7B

— Memphis Basketball (@Memphis_MBB) December 16, 2023

Thanks to Malcolm Dandridge’s impressive perimeter defense, Memphis forced the needed stop. But as we know about these Tigers of late, closing games has been no easy feat. That wouldn’t change in this one either. David Jones missed three of four free throws allowing Clemson to claw back in the game. The Memphis lead was just 1, 77-76 with 14.2 seconds to play. Jaykwon Walton to the line.

For all of his struggles from deep, Walton hit two massive free throws to push the lead to three.

79-76. Clemson ball. 9.8 seconds left.

Would it be Clemson’s Superman PJ Hall to the rescue? Not today. His three-pointer hit the back rim and bounced over the backboard, and Caleb Mills had a chance to finish this game.

He didn’t. Clemson grabbed the rebound, and Jaykwon Walton fouled Clemson’s Chase Hunter before he could throw up a desperation heave. That was definitely the correct decision. After Hunter made the first free throw, he intentionally missed the 2nd. But Malcolm Dandridge was there to grab the rebound. With Memphis’s rebounding issues in mind, it was poetic for them to close out a massive win with a big rebound.

Breathe y’all. Memphis prevailed, 79-77. No. 22 Virginia comes to FedEx Forum next Tuesday.