Memphis basketball is headed to the Maui Invitational championship game.
The Tigers (6-0) defeated Michigan State 71-63 inside the Lahaina Civic Center Tuesday. They’re now 2-0 in this week’s tournament with wins over the Spartans (No. 30 in KenPom) and Associated Press (AP) No. 2 UConn. Memphis competes for first place against either No. 4 Auburn or No. 12 North Carolina tomorrow afternoon (4:00 p.m., ESPN).
Memphis shot 47% from the field and 35% from 3-point range. The Tigers also forced 13 turnovers and scored 22 points off them. They finished the game having recorded 10 assists, 6 offensive rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Penny Hardaway’s club led for 33 minutes and 20 seconds.
Tom Izzo’s team (5-2) shot 42% overall and 35% on 3-pointers. It also outrebounded Memphis 36-28 while recording 15 assists, 12 offensive boards, 9 forced turnovers, 2 blocks and a steal. The Spartans scored 26 bench points compared to 11 for the Tigers.
Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ win.
Michigan State out-shoots expectations
The Spartans shot just 20% from 3-point range in its first six games, which ranked third-worst in college basketball. But they did a much better job putting the ball through the cylinder Tuesday.
Michigan State finished the first half shooting 45% on its long-ball tries, compared just 31% for Memphis—the second-best perimeter shooting team in the country heading into the game. Jaden Akins, an 18.5% 3-point shooter, shot 2-for-3 from deep during the period. Jase Richardson, who led the Spartans with 11 at the half, did the same.
MSU cooled down significantly in the second half, though, shooting 2-for-9 from deep.
Tyrese Hunter goes on another heater
Tyrese Hunter scored 26 points in the Tigers’ win over UConn on Monday, and he put on a nice encore against the Spartans too.
The 6-foot guard led Memphis at halftime with 11 points on 50% 3-point shooting. PJ Haggerty also had a nice opening stat line with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal on 3-for-7 shooting.
But the Tigers’ offense was somewhat halted thanks to foul trouble from both Colby Rogers and Dain Dainja, who finished the first half with 2 and 3 personal fouls respectively. Memphis committed 11 total fouls in the period.
Tigers put the Spartans away in the second half
Haggerty and Hunter were Memphis’ x-factors once again in the second half.
Hunter—with the Tigers leading 41-38 at the 14:57 mark—scored 5 points in a row to extend Memphis’ advantage to 8 points. Haggerty and Rogers later hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to make the lead 12. The Tigers ultimately led by as many as 15 after Moussa Cisse rebounded a Haggerty miss, finished through contact and made a free throw.
That completed a 14-4 Memphis run in three minutes and 50 seconds, which re-set the tone from that point on. The Spartans later managed to cut Memphis’ lead back to 62-55 with 5:01 left, but Hunter quieted that rally with a deep 3-pointer through contact. He then hit his foul shot to clinch the Tigers’ second 4-point play of the half.
Hunter finished with a game-high 23 points while shooting 7-of-15 from the field and 50% on 3-point shots. Haggerty added 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Rogers scored 10 points on 2-for-5 perimeter shooting. Cisse and Dainja—though they both fouled out—dropped 9 and 7 points respectively in 38 combined minutes.