RECAP: Memphis basketball comes up short at FAU

The Tigers’ four-game winning streak came to an end in their regular season finale Saturday.

Memphis (22-9, 11-7 AAC) lost at Florida Atlantic 92-84 inside Baldwin Arena in Boca Raton. The Owls evened the score from last month’s matchup with the Tigers, which Memphis won inside FedExForum on Feb. 25. This means Dusty May’s team has now won two of three meetings with Penny Hardaway’s club in the past year, including a 66-65 victory in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The U of M shot 47% from the field and 50% from 3-point range. It also put up 14 assists, 11 offensive rebounds, 8 forced turnovers, 3 steals and a block. Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored a game-high 27 points while shooting 11-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. He also grabbed 7 rebounds (4 offensive), a steal and a block. David Jones (16), Jahvon Quinerly (16) and Jaykwon Walton (10) also scored in double figures.

Florida Atlantic (24-7, 14-4 AAC) made 49% of its field goal attempts and 39% of its 3-point tries. It also outrebounded the Tigers 41-34 while racking up 20 assists, 16 offensive boards, 11 forced turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks. The Owls scored 46 points in the paint compared to 21 for Memphis, and 21 bench points compared to 8 for Hardaway’s team.

Memphis is now eliminated from double-bye contention for next week’s American Athletic Conference (AAC or the American) Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. It’ll have to win four games in four days inside Dickies Arena to earn its third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The Tigers, who open AAC Tourney play on Thursday, will either be the No. 5 or 6 seed in the 14-team field.

Here are some takeaways from the Tigers’ loss at FAU.

Jordan Brown’s struggles help FAU take over the first half.

Brown, who’s been dealing with a back injury for the past few weeks, played 10 minutes in Saturday’s first half. But the 6-foot-11 center struggled mightily in that time.

He played a near six-minute stretch after subbing in at the 9:12 mark, during which the Owls went on a 13-5 run to claim a 34-29 lead with 3:18 left in the opening period. Brown was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting with just 1 rebound throughout that span. Jayden Hardaway, Joe Cooper and Jayhlon Young each played at least four minutes in the half, but combined for just 5 points.

Brown didn’t play a single minute in the second half.

Vladislav Goldin torches Memphis once again.

The 7-foot-1 center dominated the Tigers with 22 points and 8 rebounds on 9-for-9 shooting in Feb. 25’s matchup, and the rematch in Boca Raton saw no difference.

Goldin led Florida Atlantic in the first half once again with 15 points and 6 rebounds (4 offensive) on 7-for-8 shooting. Bryan Greenlee also had a productive opening period with 8 points while shooting 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

Goldin racked up 6 more points, 6 more rebounds and a block in the second half. He obviously didn’t score as much during the final period. But he and Greenlee each finished with a team-high 21 points, and the former also recorded 12 boards (7 offensive) and 2 blocks.

FAU runs away from the Tigers in second half.

The Owls’ offense exploded in the second half. And Memphis tried, but failed to keep up.

Greenlee scored 13 points in the final period while shooting 100% from beyond the arc. Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, the AAC’s co-Preseason Players of the Year, each scored 10 points on a combined 8-for-14 shooting in the game’s final 20 minutes. FAU totaled 51 second half points while shooting 48.6% from the field and 43.8% from 3-point range.

Memphis shot an even better 53% from the 3-point line in the second half while scoring 49 points, but it ultimately couldn’t buy enough stops. The Tigers’ defensive rotations were consistently picked apart, giving the Owls a premium amount of open perimeter shots and easy matchups in the paint. May’s club led wire-to-wire in the game’s final 20 minutes.