RECAP: Memphis basketball exacts vengeance on Florida Atlantic

It took them 11 long months, but the Tigers finally got their payback.

Memphis (20-8, 9-6 AAC) defeated Florida Atlantic in a 78-74 thriller inside FedExForum. The Owls, of course, eliminated Penny Hardaway’s team in last year’s NCAA Tournament. And though most of these Tigers weren’t around for the infamous Round of 64 matchup, they helped Hardaway even the score with FAU coach Dusty May on Sunday.

The U of M shot 44% from the field and just 19% from 3-point range. It also racked up 15 offensive rebounds 13 forced turnovers, 11 steals, 11 assists and 4 blocks. Memphis scored 38 points in the paint and 18 points off turnovers in game that featured 5 ties and 14 lead changes.

Florida Atlantic (21-7, 11-4 AAC) shot 44% on its field goal attempts and 25% on its 3-point tries. It also outrebounded Memphis 40-38 while grabbing 13 of its own missed shots. The Owls finished the afternoon with 40 points in the paint, 12 assists, 6 forced turnovers, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

Memphis now gears up for a road date with East Carolina on Thursday, a game the former must win to keep pace in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) standings. The Tigers—currently No. 6 in the league—need to finish the regular season top-4 in the conference to receive a double-bye to the quarterfinals of next month’s AAC Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. If they fail, they’ll have to win four games in four days to achieve a third consecutive March Madness appearance.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ Quad 2 win over the Owls.

Malcolm Dandridge’s absence hurts Memphis, but Nae’Qwan Tomlin picks up the slack.

Dandridge is currently being held out of competition until further notice due to an internal investigation regarding his involvement in alleged academic fraud. And the Tigers dearly missed the 6-foot-9 center against FAU.

The Owls outrebounded Memphis 21-16 in the first half, including 15 defensive boards compared to just 9 for the Tigers. Vladislav Goldin led all scorers at halftime with 12 points and 5 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive glass. He also shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the opening period. Nae’Qwan Tomlin, however, matched the 7-foot-1 center with 11 points and 4 offensive boards before the break.

Goldin continued his high impact in the second half with 10 points and 3 rebounds on 4-for-4 shooting. He ultimately finished the game with a team-high 22 points to go with 8 boards and 100% field goal shooting. But Tomlin’s response was arguably just as good. The Kansas State transfer—in his best game as a Tiger—finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds (5 offensive), 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Déjà vu

Last year’s showdown in the NCAA Tournament was defined by the infamous jump ball in the game’s final seconds. Memphis guard Kendric Davis—with the Tigers leading 65-64—tried to hurl the ball across halfcourt to seal what would’ve likely been a trip to the Sweet 16, as the winner of Memphis-FAU was set to play No. 16 seed Farleigh Dickinson in the Round of 32.

Unfortunately for Davis, the ball fell into the hands of an Owls defender and May’s team began a fastbreak. But Florida Atlantic quickly lost the ball, and none other but Jayden Hardaway fell onto it. Alex Lomax was calling timeout. So was DeAndre Williams, and basically every other Memphis Tiger on the court. But the refs didn’t grant it, and instead called a jump ball. The possession arrow favored Florida Atlantic, so it got the ball back. Nick Boyd then hit a game-winning layup that ultimately propelled his team to the Final Four.

Something similar happened during Sunday’s game. And while it wasn’t nearly as impactful, it still drew quite the reaction from Memphis fans. FAU guard Johnell Davis slipped and fell down with the ball in his hands while driving to cup early in the second half. David Jones tied Davis up, and the possession arrow favored Memphis. Except this time, the timeout was granted with 18:46 to play. But it was for Florida Atlantic, not the Tigers, causing the FedExForum crowd to make their voices heard.

This obviously didn’t cost Memphis the game, but it’s still funny how history repeats itself.

Memphis staves off FAU’s comeback.

The Tigers and Owls went back-and-forth for most of the second half, but the former took control down the stretch.

Memphis used an 11-1 run in three minutes and 45 seconds to take a 73-63 lead with 3:36 left to play. But FAU had one last gasp. Davis, who finished with 20 points, made four free throws in a row to cut the deficit to six points. Brandon Weatherspoon then hit a 3-pointer to make it a 75-70 game with 1:13 to go. Davis closed the gap to three points a few seconds later, making the score 75-72 with 56 seconds left.

Hardaway’s team blew a late lead to May’s club last year, which ended the former’s season. But Memphis didn’t let that happen again. Instead, it clamped up on defense and forced a missed 3-pointer by Weatherspoon. Jones, who scored 20 points in the final period, put FAU away at the free throw line a few ticks later.

Just like that, Memphis had gotten its revenge. Jones finished the contest with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists on 8-for-20 shooting. Jahvon Quinerly totaled 14 points and 6 assists. And Jaykwon Walton had 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.