RECAP: No. 14 Memphis bulldozes South Florida

Make it eight consecutive victories for No. 14 Memphis, and the 150th win in Penny Hardaway’s coaching career.

The Tigers (21-4, 11-1 AAC) pummeled South Florida 80-65 inside the Yuengling Center on Thursday. The Bulls ranked No. 195 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) before tipoff, giving Memphis its seventh Quad 3 win this season. Hardaway’s club now holds a two-game lead—plus the head-to-head tiebreaker—over North Texas for first place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

Next up for Memphis is another road date at Wichita State on Sunday (11 a.m., ESPN).

Memphis shot 40% overall and 36% on 3-pointers. It also outrebounded the Bulls 51-34 while recording 20 points off 15 forced turnovers, 16 offensive boards, 15 assists and 9 steals. The Tigers led South Florida for 32 minutes and 12 seconds, and never trailed again after the 9:49 mark in the first half.

Ben Fletcher’s team (12-13, 5-7 AAC) shot 38% on field goals and 24% at the 3-point line. It also racked up 14 assists, 12 forced turnovers, 6 steals and 4 offensive rebounds. Jayden Reid (11), Kobe Knox (11), Brandon Stroud (11) and Jamille Reynolds (10) all scored double-figure points for USF.

Here are some takeaways from Memphis’ dominant display in Tampa.

Early turnovers and wonky play galore

Thursday’s game started about as sloppily as possible.

Both teams combined for 14 turnovers in the first nine minutes of play. Whether it was wild full-court passes, self-inflicted half-court violations or shots flying straight over the rim, the first half provided just about anything a circus lover could ask for. PJ Carter, who entered the contest with a 21-of-21 clip at the charity stripe, even missed his first free throw this season at the 4:59 mark before halftime.

Memphis scored 13 points off 10 South Florida turnovers in the opening period. The Bulls, meanwhile, added just 6 points off 8 giveaways by the Tigers.

Memphis runs away from USF in first half

The Bulls hung around for as long as they could, and trailed by just 6 points with a little over three minutes remaining in the first half.

Memphis, however, quickly turned USF’s black-out into a laugher. The Tigers scored 12 consecutive points to claim an 18-point advantage. They led 42-27 at halftime after a Moussa Cisse foul gave Jimmie Williams three free throws with two seconds left in the period. Tyrese Hunter scored 5 points in that span. Cisse, Carter and Dante Harris combined for the other 7.

Memphis held South Florida to 9-for-29 (31%) shooting from the field and 2-of-15 (13%) from 3-point range in the first half.

Hunter stars in return

The 6-foot guard missed a game for the first time in his college career last Sunday thanks to a lingering knee injury. He returned emphatically against South Florida.

Hunter whiffed his first three shots, but found his rhythm shortly after. He totaled 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-for-5 perimeter shooting. Dain Dainja led the Tigers with 20 points and 7 rebounds on 9-for-13 shooting. PJ Haggerty compiled 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Colby Rogers scored 10 points, while Jourdain and Cisse grabbed 9 and 7 rebounds respectively.

Memphis led by as many as 24 points and outscored USF 31-23 in the first 12 minutes of the second half, which both teams finished with 38 points apiece.