RECAP: No. 21 Memphis dominates AAC opener at Florida Atlantic

Memphis basketball started both the new year and American Athletic Conference (AAC) play on the right foot.

The Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) trounced Florida Atlantic 90-62 inside Baldwin Arena Thursday night. The Owls are currently No. 91 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, making this Memphis’ sixth Quad 2 win this year. It’s also the Tigers’ ninth overall victory in Quads 1 and 2, which leads the country.

Penny Hardaway’s club hosts North Texas—another Quad 2 opponent—on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2).

No. 21 Memphis shot 56% from both the floor and 3-point range. It also outrebounded FAU 44-34 while recording 15 assists, 13 offensive boards, 13 forced turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks. The Tigers, who scored 42 paint points, led wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game.

John Jakus’ team (7-7, 0-1 AAC) shot 32% overall and 16% on 3-pointers. The Owls also racked up 19 forced turnovers, 19 offensive rebounds, 11 steals, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Kaleb Glenn (12) and Baba Miller (10) scored in double figures.

Here are some takeaways from the Tigers’ first conference win this season.

Memphis starts with a bang

Memphis pounced on the Owls early with a 9-0 run in the first two minutes and 31 seconds.

The Tigers, who secured the game’s first 10 rebounds, extended that advantage to 17-4 at the 14:57 mark in the first half. Florida Atlantic found life later in the period, however, and cut the deficit to 5 points with 7:24 on the first-half clock. Memphis outscored FAU 13-8 in the final six minutes and 36 seconds of the half to lead 42-32 at intermission.

The Tigers shot 48.3% from the field in the opening period. Memphis and FAU grabbed 8 and 10 offensive boards respectively before halftime.

Haggerty and Hunter dominate FAU

Memphis’ two lead guards took over Thursday’s game.

Tyrese Hunter led all scorers with 14 first-half points on 4-of-6 perimeter shooting, including 11 in the first seven minutes and 20 seconds. PJ Haggerty wasn’t too far behind, though, with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the opening period. Haggerty also went to halftime with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

Hunter finished with a game-high 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 8-for-14 from the field. Haggerty scored 19 points in 31 minutes.

Dain Dainja torches the Owls after picking up 4 fouls

The 6-foot-9 center seemed all out of sorts at first.

He couldn’t find his offensive rhythm for the entire first half, and racked up 4 personal fouls by the 14:59 mark in the second half. But Hardaway kept Dainja in despite his struggles, and the Illinois transfer delivered.

Dainja scored 16 points after his fourth foul, which helped Memphis stretch its 10-point halftime lead to as many as 28 points late in the final period. Dainja, who shot 7-for-9 in the second half, also totaled 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 21 minutes.

Colby Rogers finished with 11 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal. Moussa Cisse had 7 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Nick Jourdain put up 6 points, 6 rebounds and a block.

Memphis finished the game on a 9-0 run.