RECAP: UAB crushes No. 19 Memphis, Tigers lose their third straight game

The Tigers may officially be on the NCAA Tournament bubble after suffering a second Quad 3 loss in three games.

No. 19 Memphis (15-5, 4-3 AAC) fell to UAB 97-88 inside Bartow Arena. This was the first in-conference meeting between the two schools since 2012-13, and the Blazers now own their 12th-ever win over the Tigers. Penny Hardaway’s team drops to 6th place in the AAC with the defeat.

The Tigers shot 48% from the field and 43% from 3-point range. They also forced 21 turnovers, including 15 steals, while also racking up 14 assists and 14 offensive rebounds. David Jones led the way for Memphis with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Malcolm Dandridge (19), Jahvon Quinerly (12) and Nae’Qwan Tomlin (12) also scored in double-figures.

Andy Kennedy’s team shot 52% on its field goal tries and 45% on its 3-point attempts. It also won the rebounding battle 40-32 while collecting 10 assists, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Eric Gaines—after missing his last 17 3-point attempts—scored 20 points while shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Efrem Johnson, Daniel Ortiz and Javian Davis scored 12, 12 and 10 respectively.

Memphis now looks ahead to a home date with Rice Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+), which will be a Quad 4 opportunity for the Tigers.

Here are some takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Memphis shoots well, but turnovers prove costly.

The U of M couldn’t miss to start the game.

The Tigers hit their first eight field goal attempts, including made 3-pointers by Jones and Tomlin. In fact, their first miss didn’t come until the 12:45 mark. Memphis finished the half with a 58.3% clip from the field and a 45.5% clip from 3-point line.

UAB, meanwhile, shot 45% throughout the game’s first 20 minutes. But it still held a 45-44 advantage at halftime due to the Tigers’ struggles with ball security. Memphis turned the ball over 13 times in the first half. Jones and Quinerly combined for 8 turnovers alone during the opening period.

Memphis’ turnovers didn’t stop in the second half. Jones gave the ball up four more times. Jaykwon Walton lost it twice. Three other players turned it over once. The Tigers compiled nine turnovers in the final period, and 22 for the game.

Blazers dominate offensive glass.

Much of UAB’s offense came from second-chance baskets Sunday afternoon.

The Blazers led the Tigers 10-0 in that category in the first half. They also nabbed 9 offensive rebounds compared just 3 for Memphis. Yaxel Lendeborg finished the first half with 16 points and 9 boards alone, including 7 on the offensive glass.

UAB racked up seven more offensive rebounds in game’s final 20 minutes. Three of them went to Lendeborg and two of them went to Davis. The former finished the game with 26 points and 16 rebounds—10 of them being offensive boards. The Blazers also totaled 23 second chance points, while Memphis only scored 11.

UAB blasts Memphis in the second half

The Tigers and Blazers traded baskets for the first few minutes of the final period, but the back-and-forth offense didn’t last long.

UAB quickly caught fire from behind the 3-point line, and went on a 22-10 run in just over six minutes to take a 13-point advantage with 11:34 to play. Memphis often froze against Kennedy’s zone defenses, and again showed little effort to stop the Blazers’ attack. The Tigers’ selfish play and lackadaisical approach ultimately cost them Sunday afternoon.

Hardaway’s club never really recovered from UAB’s second half onslaught, and lost decisively after making a late push to stay in the game. The Blazers shot 50% from the 3-point line and 59.3% from the field in the second half. Seven different UAB players scored at least 6 points in that span.