Memphis basketball started its revenge tour on the right foot at Tulane Thursday. It hopes to cross Rice off its list this weekend.
The No. 19 Tigers (17-4, 7-1 AAC) meet the Owls (11-10, 2-6 AAC) inside Tudor Fieldhouse on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN+). Rice helped derail Memphis’ NCAA Tournament hopes with a devastating upset victory at FedExForum last year. The Houston-based private school had only beaten Memphis one other time in program history (2010-11).
Another loss to Rice can have a similar effect on the Tigers’ resume this year, since the Owls—No. 192 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET)—represent a Quad 3 opportunity on the road. Memphis already suffered one Quad 3 loss to Arkansas State (No. 89 in the NET) at home last month.
Penny Hardaway’s club isn’t overlooking Rice this time around, though. At least one Tiger is already keeping tabs.
“I’m actually very familiar with Rice,” PJ Carter, who joined the Tigers after originally committing to Rice last summer, said Thursday. “It’s gonna be another game where we gotta guard our yard, be physical, be the tougher team, box out and just do toughness things.”
Here’s what to expect when Memphis visits the Owls.
Will PJ Haggerty be fully healthy?
The Tigers managed just fine in their 68-56 win over Tulane.
Dain Dainja notched his third double-double this season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Carter and Colby Rogers scored 14 points respectively. But Haggerty, the nation’s No. 5 scorer at 21.4 points per game, had a noticeably quiet outing.
The 6-foot-3 guard totaled 8 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds on 3-of-11 shooting. It’s the first time Haggerty didn’t score in double figures this year.
That’s not exactly a coincidence, though, according to Hardaway. The seventh-year coach told Tigers play-by-play man Dave Woloshin postgame that Haggerty played 37 minutes despite feeling ill throughout Thursday.
“He’s sick. He’s definitely sick,” Hardaway said. “This morning, [he] had to step out of shootaround. He was in pain. Then before the film [session], he had to step out. He was just out of it all day…We’re not making excuses for him, but that’s not the normal PJ.
“Hopefully, he gets well before Sunday.”
More small-ball?
Carter and Rogers lifted Memphis to victory in New Orleans.
Rogers scored all 14 of his points in the second half after shooting 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from 3-point range in the first. He shot 4-for-5 at the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes. His last one—a towering fly from the left wing over Tulane leading scorer Kaleb Banks—put the Tigers up by 10 with 2:07 on the clock.
Carter dropped 8 of his points after halftime as well. He shot 5-of-11 overall and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Thursday was Carter’s second consecutive 14-point outing.
Nick Jourdain and Moussa Cisse, meanwhile, both played less than 20 minutes and combined for just 6 points and 9 rebounds. Jourdain, who logged 19 minutes, averages 27.3 this season. Cisse (13 minutes vs. Tulane) averages 18.4.
Memphis’ rotation and performance against the Green Wave reinforced what’s becoming more obvious every time it takes the court. A small-ball lineup—specifically one featuring Hunter, Haggerty, Rogers, Carter and Dainja—just might be the Tigers’ best combination. There’s a reason it’s Hardaway’s third-most frequent tandem in his last five games, according to KenPom, after rare deployment for most of this season.
“It’s five dynamic players—four smalls and [Dainja],” Hardaway said. “Not that Nick and Moussa are not gonna play, but when you go small-ball like that, they gotta pick their poison.”
What Rice brings to the table
Former SMU coach Rob Lanier is pushing Rice in a positive direction in his first season as the Owls’ headman.
His team is still quite poor, however. Rice—losers of six in a row—is currently No. 194 in KenPom and No. 197 in Bart Torvik. KenPom also slots the Owls at No. 213 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 180 in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Rice scores just 70.05 points per game, good for the second-worst scoring offense in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). But Lanier’s calling card never fails him, since the Owls (68.67 points allowed per game) have the league’s third-best scoring defense too.
South Carolina Upstate transfer Trae Broadnax is easily Rice’s biggest threat. The 6-foot-4 guard averages 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 41.1% shooting. Broadnax, who began his college career at Navy, tied his season-high with 19 points against UTSA earlier this month.
Wyoming transfer Caden Powell is the Owls’ best frontcourt player. The 6-foot-10 forward puts up 9.4 points, 7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game on 63% shooting. Powell recorded a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double against Tulane last Saturday.
Other players to watch for are 6-foot-1 guard Denver Anglin (9.7 points on 40.4% 3-point shooting), 6-foot-7 guard Kellen Amos (8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists) and 6-foot-4 guard Alem Huseinovic (8.4 points on 37.4% 3-point shooting).
The Prediction
Memphis decimates Rice for its third consecutive double-digit win.
The Tigers will almost certainly rectify last year’s fluke. The Owls don’t have the personnel to hang with the away team in any area. Rice’s superb coaching is its lone bright spot right now.
Expect Hardaway and Co. to easily handle business.