The No.3-seeded Tulsa Golden Hurricane (20-10) and No.6-seeded Memphis Tigers (17-14) square off in the second round of the AAC tournament at the Amway Center. The game begins at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 11 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Golden Hurricane were victorious over South Florida 84-74 the last time they played. Brandon Swannegan was the game’s high scorer with 21 points on 6-for-6 shooting. The Tigers, meanwhile, are coming off an 83-53 win against East Carolina in their last outing. Trahson Burrell stood out for Memphis, accumulating 13 points, six assists, and five steals.
Dedric Lawson has been on a tear over the last five games for the Tigers, averaging 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 1.2 three-pointers.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Tulsa ranks third in the nation, allowing just 100.4 points per 100 possessions, while Memphis is second (96.1). Also, the Tigers commit the second-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 17.1%), while the disruptive defense of the Golden Hurricane causes the most (opponents’ TO% of 21.2%).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Tigers winning the first matchup 92-82. Lawson put up 27 points and 12 rebounds.
The Golden Hurricane enter the game with records of 20-10 Straight Up (SU) and 15-12-2 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams have to fight for open shots against the Golden Hurricane, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .416.
Across the court, the Tigers have a record of 11-16-1 ATS and 17-14 SU. Memphis is one of the better rebounding teams in Division I. The Tigers average 40.9 rebounds per game, making them the 16th-best team in the country for that category. The Memphis defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .400 shooting from the field to its opponents.
The Tigers’ win over Tulsa in their last clash brought their SU record in their most recent games to 7-3. Additionally, Memphis leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Memphis held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while Tulsa was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mem, ATS Winner – Mem
Notes
Memphis won its last game by a 30-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Tulsa is 2-1. Memphis is 7-1 in blowouts this season.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a defensive rating of 100.4 (ranked third), while the Memphis Tigers have an offensive rating of 104.2 (ranked 209th).
Tulsa has an average field goal percentage of 44.4%. Memphis is an abysmal 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane rank lower for their field goal percentage (166th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (160th), but the Memphis Tigers have a better FG% ranking (295th) than eFG% ranking (313th).
Memphis ranks 67th in assists, recording 15.2 per game. Tulsa performs worse at 146th with 13.8 assists per game.
Memphis, the sixth-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.7 per game. Tulsa ranks lower at 257th with 2.7.
Tulsa ranks 225th in offensive rebounds, while Memphis ranks 28th in defensive rebounds.
Memphis makes an average of 7.7 steals per game. Tulsa has a dazzling 6-2 record when it allows at least 7 steals.
