In the aftermath of a 13-point home loss just before Christmas, Memphis coach Penny Hardaway made a decision to return to “old-school practices” every day.
That meant sprints on Christmas night. Some “choice words all week for a lot of guys,” Hardaway said. Seven days later, Memphis blew out then-No. 16 Mississippi by 17 points.
“It paid off,” Hardaway said.
Now, No. 21 Memphis (10-3) rides that momentum into Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic (7-6) in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener on Thursday.
For Hardaway, Memphis opens its conference schedule on exactly the right step after being “as hard on them than I’ve ever been all year.”
“Just an unbelievable run, to be 10-3 after this schedule,” Hardaway said. “Every game was grueling, every game was fatiguing, every game was hard. Just kudos to the players for fighting hard every game to be 10-3.”
The Tigers could be in for quite the shootout at FAU. Florida Atlantic has scored the second-most points among AAC teams with 84.8, but the Owls have allowed the most points at 77.5.
It also does not help FAU that it has not played since Dec. 21. As a result, first-year Owls coach John Jakus has focused on conditioning to gear up his guys for Thursday while emphasizing a balanced attack.
“Certainly we can shoot the three, but I don’t want our season to be dictated by whether that shot goes in or not,” said Jakus, whose team features four players shooting at least 38 percent from long range. “We’ve got to control some of the other things, so that becomes a bonus and not something we have to count on.”
Florida Atlantic could have its hands full with Memphis. PJ Haggerty ranks second in the AAC and seventh nationally with 22.1 points per game. Tyrese Hunter (15.0 ppg) and Colby Rogers (12.8 ppg) bolster the backcourt.
“The three guards for them have been pretty special,” Jakus said, noting that all three can give Memphis 20 points on any given night. He added: “They’re a group, but they’re also individuals. So for us, it just comes down to breaking down each individual’s strength and us knowing what it is they do well and doing our best to take that away from them.”
Kaleb Glenn (13.3) leads a group of six Owls who average nine points or better. And Baba Miller — with 11 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks — serves as the anchor of the frontcourt.
At 6-feet-11, Moussa Cisse could provide an answer for Memphis. Cisse comes off his best game of the year against Mississippi with 13 points, 11 boards and three blocks. If Cisse can continue playing that way, Hardaway said, “it’s going to be a great end of the year” for the Tigers.
It’s a long road until then, however, and the Tigers are “the hunted,” Hardaway said, noting that the media picked Memphis to finish second behind UAB. The Tigers cannot expect to win every game. Rather, they need to learn from that Ole Miss win.
Said Hardaway: “We just have to continue to have that same edge that we had (against Mississippi) and never lose it.”
–Field Level Media
