Houston, We Almost Had A Problem – Three Keys Report Card
As we previewed pregame, on Sunday afternoon, the #19 ranked Memphis Tigers, now 18-4 and 8-1 in the American, was in Houston to tangle with the, now 11-11 and 2-7 in AAC play, Rice Owls. In the end, the Tigers would squeeze out an 86-83 win in a nailbiter at the end. We will give a report card from our three keys to success for Memphis from earlier in the day.
What Were The Keys?
Smart Shot Selection
When we begin the analysis of the close win, we start with shot selection offensively. In the first half, Memphis was effective as they made their first 14 of 19 shots. To further this point, the Tigers were 63% {17-27} from the field. In addition to this, the Tigers shot 60% {6-10} from three behind stellar selection and ball movement within the offense. Memphis reached the free throw line 8 times making 4 and shooting 50% in this category for a solid first half shooting taking a 44-39 lead into the locker room.
In the second stanza, the Tiger’s shot would cease to fall as it did to start the game. Shooting 48.5% {16-33} from the field. The three balls also dropped as the Tigers went 45% {5-11} shooting to close the contest. The free throw stripe would prove to be more forgiving as Memphis went 71.4% while going 5-7 from the line. For the game, Memphis finished shooting 50% {33-60} from the field in what was a much closer game than many of the Tiger nations wanted. From beyond the arc, Memphis finished 52.4% {11-21} behind strong performances we will discuss soon. To close out the game, the Tigers shot 60% {9-15} from the free throw line.
Many performances stood out on the offensive end today. We start with PJ Haggerty who led the Tigers with 26 points with 14 coming in the 2nd half. In addition to a barrage of points, Haggerty dimed 5 assists, secured two steals, and grabbed 8 rebounds with 6 in the 2nd half of the win. The 8 rebounds also led Memphis in the game.
Haggerty, a native of Houston, entered the day as the #4 scorer in the nation as he averaged 21.4 points per game. Today was the eighth time Haggerty has reached at least 25 points this season.
Not to be outdone was PJ Carter who reinforced the win with 19 points off the bench. Carter would drain a game-high 5 three-pointers while shooting 5-7 for the game. With this performance, Carter now has 11 triples in the last three games while averaging 15.7 points in these contests. In the end, Carter would seal the victory, with 4.2 seconds remaining, as he drained two free throws followed by a massive defensive strip to ground the Owls.
Lastly, Memphis saw Tyrese Hunter score 14 of his 19 points in the second half as he reached double figures for the 16th time this season. In his 37 minutes of play, Hunter shot 7-11 from the floor as well as four rebounds, along with five assists, and two steals. This is the 7th time this season with five or more assists for Memphis.
We grade this key a B+ in the win for Memphis.
Be Big In Paint
We spoke about the importance of the paint for Memphis and this key was somewhat successful. If we look at the stats from the Memphis big men, it was less than stellar. For Nick Jordain, this game might need to be forgotten. In his 23 minutes of play today, Jordain shot 2-6 from the field, 1-3 from the free throw line, and 7 rebounds. With this, Nick scored 5 points in the win, and Memphis needed more from this position room.
In a game where Memphis outscored Rice, 38-28, in the paint the most rebounds for the team came from a guard. To further this point, the Tigers were outrebounded on the offensive end, 11-14, while having an advantage on the defensive glass 35-20 for an overall 46-34 dominance.
We spoke of Dain Dainja and the recent tear he had been on and that now has ended. The transfer scored 6 points on 3-6 shooting from the field. Dainja grabbed 5 rebounds with 3 coming defensively. In addition, he would toss 6 assists while giving up 3 turnovers in 24 and a half minutes of play.
We close with Moussa Cisse, who was not effective in the win. The 2 points, 3 rebounds with 1 being on defense, and 1 block in 9 minutes was costly. Yet not as costly as the constant foul trouble for these big men for Memphis as Cisse had 4 fouls today.
In the end, this was a key that was not graded highly as we gave them a F.
Keep Your Foot On Gas Defensively
In a game where Memphis would lead for 38:06, the game did not feel as dominant of a win. The Tigers would open their lead to as many as nine on two instances including a game-high 11-point lead in the first half. The duo of nine-point leads came in the second half but three of the 15 turnovers would allow Rice to ignite a 10-2 run to pull within one with under 13 minutes left. The Tigers clawed back to push the lead to 80-69 after Hunter drained a three followed by a massive and-one from Haggerty. With under three minutes the large Memphis contingency in the 2,278 people in attendance the game changed.
This is when the Owls would fly to a 12-2 run over 2:17 to slash the deficit to one with 12 seconds remaining.
With this being said, yes, we understand that Memphis won the game in a road environment. With that, the defense has to compete for a complete game as there is zero margin for error.
For that, we give the Tigers a D in this final key for success.
Overall, the Tigers came away from Houston quite lucky to win. In a game where Memphis continued to separate from Rice all time, now 10-2 and 5-1 in Houston, they did not in their performance on the court. Yes, this was the first win in Tudor Fieldhouse since January of 2013 but as fans have constantly cried about being a “poverty program and conference” this Memphis roster should dominate if we are being honest.
One thing is clear after we recently spoke with ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes. Even in a close and ugly win, Penny Hardaway continues to impress with his coaching job in 2025. Dykes told 4 Star Sports that “He{Penny} won’t win it, but he should be in contention for coach of the year.”. Dykes followed this up by closing with “Memphis will be a tough out when we get to the tournament.” this was a great insight into someone who, as he told us, is “Very close to Penny.”.
Up next for Memphis as they begin the second half of their American slate, is a pair of home games. On Wednesday, Memphis will welcome the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes for a 7 pm tip. Following this, the Tigers welcome the Temple Owls for a get-back game on ‘Big Game Sunday’ scheduled to tip off at 1 pm.
We will have much more on this win and the upcoming games soon. Stay tuned.
