At the onset of the week, the Memphis Tigers are a virtual certainty for the NCAA Tournament. Memphis has a mediocre body of work but finished 2nd to the Houston Cougars in the American Athletic Conference race. Memphis has a talented roster that showed its College Basketball lines potential. And it has name-brand wins over the Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies. Offsetting that were bad losses to the UCF Knights, Tulane Green Wave, Seton Hall Pirates, and Saint Louis Billikens. But head coach Penny Hardaway is the perfect fit at his hometown and alma mater.
Memphis Tigers 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament
| Date and Time: | Friday, March 10, 2023, 6 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas |
| TV Coverage: | ESPNU |
| Memphis Tigers AAC Championship odds at SBG: | +500 |
Memphis Tigers AAC Tournament SBG Odds Overview
Of major concern to online betting gamblers was that Memphis finished the regular season in the red. But a strong showing at the American Athletic Conference Tournament can change everything. Specifically, Memphis will play against the winner of the March 9 game between the UCF Knights and SMU Mustangs. Tipoff time at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, is at 6 p.m. ET with television coverage on ESPNU.
Memphis Tigers Team Overview
Overall, the Memphis Tigers are 23-8 straight up, 14-15-2 against the spread, and 17-14 over/under the total. Memphis has national metrics of 25th for scoring offense, 23rd for field goal percentage, 177th for 3-point field goal percentage, 86th for free throw percentage, and 170th for offensive rebounding. While on defense, Memphis is 253rd for scoring defense, 34th for field goal percentage permitted, 543rd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 180th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Memphis got the money in four of its previous five games. The Tigers went under the College basketball lines total in five of their last six games. Kendric Davis leads Memphis with 21.3 points and 5.8 assists per game.
Last Sunday, Memphis lost its regular season finale to the Houston Cougars are Senior Day. As time ran out, Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket. Memphis’ Kendric Davis drove to the basket with nine seconds left and tied the game at 65. Subsequently, Shead maneuvered along the top of the key, created some space, and shot as the lights around the basket showed time had expired.
Namely, Tramon Mark matched Shead’s 16 points for Houston. In contrast, Marcus Sasser finished with 13. Shead also had seven assists. Davis led Memphis with 26 points. At the same time, Chandler Lawson added ten. A second-half run by Memphis, capped by a Davis 3-pointer, provided the Tigers a 56-51 lead. However, they couldn’t hold it, and Houston scored ten straight points. The matchup between the conference’s top teams came two weeks after the Cougars defeated Memphis 72-64 on Feb. 19. First half action between the Tigers and Cougars was physical. Specifically, officials allowed some tough play near the basket. But Memphis still benefitted at the free throw line. At one point, Memphis had attempted 12 free throws to only one for the Cougars.
On the whole, the Tigers couldn’t keep pace with Houston’s 3-point shooting. Meanwhile, the Cougars were up 41-32 at the half. Memphis made four 3-point shots before the midway point of the second half. As a result, they took their first lead, 48-47, with 13 minutes left in the game.