3 observations from loss at Houston
HOUSTON — Memphis came up empty in its bid to upset No. 21 Houston for the second time in two weeks.
The Cougars, who lost in Memphis on Feb. 22, picked up steam in the second half and used a 17-2 run in the final 10 minutes to pull out the 64-57 victory Sunday afternoon. Quentin Grimes, who missed the last meeting against the Tigers, was a one-man wrecking crew for the Cougars. The sophomore guard scored 15 of Houston’s 17 points during the pivotal run and finished the game with 17 total.
While the Cougars caught fire over the final 10 minutes, shooting 48.4% in the second half, the Tigers spiraled. Coach Penny Hardaway’s team made just four field goals (on just 15 attempts) over the first 18-plus minutes of the second half. It was 4-of-7 from the field over the final 83 seconds.
“We understood what it was going to be coming here,” Hardaway said. “We knew it was going to be about protecting the ball and boxing out, and we didn’t get it done. I’ve got to do a better of that with my squad – of being more prepared to play a game like this. They’re going to give you 40 minutes of nothing but energy. You have to be prepared for it. “We didn’t get the job done.”
The loss, highlighted by Precious Achiuwa’s 18th double-double of the season (25 points, 15 rebounds), means the Tigers (21-10, 10-8 AAC) will go into next week’s conference tournament on a sour note. Memphis will be the No. 6 seed and is scheduled to face No. 11 seed East Carolina (11-20, 5-13) at 9 p.m. Thursday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
“We’ve got some work to do going back and looking forward to the AAC Tournament,” Hardaway said.
Freshman Lester Quinones’ confidence was not shaken after the loss or by the fact that Memphis is outside most NCAA Tournament projections one week from Selection Sunday.
“I feel like on a neutral site, we really could come out (victorious),” he said. “I feel like we’re the best team in the conference when we stay together. When we start to inch out, separate a little bit like we did today toward the second half, that’s when things start to go south. But if we stay together, I feel like we’re one of the best teams in the country at it.”
Here are three key observations from the game.
Prime time Grimes
The Cougars’ second-leading scorer’s first basket of the second half didn’t come until there was 9:24 left in the game.
But it was a big one.
Grimes’ 3-pointer put Houston up 42-41 and was the first of four consecutive baskets he made. The Cougars did not trail again. His last field goal came with 3:15 remaining in the game and extended the home team’s lead to 56-43.
Grimes’ effort helped mitigate Caleb Mills’ troubles. The redshirt freshman, who scored 21 points in the first meeting between the two teams, was just 1-of-13 with four points Sunday.
“That’s what (Grimes) is capable of being on a nightly basis,” Hardaway said. “He’s a talented kid, Mcdonald’s All-american, that understands the pressure of a game like that.”
Fabian White Jr. put up a team-high 18 points for Houston.
Too much on the boards
In the last meeting, Houston out-rebounded Memphis 43-34.
It didn’t come back to haunt the Tigers, though, mostly because they committed just eight turnovers.
On Sunday, the Cougars dominated the boards again, winning the rebounding battle 45-41. But, in particular, Houston’s prowess on the offensive glass gave Memphis fits. Coach Kelvin Sampson’s club came into the game as the third-best offensive rebounding team in the country, averaging more than 14 per game.
The Cougars outdid themselves, finishing with 19 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 second-chance points. Memphis had only 10 offensive boards (and eight second-chance points).
The Tigers also were hurt by reverting to their old ways in terms of ball security, committing 17 turnovers. That led directly to 17 points for Houston.
“We just didn’t get it done today. We’ve got to go back to the drawing board,” Hardaway said.
Trouble from deep
The Tigers entered Sunday’s game having shot 30% or worse from 3-point land in four of their past five games.
It became five out of six after they connected on just six of 24 (25%) attempts from beyond the arc Sunday.
Despite Memphis’ recent struggles there, it has been able to count on Tyler Harris to produce. The sophomore guard was 14-of-36 in the six games leading up to Sunday’s contest. But Harris (who averaged 11.3 points over the past eight games) wasn’t the same against the Cougars. He missed his only two 3-point tries and scored just four points on one field goal.
Meanwhile, Achiuwa helped give Memphis what little it got in the longrange game. The freshman star hit a pair of 3-pointers. It was the first time he’s made a 3-pointer since Feb. 16 and the first time he has hit multiple since Jan. 4.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.