With the American Athletic Conference semifinals set for this afternoon, here’s what you need to know about the games.
Just one more day till the AAC automatic bid is made, and Memphis still looks like the heavy favorite after a 42-point outing from PJ Haggerty sank the Wichita State Shockers 83-80 yesterday.
“It’s March,” he said after the win. “It’s win or go home. I’m not trying to go home, so at the end of the day, I just try to play my hardest, do what I can to do to win.”
With Dain Dainja appearing to be dealing with a shoulder injury, the Tigers will need to rely on Moussa Cissé inside more than ever. It will be interesting to see how that develops against Tulane.
For the Green Wave, a late run lifted Ron Hunter’s team over Florida Atlantic, and now they will face their toughest challenge yet in the 16th-ranked Memphis Tigers.
“I brought my old Penny Hardaway shoes,” Hunter said. “I might wear them in the game tomorrow. Just out of respect for my brother.”
Tulane will need all the luck it can get facing off against an offense that puts up 80.1 points per game and has a plethora of weapons aside from Haggerty and Dainja — such as Tyrese Hunter and Colby Rogers.
On the other side of the bracket for the 2-3 game, North Texas and UAB are set to be a battle of sharpest sword vs. impenetrable shield. The Mean Green rank first in the AAC in points allowed per game at 59.5 (third nationally), while UAB is first in the conference in points scored at 83.4 (good for 12th in DI).
The Blazers come off a big win over East Carolina where senior forward Yaxel Lendeborg picked up the first 30-20 game in AAC tourney history with 30 points and 20 rebounds. He also picked up eight assists, five steals and four blocks.
“I enjoy doing that,” he said after the game. “I watch a lot of big guards play and the way they facilitate the ball. That’s one of my favorite things to do, so whenever I can get one of my teammates open, I would always do that first. But Coach here wants me to go score first, so I’m still trying to adjust to that. Today was a good example for me to what I can do when I get the ball that much.”
Meanwhile, North Texas also finished off a route of its own, taking down Tulsa in the only way they know how—with their slow, methodical pace coupled with some heroics from Atin Wright.
“You’ve got to be careful this time of the year,” head coach Ross Hodge said. “It’s not a light switch. You’ve got to be able to execute for 40 minutes. But we do know — and this group has no panic in them, and they do know — they have played in enough games and we’ve played in enough games together. They don’t really panic, ever, and just settled in and executed defensively and then the offense usually follows.”
The Tulane-Memphis game tips off at 3 p.m. ET. The UAB-North Texas game is slated for 5 p.m. ET. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 3:15 p.m. ET.
