FORT WORTH, Texas — Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball continues to the NCAA tournament after defeating the shorthanded Houston Cougars 75-65 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament game Sunday, March 12.
The Tigers automatically earned the league's NCAA Tournament bid with the win, and Penny Hardaway's team now heads to March Madness for the second year in a row. The team's record is now 26-8.
Hardaway makes history, with the team winning its first conference championship in 10 years.
Kendric Davis scored 31 points, making a huge 14-point run before halftime. DeAndre Williams had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Houston (31-3) played without AAC player of the year, Marcus Sasser, who strained his groin in the first half of Saturday's semifinal game. The senior guard's status will remain a question mark for the Cougars, who entered their final AAC game already a sure bet for their first No. 1 NCAA seed since 1983 during the Phi Slama Jama era.
J'Wan Roberts had 12 points and 20 rebounds for Houston. Jamal Shead had 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting, and Jarace Walker had 13 points before fouling out.
The Cougars trailed by 18 at halftime, but got within 55-50 with 11:03 left after Shead scored eight points in a row for them in a two-minute span. His 3-pointer capped a 12-1 run, and he made another long-range shot before two free throws, but that was the closest Houston would get.
Memphis had taken control with a 16-2 run in the first half. Davis had all but two of those points and made two 3-pointers only 9 seconds apart.
That big spurt started on a fast-break layup by Davis with just under eight minutes left. Davis made a 3, and then Alex Lomax made a backcourt steal and passed to Davis at the top of the key for another 3. By time Davis made another fast-break layup with 3:36 left, the Tigers had doubled up Houston, 40-20.
The Cougars, who are moving to the Big 12 next season, beat Memphis 71-53 in last year's AAC tournament championship game, and won both regular-season matchups this season.
BIG PICTURE
Memphis: Hardaway played in the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Tournaments in his only two seasons as a player for the Tigers, and now has taken them to as many as a coach. He has 110 wins in his five seasons as Memphis' coach. Memphis will make its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Houston: Sasser dressed and went through some pregame warmups, but watched the entire game from the bench. The Cougars led only at 3-2 on a 3-pointer by Terrance Arecenaux before Williams responded with a 3 for Memphis. It was the first loss for Houston in 12 games at Dickies Arena. The Cougars won the two AAC tournament titles there, and regular-season games each of the last three years.