Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
When the No. 19 Memphis Tigers traveled to Florida to take on the South Florida Bulls, they knew they had to take the 9-4 Bulls very seriously. They answered their test in the tune of a 88-73 win. With that victory, the Tigers improved to 10-2 on the year and 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference while the Bulls fell to 9-5 on the season and 0-1 in the AAC.
The player of the game for both teams was certainly South Florida freshman John Egbunu who recorded 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with 14 rebounds (both game-highs). However, that’s about all that went right for the Bulls.
Memphis secured control of the game by getting out to a 48-32 lead at the 20-minute mark. Their up-tempo style continued the whole game, and they got double-figures scoring out of four players, including Geron Johnson who had 19, Joe Jackson (18), Michael Dixon Jr. (18) off the bench, and David Pellom (10).
Memphis had more rebounds, pulling down 39 to USF’s 34, more assists, 18 to USF’s 10, and steals, with 10 to USF’s five. They also held the Bulls to 0-for-9 shooting from three-point range.
Memphis’ breakneck pace will really be a pain to deal with for every team in the AAC. Up until the end of the game, head coach Josh Pastner was energetically yelling at his players despite having a lead over 20 points for much of the second half. I saw Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma doing the same thing a few years ago while holding a 70-point lead over my alma mater Holy Cross. Don’t worry, coach Pastner; you’re in good company.
Memphis squares off against the Cincinnati Bearcats on January 4. Tip off is at 12:00 p.m. ET. South Florida looks to rebound against Houston on January 4. Tip off is at 4:00 p.m. ET. If my predictions are correct, both of these squads will be in the top half of the conference at year’s end and both will receive NCAA Tournament berths.
Dan Karpuc is an American Athletic Conference basketball writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @dan_karpuc, “Like” him on Facebook, and add him to your network on Google.
