2 ⬆2⬇ WHO’S NEXT??
Attendance: 9398
First came UTRGV then came Minnesota. They came, they saw, but we conquered. Slowly but surely the uncertainty of what to expect from Tubby’s Tigers is beginning to dissipate.
The Tigers outscored the Panthers by 14 the first half. Milwaukee made adjustments at halftime and matched the Tigers 30 point 2nd half effort. The Panthers get within 7 in the 2nd half 41-48. Timeout is called next play Tigers increased intensity forces a turnover and reaults inn2 pts for Jeremiah martin. next play Jeremiah Martin sends one the Panthers 3pt attempt into the stands and crowd goes crazy. The Tigers finish the game on a 20 – 8 run.
Although the Memphis defeated Minnesota by 14 points, there is still room for improvement. The Tigers only shot 2-12 from the free throw line.
Coach Smith emphasizes the priority and importance of defense. Only two Panthers scored in double figures. The Tigers out rebounded the Panthers on both sides of the ball (40-27).
Dedric Lawson led the Tigers scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. KJ Lawson also registered a double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Markel Crawford scored in the double digits with 15 points shooting 6/12 form the field and 3/7 from the three point line.
The Josh Pastner Tubby Smith comparisons will likely continue at least through the end of the season. Dedric Lawson has mentioned several times that he likes Tubby’s coaching style. More specifically Markel Crawford has repeatedly stated how likes the Tubby Smith teaches and coaches at the same time.
Every kid has a driveway dream of playing in the NBA. For Markel Crawford and the Lawson brothers, playing in Tiger Blue is their dream come true. KJ reminisces on the Calipari era recalling watching Willie Kemp and Derrick Rose play in a Tigers’ uniform. Dedric Lawson “loves it more than anything in the world”.
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QUOTES
Preparing for the next game against Savannah State…
“I haven’t really watched Savannah State yet. We haven’t had a day off this week but we took two days off last week. We really need to get our rest. Guys have logged a lot of minutes. I wasn’t planning on playing Dedric 38 minutes, Jeremiah 37 and Markel 37. So we have to get off our feet. These guys are student-athletes first so they will be in class and then we’ll get busy in the afternoon watching what we need to watch from tonight’s game and then we’ll focus on Savannah State.”
Memphis redshirt freshman guard/forward K.J. Lawson
In the second half they got close to you, within seven points, and you called the timeout. After the time out kind of took back control and pulled away. What was said during that timeout to refocus the team?
“I don’t really remember but we stayed poised through the timeout, we just had to execute, one thing he did say is we have to win on the defensive end.”
Memphis sophomore guard/forward Dedric Lawson
Talk about the strategy to open the second half it looked like the ball was being fed to both of you guys in the paint.
“Coach Smith always preaches to go inside and just how the offense was flowing. Guys got open and set screens for each other. The ball just flowed to the guy’s hand who were open and that how we got our shots.”
Memphis sophomore guard/forward Dedric Lawson
Talk about the strategy to open the second half it looked like the ball was being fed to both of you guys in the paint.
“Coach Smith always preaches to go inside and just how the offense was flowing. Guys got open and set screens for each other. The ball just flowed to the guy’s hand who were open and that how we got our shots.”
The Tigers next game is Saturday at 11 am when they host Savannah State. Fans interested in attending the game should CLICK HERE!!
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