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Three Man Weave: Memphis Beats Cincinnati 81-74 on Throwback Night

The Bearcats now must win the AAC Tournament to punch a ticket into March Madness.

CINCINNATI — This year's Throwback Night won't get looked back on fondly over the next few decades by UC fans. The Cincinnati Bearcats (16-9, 6-6) fell to the Memphis Tigers (15-8, 9-4) 81-74 on Tuesday night.

"I’m frustrated, disappointed, hurt," Bearcats head coach Wes Miller said. "All the kind of stuff that happens when you lose, there’s no doubt about that. I think everybody in that locker room feels the exact same way. I thought the way that the game started has happened a handful of times this year and has happened last week against Houston, that makes is tough when you’re digging holes. They score 16 points in the first four minutes of the game… we’ve got to find ways to get off to better starts and not dig holes. We’re going to continue to work to do that."

The Tigers sports a top-five NBA prospect in Jalen Duran (13 points, three rebounds), but they didn't need him to do much in this game. Memphis played great team basketball and weathered the road storm for a win that crushes any hope of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for UC. The Bearcats are 2-3 in their past three games.

Here's the Three Man Weave on a tough night at Fifth Third Arena.

Slow Start Buries Bearcats

Cincinnati punched back after a disastrous first half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 41-26 deficit at the break. Duren played only four minutes in the frame, but the rest of the roster was more than capable as head coach Penny Hardaway rode a hot lineup.

Cincinnati had no answers for the suffocating full-court press Memphis employed. They turned the ball over seven times and forced the rock away from David Dejulius on inbounds. The Bearcats lead playmaker found some more space in the second half—but shot just three times in the first 20 minutes.

“Their pressure in the first half, their pressing, I thought it just had a tremendous impact on us," Miller said. "It took us out of our running game, took us out of our half-court offense, they’re doubling Dave (DeJulius) on what felt like every on-ball action, and we struggled to handle that and convert and make plays. That had an effect on the possessions in the first half where they didn’t do that. It had us so out of whack, then you start pressing, guys aren’t in the right spots. 

It had a big effect on us, then I thought we adjusted late in the first half and we talked about it at half time. That had a big impact on the game, and you’ve got to give Penny (Hardaway, Memphis head coach) and that stuff credit for that. Offensively, it took us out. They tried to do it in our first game, and I thought we handled it."

Memphis has the depth to match Cincinnati—and are pairing it with sound defensive rotations and athleticism in an undefeated February.

"Obviously, you guys saw them trapping and releasing," Jeremiah Davenport said about the early Memphis defense. "They got us spooked for the first 10 minutes, 15 minutes, something like that. And we just found a way to overcome that in such a way. So yeah, they definitely sped us up. A lot of great athletes, I give credit to the Memphis guys. You know they did a good job on defense. So definitely, that sped us up for sure

Josh Minott (10 points, six rebounds) and the rest of Memphis shot 15-of-23 inside the arc to start the game, and it gave them enough cushion when UC made a second-half push. Minott himself was a perfect 5-of-5 in those 20 minutes as Memphis moved the ball well and consistently hit shots within 10 feet of the rim.

Cincinnati's defense overall really missed Abdul Ado, who missed the game with an ankle injury. The team had a 38-26 deficit in paint points and couldn't get enough rebounds to make up for a 35.9% shooting night and 7-of-29 from three.

Alex Lomax Dices Cincinnati's Defense

The Memphis Tigers leading playmaker didn't score much in Tuesday night's win, but he was happy to set up his teammates. Alex Lomax (five points, nine rebounds) had a great feel for open teammates all night and contributed to one of the best ball-movement displays Cincinnati's given up in 2021-22.

The Bearcats had no answer for the playmaking duo of Lomax and Lester Quinones (12 points, three assists). Cincinnati allowed 18 assists, tying Tennessee Tech and Georgia for the most allowed this season.

Right behind those games is the first Memphis meeting where they allowed 16 dimes. Memphis is like a blur on offense, and Lomax has the special touch to slow things down. He finished with the second-highest offensive rating in the game (117.6), and the highest assist rate (38%) all while committing zero turnovers.

Lomax was a point god on Tuesday night, and it made playmaking that much easier for the rest of his teammates.

Jeremiah Davenport Erupts After Halftime

Davenport (20 points, 11 rebounds) was the highest scorer in the contest, but UC needed a complete 40-minute show to pull off an upset. The combo guard's confidence shined through on a night where open shots were hard to come by.

Cincinnati had just 10 assists leaving Davenport to create a lot of offense off the bounce. He went 3-of-7 in the opening half but upped his efficiency with his team on the brink (5-of-6). The Moeller product finished with a team-high 77% effective FG mark.

Davenport's offensive energy translated on the glass as well. He totaled a game-high 11 rebounds and the second-highest rebound rate on the night (27.6%)

Mike Saunders (10 points, one assist) and Davenport formed a nice two-man game in the second half to break the Memphis ball pressure. In the end, Cincinnati couldn't keep pace with Memphis in Davenport's first career 20-point double-double.

“We’ve got 48 hours. Wichita State is back to playing like Wichita State," Miller said. We’ve got to turn the page and get ready. I was proud of the ways the kids dug back into it in the second half. I thought we had our chances. We didn’t get enough stops, we had some chances to convert some things and we didn’t do it. I’m disappointed in the outcome but we’ve got to stay together, turn the page and get ready for a game 48 hours from now.” 

UC has a quick turnaround before facing Wichita State on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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