University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
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#1 Kansas
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Tigers Give No. 1 Kansas All They Can Handle
Nov 18, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2009
Final Stats |
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ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks escaped with a 57-55 win over the Memphis Tigers on Tuesday night in a rematch of the 2008 National Championship game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Memphis sophomore guard Elliot Williams' three pointer clanged off the rim in the final seconds of the battle between the Tigers and Jayhawks giving Bill Self's No. 1-ranked squad the win. Memphis falls to 1-1 on season with the loss. Kansas improves to 2-0 on the year.
Williams, a transfer from Duke, hit a contested three-point shot with 16.7 second left on the clock in the second half to put the Tigers within one point of the Jayhawks.
Memphis was then forced to send Kansas to the line where Sherron Collins, a third team All-American selection in 2008, hit one-of-two from the charity stripe.
The Tigers had an opportunity to tie or go-ahead in the final seconds but were unable to connect on Williams' opportunity.
Williams, a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., finished with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds to lead the U of M. The Tiger newcomer has put forth his two best scoring outings of his collegiate career in his first two games for his hometown team. He had 19 points in Memphis' first game of the season against Jackson State at FedExForum. His previous high coming into the season was 15 points against Maryland in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament last season while he was a member of the Duke Blue Devils.
Will Coleman was the Tigers' second leading scorer with eight points off the bench for Josh Pastner's squad. Coleman also had five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Kansas was led by 2008 All Big-12 first team selection Cole Aldrich who notched a double-double on the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Collins finished the game with 12 points and five boards, while freshman Xavier Henry had 11 points for the Jayhawks.
Tuesday's game started off at a slow pace with only six points scored between the two teams at the first media timeout at the 15:36 mark.
The Tigers were able to keep the Jayhawks at arms length for most of the opening period with Kansas holding no more than a six point lead over their competitors from the Bluff City.
The Jayhawks went into the half with a 26-20 lead on Memphis. Aldrich led Kansas with eight points and six rebounds. Collins had seven points in the first 20 minutes.
Memphis was led in the first half by Williams with eight points and six boards. Coleman chipped in with six points, three rebounds and two blocks in the first half.
The Tigers opened the second half with a quick three from senior Doneal Mack to close the game to within three points at 26-23.
From there, the Jayhawks took over, widening their lead to 10 points with a 12-5 run over the next six minutes.
However, Memphis followed the run with one of their own, scoring seven points to Kansas' two over the next four minutes, taking the Jayhawks' lead down to 40-35.
The Tigers stayed in the game not letting Kansas' lead get any bigger than seven points for the remainder of the contest.
Memphis cut the lead down to three points, the closest they had been since the start of the second half, when Mack connected on one-of-three foul shots at the three minute mark.
The Jayhawks countered with an Aldrich dunk and two made free-throws by Henry to take the lead back up to seven points.
Memphis clawed back into the game with a Coleman follow-up dunk and two made free-throws by senior guard Willie Kemp, taking the lead back down to three points.
After two made free-throws by Aldrich, Mack, one of three players remaining from the 2007-08 squad that lost to Kansas in the National Championship game, nailed a three-pointer to put the Tigers within two points.
The Jayhawks again countered with a layup by Collins taking the lead to 56-52.
Wiliams' connected three-pointer with 16.7 seconds would put the Tigers within one point, but that was as close as Memphis would get on the night.
Memphis falls to 0-9 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams. The U of M's showing against the Jayhawks on Tuesday is the closest they have ever come to defeating a top-ranked team. Their previous closest attempts were in 2005 against Duke, where they lost by three to the top-ranked Blue Devils and 1995 against UMass when the Tigers also lost by three to the top-ranked Minutemen.
Memphis' narrow loss to Kansas comes 589 days after their overtime loss to the Jayhawks in the 2008 National Championship game. Only three Tigers (Pierre Henderson-Niles, Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack) remain from the Tigers' 2008 squad.
The Tigers will return to the court on Fri., Nov. 20 against Tennessee Tech at 7 p.m., at FedExForum.
