Memphis Tigers vs Gonzga Bulldgos Basketball Recap

Gonzaga 66, Memphis 58

The reality has to be too crushing and cruel for Memphis fans to ignore: On a day when the beloved Tigers needed to post a statement-making non-conference victory, an old demon resurfaced and sabotaged an attempt to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Loyal fans of Coach Josh Pastner's young pups had to cringe in the final few minutes of regulation time on Saturday afternoon at the FedEx Forum. Given one last chance to impress the NCAA Division I-A Men's Basketball Committee, Memphis had the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs within its sights. Trailing the No. 13 team in the United States by a slim 56-55 margin, the Tigers had a chance to take the lead with 2:31 to go.

Wesley Witherspoon - by far UM's best player in this game, and the owner of 26 points in the game's first 37-plus minutes - went to the foul line for a pair of free throws at this point in the proceedings. With two makes, Witherspoon would have applied a lot of pressure to a Gonzaga club that scored only one basket in a six-minute stretch midway through the second half. The FedEx crowd was roaring, and it appeared that Memphis - in dire need of this win for its NCAA at-large hopes - had a better than even-money chance of delivering the breakthrough win its backers were fervently craving.

There was just one problem: Witherspoon - for all his immense skills as a scorer - couldn't come good at the foul line. Pastner's most dependable player missed both foul shots on a day when he hit just 6 of 12 charity pitches.

Gonzaga sensed its moment of opportunity and took advantage.

The Zags - who looked rattled just moments earlier (they scored only 2 points from the 11:04 mark in the second half until just under five minutes remained on the clock) - rediscovered the attack-based brand of basketball that had served them so well in the first 29 minutes of play. Gonzaga built a 49-42 second half lead by going hard to the bucket, and when GU gained close-range baskets from guard Demetri Goodson and Robert Sacre, the visitors from the Pacific Northwest carved out a small but substantial 60-57 lead with 1:28 left. Memphis fell behind, but with airtight basketball in the final 88 seconds, a comeback was still possible.

But then came the foul line again. While Gonzaga made six straight free throws, UM guard Elliot Williams split a pair from the line with 56 seconds left, and as a result, the Zags were able to slowly and steadily build on their lead. When Goodson hit two final foul shots for Coach Mark Few's club with 43 seconds remaining, Gonzaga owned a 66-58 lead that wouldn't change in the closing seconds. Foul shots - the cursed entity that killed Memphis in the 2008 national title game against Kansas - had just re-entered the picture on a day when Memphis couldn't make a misstep.

The Tigers can still win the Conference USA Tournament, but after this loss, it appears that's the only way Memphis will once again return to the field of 65.