Memphis Basketball Recap: Tigers crush Big East rival Bearcats, 88-55, at FedExForum

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA sports coverage. Today, our Memphis correspondent brings a recap of the Memphis vs. Cincinnati basketball game.

The return of the archrival Bearcats to Memphis in front of a crowd of 16,223 also seemed to usher in the return of the Tigers to championship form. For the first time since an early season 80-63 thumping of Kentucky, the No.22-ranked Tigers truly looked like a team on the verge of being a legitimate post-season contender by routing rival Cincinnati 88-55.

Coach Calipari's Tigers accomplished this by eliminating three weaknesses that have been plaguing them all season.

Thursday night, the Tigers remedied poor 3-point shooting with freshman Willie Kemp and senior Jeremy Hunt, who combined to go 12-16 from beyond the arch. For the first time all year junior big-man Joey Dorsey, who led the NCAA last year in technical fouls, successfully avoided foul trouble. The Tigers even remedied their dismal free-throw shooting, ranked 11th in Conference-USA, by going 12-18 from the charity stripe.

Coach John Calipari stated in a post-game radio broadcast that this might have been the single best defensive night a team of his has had during his seven years at Memphis. The Tigers forced 14 turnovers, recorded ten blocked shots--led by Dorsey's five and sophomore Kareem Cooper's two—and combined for five steals from sophomores Chris Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson, freshman Doneal Mack, Dorsey, and Cooper.

Offensively, the Tigers shot 59.3% from the field and 66.7% from the free-throw line. Three Tigers scored in double figures: Jeremy Hunt, 24 points; Willie Kemp, 21 points; and Robert Dozier, 13 points.

Senior Cedric McGowan’s 20 points and junior John Williamson’s 11 points led Cincinnati. The Bearcats shot 37.5% from the field and 61.5% from the free-throw line, and were outrebounded by the Tigers 40-21.

The 33-point victory for Memphis is the largest margin of victory in the series since 1964. It also improves the No.22 Tigers to 11-3 as they move into regular conference play next week. Memphis is 10-3 versus non-conference opponents, and 1-0 in Conference USA.