BY JASON MUNZ
Memphis Commercial Appeal
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas, November 24, 2023 — Memphis basketball found itself in a figurative fight Friday against Villanova in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship at Imperial Arena.
There was a second half, which ended with the Wildcats a 79-63 winner. But the Tigers found its flow and its fight, ripping off a 24-2 run late in the game to cut Villanova’s lead to 69-56 with under four minutes to play.
But the Wildcats’ cushion was too much for Memphis to overcome.
With the Prime Minister of the Bahamas (Philip Davis) seated courtside, Villanova (6-1) was clinical in its obliteration of No. 23 Memphis (5-1) through the first 20 minutes – especially at the 3-point line. Kyle Neptune’s team made eight of its 19 long-range attempts before halftime and carried a 44-16 lead into the break.
Memphis defeated Michigan and Arkansas (No. 20 in this week’s Associated Press poll) to reach the tournament’s title game. But Penny Hardaway’s team was neither prepared for Villanova nor in sync at any point in the first half. The Tigers went into the break shooting 15% from the field (8% from three), while committing eight turnovers (which led to 14 Villanova points).
David Jones, who dropped a career-best 36 points on Thanksgiving Day versus Arkansas, led Memphis with 13 points. TJ Bamba’s 13 points led Villanova.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
FRIGID FROM THE FIELD
No Tiger was spared from the nightmarish offensive showing for much of the game.
With 11 minutes left in the game and Villanova leading 59-27, only Caleb Mills (three), Ashton Hardaway and David Jones (two each) had more than one field goal in the game. But even they were just a combined 7-of-20 at that point.
The rest of the team was 3 for 25 three quarters of the way through the contest. Jaykwon Walton came into the game as the Tigers’ second-leading scorer with 12.0 points per game. But nothing was working for him Friday, as he finished 1 for 9.
It all added up to a hole too deep for Memphis to dig out of.
SO MANY 3-POINT SHOTS
Exacerbating Memphis’ woes was a near dearth of informed shot selection.
The Tigers’ front court found itself in foul trouble early, forcing Jordan Brown, Nick Jourdain and Malcolm Dandridge into limited minutes. Instead of altering the game plan, Memphis continued launching 3-pointers, which played right into the bigger Wildcats’ hands.
Memphis got hot late to finish 7-of-25 beyond the arc.
DIFFICULTY DEFENDING THE 3
Villanova is not bashful when it comes to letting it fly. The Wildcats entered Friday’s game averaging 27 3-point attempts per game.
So, it’s not overly surprising that they launched 35 triples against Memphis. What is a bit eyebrow-raising is how successful Villanova was at connecting. Averaging just 9.1 makes per game coming in, it buried 13 against Memphis.
OH, THE REBOUNDING
Even before Friday’s game, Memphis’ rebounding issues had been exposed.
In the first five games, its opponents were enjoying a plus-2.8 rebounding margin. Facing the Big East’s Villanova, whose only loss this season came against Penn, didn’t do anything to help matters.
The Wildcats had their way with the Tigers on the glass, finishing with a 41-36 advantage.
JAHVON QUINELY vs. HIS OLD TEAM
DAVID JONES: “He kicked our butt”: How Memphis star’s monster game was viewed by Arkansas
Jahvon Quinerly transferred to Memphis this summer after spending three seasons at Alabama.
But, before that, the New Jersey native spent one season at Villanova. He played sparingly as a freshman in 2018-19, averaging 3.2 points per game.
Facing his former team for the first time, Quinerly found a groove late and wound up with 12 points.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
