by David Cassilo / @dcassilo
The Memphis Tigers have struggled this season against ranked opponents, losing games to Georgetown and Kansas by a combined 30 points. While Wednesday’s opponent, Tennessee, is no longer ranked, the Tigers’ 104-84 loss to the Volunteers shows that Memphis still has a long way to go against quality teams.
Tennessee, which had lost four of its last six games, all of which came against unranked teams, had little trouble getting back on track against Memphis. In Bruce Pearl’s last game before his SEC suspension, the Volunteers shot 53.7 percent from the field and outrebounded Memphis by 11.
The loss shows that the young Memphis team still has a long way to go, and Josh Pastner, the team’s head coach, described his team’s performance bluntly.
From The Memphis Commercial Appeal:
The Tennessee Volunteers beat the Memphis Tigers 104-84 Wednesday night, and it wasn’t nearly that close.
“It’s a disgusting feeling, a sickening feeling,” said Pastner.
Memphis now will hit conference play, and unlike years’ past, Conference USA will be no cakewalk. Central Florida is 14-0 meaning that the Tigers will be a conference underdog until further notice.
