Kendric Davis scores 27 as Memphis basketball takes down No. 11 Auburn
ATLANTA ― Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams combined for 43 points in Memphis basketball’s 82-73 win over No. 11 Auburn on Saturday at State Farm Arena.
The arena, teeming with a predominantly boisterous Auburn crowd for most of the game, was left alone to a largely raucous Memphis contingent in the closing minutes. Auburn closed the gap to as few as eight points with fewer than two minutes left, but the Tigers held on.
Davis scored 27 points, adding nine rebounds and six assists. The Tigers were serenaded by a spirited rendition of "Whoop That Trick" as they left the court after the win, which is an important nonconference notch in their NCAA Tournament resumé.
Memphis (8-2) won its sixth straight game and knocked Auburn (8-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Tigers will try to knock off another top-15 team Tuesday when it travels to No. 8 Alabama (8 p.m., ESPN2).
Here are five observations from Saturday’s victory.
Kendric Davis clutch late
For all his flash and ferociousness, Davis also does the little things that matter just as much or more.
With Auburn threating to cut the Memphis lead to six at the 1:57 mark, shortly after Williams fouled out with four minutes to play, Davis took a charge that stopped the momentum.
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Twenty-six seconds later, Davis helped prevent an easy Chris Moore layup. After the miss, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was called for a technical foul, and Davis buried two free throws to put Memphis up 75-65.
Second-half DeAndre Williams
Williams, who has been as important to Memphis’ success this season as anyone, found it tough to get going in the first half. Mainly because he was stuck on the bench for 10 minutes with three personal fouls.
But Williams showed up in the second half. He scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime and collected six of his game-high 11 rebounds over the final 20 minutes. Williams, who missed a triple-double by three assists last week against Ole Miss, notched his third double-double of the year.
Keeping them off the offensive glass
One of the primary points of emphasis for the Tigers as they prepared for Auburn was limiting the offensive rebounds for Pearl’s team.
“We’re getting them. But we’re giving them up,” Hardaway said Thursday. “So, we’ve gotta do better with that. We have to be more serious on boxing out and taking guys off the offensive glass.”
Memphis came through, especially early, limiting Auburn to just one offensive rebound in the first half. Auburn had more success in the second half, but the Tigers still held it to 11.
Memphis overcomes odds late in first half
Memphis mostly has stayed out of foul trouble this season. Even Williams, who has struggled in his Tigers career with fouls, had fouled out just once.
In the first half Saturday, though, Williams and others couldn’t steer clear of the whistle. Williams, Malcolm Dandridge and Alex Lomax each caught three personals. As a result, Williams played just 10 minutes before halftime, Dandridge played just four and Lomax only nine.
All three were on the bench for the final 3:37 of the first half, when Auburn held a 30-29 lead. But the Tigers closed the half on a 9-2 run, spurred by a mix of sound defense, timely offensive rebounding (two by Elijah McCadden) and balanced scoring (Davis 3, Chandler Lawson 2, McCadden 2, Keonte Kennedy 2).
Minimizing the damage
For well as Memphis played in spurts in the first half – going 8-for-10 shooting during one five-minute stretch and while not allowing Auburn to score more than two straight baskets without a miss – it also struggled.
Tremendously, in fact. During one stretch, the Tigers committed seven of their whopping 13 first-half turnovers over a 4:28 span. Memphis’ first-half turnover total was as many or more than the team committed in six of its first nine games this season.
But Memphis saved itself from regretting most of them. Auburn, which shot 36% in the first half, parlayed all those Memphis cough-ups into just seven points. The Tigers scored 13 points off just eight Auburn turnovers.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball pounds Auburn, as Penny Hardaway tops Bruce Pearl
