Tigers need a win at the Liberty Bowl this weekend
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Welcome to the Memphis Sports newsletter! I'm Ray Padilla. Here's what you need to know about the Tigers, Grizzlies and 901 FC.
With that being said, let’s get straight into the news:
Two years ago, Memphis Tigers football traveled to Houston full of pride after beating SMU and with dreams of a New Year’s Six bowl.
Now two years later, the Cougars celebrated a 10th win Friday and Memphis left with a 31-13 loss and doubts on where things are going, our Evan Barnes reports in his story for subscribers.
"There's frustration, there's hurt, there's anger in the locker room and there should be. I'm all of those things and so are our players. I'm disappointed," coach Ryan Silverfield said. "We know that having a winning percentage is the minimum expectation ... and we're not meeting that standard."
Read the full story: Memphis football in win-or-stay home mode, a fitting end to shaky season
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The loss put the Tigers under .500 for the first time since 2013 — ending a five-year winning streak against the Cougars and keeping the Tigers’ winless on the road in AAC play.
Barnes breaks down what we learned as Memphis needs to win this week against Tulane to be bowl eligible.
Emoni Bates is ‘allowed to have a bad game’
Three winning games into the freshman guard’s collegiate career, Emoni Bates delivered on the hype that made him a household name as a teenager.
He showed us he could score, rebound, defend and distribute. He was the Tigers’ undisputed leader after those three wins.
Although, on Friday, in a 74-62 win over Western Kentucky, Bates proved he’s human, our Jason Munz reports.
WKU coach Rick Stansbury said a big part of his game was centered on neutralizing Bates, but Memphis coach Penny Hardaway noted that no one other than Bates can limit his effectiveness.
‘Thank God for Jalen Duren’
After Friday’s ugly 74-62 win over Western Kentucky, coach Penny Hardaway said “Thank God for Jalen Duren tonight because he kept us in the game and won it for us.”
Our Mark Giannotto says if not for Duren and his 22 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks, Memphis would have deserved to lose for the first time this season.
Here’s an excerpt from his latest column for subscribers:
If not for Duren, the education of this much-anticipated team and Hardaway’s handling of the roster that played out awkwardly in front of a FedExForum crowd would have felt like a full-on crisis, rather than simply a cause for concern.
If not for Duren, Hardaway would not have been able to say what he said to start his postgame news conference.
“I’m glad this game came about before we went to New York to see what we were made of,” he said. “The optimism is we’ll learn from this.”
In a week’s time, that sentiment could turn out to be true.
Tigers head to Brooklyn
The Memphis Tigers (4-0) are set to face Virginia Tech (5-0) at 8:40 p.m. tomorrow at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Munz provides everything you need to know about tomorrow’s game.
Do you compare Ja Morant to Allen Iverson?
Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas become the second coach this month to compare Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant to Hall of Famer Allen Iverson — the same assertion Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams made, Barnes reports.
“(Ja) reminds me on early in my career, Allen Iverson was just relentless as far as putting pressure on the defense and you always have to account for him,” Silas said. “It’s in a way that almost has attitude. Ja is very much the same as those days I remember.”
Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 138-95, Saturday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Our Maxwell Donaldson has three observations from the game.
The Grizzlies won against Utah Jazz, 119-118, Monday night. The team faces off against the Toronto Raptors tomorrow at FedExForum.
The Scoreboard
Tigers Football lose against Houston (31-13)
Tigers Basketball win against Western Kentucky (74-62)
Grizzlies win against Los Angeles (120-108)
Grizzlies win against Utah (119-118)
Mark your calendar
Memphis Grizzlies vs Toronto Raptors: Wednesday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m. at FedExForum
Memphis Tigers Basketball vs Virginia Tech Hokies: Wednesday, Nov. 24, 8:30 p.m. at Barclays Center
Memphis Grizzlies vs Atlanta Hawks: Friday, Nov. 26, 7 p.m. at FedExForum
Memphis Tigers Football vs Tulane Green Wave: Saturday, Nov. 27, 6:30 p.m. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Memphis Grizzlies vs Sacramento Kings: Sunday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m. at FedExForum
Listen in
Each week we break down the latest Tigers’ basketball and football news and preview for upcoming games. To get the latest podcast as soon as it’s recorded follow the podcasts on Apple, Google or Spotify.
Tigers Basketball Podcast: There's a lot to like about this Memphis basketball team. There's also a lot riding on what happens next
Tigers Football Podcast: ECU loss reveals deeper issues as Memphis heads to Houston
Today’s Memphis Sports newsletter was written by Ray Padilla, the digital producer for The Commercial Appeal, and features stories from Evan Barnes, Jason Munz, Mark Giannotto and Maxwell Donaldson. Ray can be reached at raymond.padilla@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Ray_Padilla_.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Sports: Tigers need win against Tulane; Ja Morant comparisons
