The Chris Jans led Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-1) defeated the #21 ranked Memphis Tigers at the FedEx Forum, 79-66. This marks the second straight game the Tigers have lost at home, and brings their record to 9-3.
Memphis started this game out with a Tyrese Hunter 3, his first of 4. After that 3-0 lead, the Tigers did not lead for the rest of the game.
Following their opening 3, Memphis would score just 2 points over the next 7 minutes. They trailed 18-5 at the 12:44 mark.
With 6 minutes to play in the half, Memphis trailed by 20. Then, PJ Carter hit his first 3,. Dain Dainja threw down a dunk in transition off his own steal. The run was capped off by a PJ Haggerty 3 which cut the lead to 12.
Memphis had seemingly regained momentum, only for the Bulldogs to hit back-to-back 3s and erase the work done by the Tigers.
Going into the locker room, Memphis trailed by 16.
The Tigers turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, which resulted in 17 points for Mississippi State. PJ Haggerty led the Tigers with 16 points, the next closest scorer was Tyrese Hunter(6).
Memphis could not find a way back into the game in the second half. Every effort was blocked by the Bulldogs. When it wasn't the Bulldogs, it was Memphis themselves. The Tigers could not get out of their own way, constantly making unforced errors.
PJ Haggerty sunk his second 3 of the day at the 8:21 mark to bring the score to 64-43. The Tigers scored just 11 points in 12 minutes of play.
With just over 2 minutes remaining, Memphis trailed by a season high 24 points.
The Tigers held the Bulldogs scoreless for the remainder of the game and scored 11 straight to bring the final score to 79-66.
Memphis finished shooting 19-53(35.8%) and 8-27(29.6%) from beyond the arc. This is back-to-back underwhelming shooting performances from the Tigers.
They totaled 18 turnovers to just 11 assists.
"We're tired mentally," said head coach Penny Hardaway when asked about the turnovers. He added, "or we're not paying attention,"
Mississippi took advantage of the Tiger's turnovers and scored 25 points off of them.
PJ Haggerty led the Tigers in points with 24, and Tyrese Hunter finished with 19. No other Tiger finished in double digits.
Hunter put it best in the postgame, "They came out wanting it more than us."
Memphis failed at every level in this game. The Tigers were outcoached and out hustled. Memphis was not moving the ball. Too many possessions ended after just one pass and a bad shot. Defensively, Memphis was a step, sometimes two, behind. The Bulldogs finished with 38 points in the paint, and assisted on 18 of their buckets. They constantly went to the backdoor cut, which the Tigers failed to stop. Mississippi State scored 16 second chance points compared to Memphis's 9.
The Tigers have been able to overcome these problems in past games because of their efficient 3 point shooting, but now without that, the issues are too detrimental to overcome.
Memphis will have a week off before facing off against another Mississippi team int he Ole Miss Rebels. In last year's matchup, the Tigers fell 77-80 at Ole Miss. Memphis will look to get back on track and take down the 17th ranked Rebels on December 28 at 2.p.m.
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