In their final game before conference play the Memphis Tigers defeated Austin Peay 81-70. The Tigers improved to 11-2 and are now the leaders of the AAC. Memphis continued their hot streak and chained their 6th straight win together.

Memphis was able to outlast and overpower Austin Peay. Despite the 11 point victory, it was not all pretty basketball. The Tigers turned the ball over 13 times and only generated 6 steals. They looked uninterested on defense for long stretches and allowed 17 offensive rebounds. It was not what fans have come to expect of the Tigers.

Within the first minute of the game Memphis jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Malcolm Dandridge established himself with a dunk on the first play. Austin Peay did not back down. After the Governors settled in they showed ability to keep up with Memphis and answer their baskets.

By the 9:48 mark Austin Peay trailed by 1 point following their made basket. The remainder of the half saw an uninspired Memphis team trade baskets with the Governors. Neither team had a critical run to stun the other, just took what the defense gave them. Despite a lackluster first half there was an important play before heading into half. Jaykwon Walton made a 3 after an excruciating 1/28 streak before this game. Walton's three from the wing made the score 37-34.

Through the first 5 minutes of the second half looked identical to the first half. Both teams finding ways to get baskets, and Memphis looking sleepy. With 14:25 to play, the Governors took a 46-45 lead. At this point the crowd in FedEx Forum was hushed, at times even faint booing could be heard.

This seemingly woke the sleeping Tigers up. Over the next 5 minutes Memphis outscored Austin Peay 19-5. Jahvon Quinerly came to life during this run and contributed 7 points. Following a Nick Jourdain layup, Memphis took a 16 point lead, tying their biggest lead of the game. Despite the 74-59 score the Governors did not give up. They were able to get the score back down to 6 following a 11-2 run over 3 minutes.

Memphis did not panic and did not allow a basket in the remaining minute of the game, avoiding the upset and securing the win. While the Tigers got their expected 19 points and 5 rebounds from David Jones, there was another standout performance. In only his second game in a Memphis uniform, center Nae'Qwan Tomlin put up a 15 point 15 rebound double-double. The Kansas State transfer put on a dominant performance for the Tigers.

In an obvious trap game scenario Memphis got the win, and that's all you can really ask for. The Tigers shot 41% from the field and 22.2% from three. They did end up with 6 blocks, 3 of which came from Tomlin. Another bright spot was the free throw shooting. The Tigers shot 27-31 from the charity line.

Memphis will now have a short break before they travel to Tulsa Oklahoma to take on the Golden Hurricanes. The 9-3 Hurricanes have won their last 4 and are lead by freshman guard PJ Haggerty. Memphis looks to start conference play with a win and avoid an upset. Tip off is scheduled for the 4th of January at 7p.m.