Cardinals Trounce Tigers in Rivalry Matchup
In Penny Hardaway’s first trip to Louisville, the Tigers could not handle the No.11 Cardinals and fell 99-73. Memphis now drops below .500 at 4-5. Hasan Abdul Hakim led the team with a season-high 18 points.
First Half
Hakim got things started for the Tigers, scoring the opening bucket. It did not take long for the Cardinal’s offense to get going. Ryan Conwell hit back-to-back triples to give them an 11-7 lead five minutes into the game.
The three-point barrage from the Cardinals gave them a 10-point lead that they did not surrender. Memphis was able to keep the gap to 10, largely thanks to Hakim, but the triples kept adding up until the 6:11 mark when Kasean Pryor checked in.
Pryor entered the game for the Cardinals and immediately sparked a 12-2 run. Pryor, who Tiger fans might remember from his time on South Florida in 2023-24, finished the first half with nine points and three triples.
Memphis could not keep up with the threes and fell behind by 20 with 3:18 to go. They could not close this gap and went into the locker rooms down 37-57.
Memphis shot just 3-6 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Cardinals shot 12-22.
Second Half
Louisville did not waste any time to start the second half. J’Vonne Hadley hit back-to-back triples to give them a 22-point lead. By 15:46, the Cardinals led by 28 after another Conwell three.
Memphis did put together a 6-0 run that cut the deficit to 20, but it was erased in about 70 seconds. For the next 4:27, the Tigers did not make a field goal, but instead scored all of six their points from the charity stripe.
Adrian Wooley knocked down a triple to give the Cardinals a 29-point lead with 6:18 to play. The Tigers trailed by as much as 30 before four garbage time points brought them to the final score of 99-73.
Notable Stats
Hasan Abdul Hakim, the Tiger’s leading scorer, put up 17 points in the first half, but finished with just 18. Hakim attempted one field goal in the second half and shot 1-4 from the foul line.
The Tigers shot 28-68 (41.2%) from the field and 3-11 (27.3%) from the perimeter. The Cardinals shot 18-35 (51.4%) from beyond the arc.
Memphis did win the battle on the offensive boards. They brought down 16 to the Cardinal’s eight, resulting in 21 second chance points.
Penny Hardaway’s squad turned the ball over 11 times, but finished with just eight assists. Starting point guard Dug McDaniel played 33 minutes and recorded zero assists. McDaniel scored 16 points off 5-12 shooting.
What Went Wrong
Louisville’s ability to shoot the three completely overwhelmed Memphis. Anytime a team is shooting 51.4% from the perimeter, it is going to be hard to keep up. Especially when the Tigers only made three triples off 11 attempts.
Playing in a rowdy atmosphere like Louisville, it is important that you don’t let the small runs turn into big runs. Today, the Cardinals took those small runs and turned them to huge game breaking runs, and they did that with their ability to shoot from beyond the arc.
What’s Next
The Tigers will return to the Forum to host the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Commodores are unbeaten and ranked No.15. Tip off is set for 6.p.m on Wednesday.
