Tulane @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Tulane 76, Memphis 102

Fifth-seeded Memphis can earn itself a trip to the Big Dance with four straight wins on its home court, starting with a matchup against 12th seed Tulane in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday at FedExForum. The Tigers likely don’t have a strong enough resume to get an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but they won six of their last eight games after beating Tulsa 66-63 on Saturday and look to move on to Friday's quarterfinals against Central Florida.

Memphis senior guard Jeremiah Martin, a first team all-conference pick, told reporters “we’re playing good right now, and everybody else that’s in our conference knows that we’re playing good” after scoring 20 on Saturday. Martin is averaging 35 points in two games against Tulane this season, but coach Penny Hardaway is just as inspired by his team’s effort on the other side of the floor last time out while telling reporters: “We hung our hat on defense tonight, and that shows the team’s growth, and I’m proud of them for that.” Tulane has lost 20 straight games, but the past two were by a combined eight points and sophomore guard Caleb Daniels scored a career-high 36 before the Green Wave lost at the buzzer 82-79 against Wichita State on Saturday. “None of Caleb’s play surprises me,” Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. told reporters. “He’s going to make the right play. He has a chance to be a real star because he truly makes other players better.”

TV: 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (4-26): Daniels became the first Green Wave player to score at least 36 points in a game since Ledaryl Billingsley in 2001 and leads the team overall (16.8) after averaging 22.2 in the last six contests. Junior forward Samir Sehic (12.6 points, team-high 7.7 rebounds) also finished the regular season strong by scoring 19.6 per game over the last five after recording 20 against Wichita State. Freshman guard Connor Crabtree has also become a major factor for the Green Wave after scoring 32 and draining 5-of-8 from 3-point range combined in his last two games.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (19-12): Martin finished tied with Temple’s Shizz Alston Jr. for the conference lead in scoring (19.7) after averaging 29.3 over the last 10 games and also chips in with 4.5 assists and 2.2 steals (second in the league) per contest. Guard Tyler Harris, who was named to the league’s All-Freshman team, scored 16 against Tulsa to push his season average to 11.1 - third behind Martin and senior forward Kyvon Davenport (13.2), who tops the Tigers in rebounding (6.9). Senior guard Kareem Brewton Jr. (8.7 points) managed to score just 14 combined the last three games.

TIP-INS

1. The Tigers won the first meeting 83-79 at Tulane on Jan. 13 and Martin scored a career-high 43 in the 102-76 win at Memphis on Feb. 20.

2. Tulane senior G Jordan Cornish tops the team in assists (4.1), but is just 3-of-20 from the field the last two games.

3. Martin needs 19 points to move past Chris Douglas-Roberts (1,545) and into 10th place on the all-time scoring list at Memphis.

PREDICTION: Memphis 82, Tulane 68