Coming off back-to-back wins for the first time this season, the Memphis Tigers would welcome the Baylor Bears to the FedExForum for a massive non-conference opportunity on Saturday afternoon. Needing NCAA Tournament-caliber style wins, the Memphis Tigers came into the game against Baylor looking to improve on the 3-4 record by placing the bad losses behind them with the continued mometum from the last two games. 

Memphis started the game on a three-point shooting slump, going 1-5 from behind the arc before the first half under-16 media timeout. Since that moment, the Tigers turned up the pressure a good bit, led by Aaron Bradshaw. Bradshaw finished the first half as the leading scorer for Memphis with 11 points. 

Despite an early scoring drought, Memphis held a 9-6 lead over Baylor at the under-16 media timeout of the first half. At the under-12 media timeout, the Tigers had extended the lead over Baylor to 15-8. At the under-8 first-half media timeout, the Memphis lead had been cut to 20-18 with Baylor doing just enough in the first half to be annoying. Memphis held on for dear life to a 33-30 lead over Baylor at the final media timeout of the first half, with 3:07 remaining. Memphis finished the first half with a 37-34 lead over Baylor, setting the scene for a wild second half for the Tigers. 

Baylor opened the first half with a bit of vengeance, taking the lead right before the under-16-second media timeout with a 46-45 lead over the Tigers with 15:12 remaining. Baylor had extended the lead to 53-49 at the under-12 second-half media timeout. At the under-8 media timeout, Memphis was racing back to take a 60-58 lead over Baylor with 7:09 remaining in the game. At the final media timeout of the game, it was the Memphis Tigers holding on to a 66-63 lead over Baylor. With 1:52 on the game clock, Coach Penny Hardaway called a timeout to get a game plan to finish as the Tigers led Baylor 71-65. Memphis would bury Baylor in the closing minutes to earn a massive 78-71 win to push the win streak to three games. 

Zach Davis and Aaron Bradshaw had themselves a game on Saturday, combining for 40 points. Zach Davis led the way with 23 points. 

Saturday was a monster win for the Tigers as they continue the work of changing the narrative of the losses earlier in the season. Memphis will have a week off before heading to the KFC Yum Center to take on arch-rival, Louisville, next Saturday afternoon. Louisville is another massive opportunity for the Tigers to completely flip the script on the season after a poor start. 

Photo Credits – Memphis Basketball on X