FORT WORTH, Texas — Memphis basketball bulldozed UAB Sunday 84-72 to win the AAC tournament championship – its second in the last three years.
The 17th-ranked Tigers (29-5) are double conference champs for the first time since 2013, when they were members of Conference USA. They have won eight consecutive games and are headed into March Madness as the AAC’s automatic qualifier.
AAC Coach of the Year Penny Hardaway and his short-handed team battled beginning to end – in much the same way the entire season has played out. With sure-handed veteran leader Tyrese Hunter on the bench – his left foot in a walking boot due to an unspecified injury he suffered in Saturday’s win over Tulane – and backup Dante Harris also sidelined with a high ankle sprain, sophomore guard Baraka Okojie made his first start of the season.
But it was Memphis’ superstar tandem of PJ Haggerty and Dain Dainja who stood tall and delivered once more. Haggerty finished with 23 points, while Dainja had his second double-double in as many games, dropping 22 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Dainja also had five blocks.
Moussa Cisse was key, contributing 8 points and 14 boards. Colby Rogers emerged to bucket 15 points. Haggerty, Okojie, Cisse and Rogers each came up with two steals.
Whether it was Haggerty bullying his way to the basket and knocking down one tough shot after another, or it was Dainja and his high-level footwork rattling off indefensible move after indefensible move, the AAC Player of the Year and AAC Newcomer of the Year lived up to their billings.
Especially down the stretch. During a particularly fruitful stretch that began with 12:08 left in the game, the Tigers were 10-of-17 from the field. Haggerty and Dainja combined for seven of those made field goals.
After one of Haggerty’s hits that kissed high off the glass and found the bottom of the net, he performed an impromptu shimmy from the seat of his pants as the referee’s whistle blew. Haggerty hopped up and hit a free throw to put the Tigers up 63-56 with 8:23 remaining.
Three minutes later, Dainja went heads-up against a Blazers defender, blew right by him, made the layup, then looked toward media row, nodded his head and let out a primal scream.
And there wasn’t much UAB and its own superstar Yaxel Lendeborg could do to stop it. Lendeborg was his usual productive self, registering yet another double-double. But it wasn’t enough.
The first half was a bit tighter. The Tigers led by as many as 5 points in the first half. But things suddenly became problematic for them offensively.
Memphis went scoreless, going through a stretch spanning more than five minutes where it went 0 for 11 from the field. The cold snap was not limited to this player or that. Haggerty and Dainja missed three attempts. Rogers, Nicholas Jourdain and Cisse also each came up empty.
While UAB took the lead during that stretch from 9:29 to the 4:19 mark, the Blazers made just two field goals of their own.
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