For all its inconsistency, Memphis remains very much alive in the American Conference basketball race. Memphis (12-11, 7-4) is one game back in the loss column behind South Florida for the American Conference lead. The Tigers look to stay in the hunt when they visit North Texas in Thursday’s American Conference game.
Memphis is just 2-6 on the road, but one of those victories began the current modest two-game winning streak, a 90-80 victory at UAB. Memphis then earned a 77-54 home win on Sunday over Charlotte in its most recent outing. Against Charlotte, Memphis showed early dominance by jumping to a 37-17 halftime lead. Aaron Bradshaw, a 7-foot-1 junior, continued his recent surge by contributing 16 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
Bradshaw has scored double figures in six consecutive games, and he is averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds during this span. Julius Thedford, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, added his first double-double of the season, with 11 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
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North Texas (13-11, 4-7) snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday’s 81-58 win at UTSA, dropping the Roadrunners’ American Conference record to 0-11.
Junior guard Cole Franklin scored a career-high 21 points against UTSA. He also added seven rebounds and two steals. The highlight of the win was North Texas going on a season-best 25-0 run over nearly a nine-minute stretch between the end of the first half and early in the second half.
It must be noted that even during the Mean Green’s recent four-game losing streak, they were competitive in three of the games, losing each by four or fewer points.
Memphis at North Texas Odds
As of this writing, Memphis is a 1.5-point college basketball betting favorite according to BetMGM.
The Over/Under is at 137.5.
Memphis at North Texas On TV
Tipoff for the Memphis at North Texas game is expected to start shortly after 9 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised by ESPN2.
Memphis at North Texas Prediction
I like Memphis laying the points.
One has to worry about the Tigers’ inconsistency, but the Tigers are coming off two solid performances and are looking for their first three-game win streak since Dec. 22, 31, and Jan. 3.
This is a rematch from a Dec. 31 meeting when Memphis won 57-48 at home. It was the opening American Conference game for both teams. Memphis was far from flawless, committing 20 turnovers. The Tigers hit just 5-of-18 three-point field goals, but that was sizzling compared to North Texas, which went 1-for-18 (.056).
For the season, neither is a great three-point shooting team. Memphis is shooting .323 while North Texas is at .304.
The Mean Green entered Wednesday leading the American in three-point field goal defense, holding teams to a .292 percentage, while Memphis was second (.297). That means the poor shooting from beyond the arc will likely continue this game.
Neither team is especially adept from the foul line, with Memphis shooting .715 and North Texas .694. A big edge for North Texas is turnover margin. The Mean Green entered Wednesday leading the American with a 3.54 margin, while Memphis has just a .013 margin. Memphis holds the rebounding edge, averaging 37.4 compared to 34.6.
The teams are statistically close.
North Texas has had a difficult time in close games. The Mean Green are 1-4 in American Conference games decided by five or fewer points. Memphis is 1-1 in similar games.
Dug McDaniel, a 5-foot-11 senior, is averaging a team-high 13.2 points for Memphis. The other double-figure scorer for the Tigers is 6-foot-3 senior Sincere Parker (11.6 PPG).
Je’Shawn Stevenson, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, averages a team-high 17.0 points for North Texas.
