USF Basketball vs Memphis Preview/Gamethread

Sometimes there's not much to say going into a game.

Historically, USF is almost as bad against Memphis (3-19 all time) as against Louisville (4-28). Two of USF's wins against Memphis were in 1999, during a rare losing season for the Tigers. The third was an out-of-nowhere 75-74 win in Memphis, under Seth Greenberg in 2003.

In the AAC's double round robin schedule, USF has plays its second regular-season game against Memphis tonight. The first game was an 88-73 beatdown at the Sun Dome, a game that was not as close as the score indicated. Both teams will roll out pretty much the same players. Memphis will have home-court advantage and a large crowd. They also have Joe Jackson, Michael Dixon Jr., Geron Johnson and Shaq Goodwin, whose overall speed blew USF away in Tampa.

Do statistical factors give USF any reason for hope in this one?

Not really. USF has been good at getting to the free throw line, but they're only 66.0% shooting once they get there. Memphis is not a good three-point shooting team; they're 9th in the conference. (I'm sure I don't need to say who's tenth.)

Martino Brock, who is from Memphis, gets a start tonight. Perhaps playing in his hometown will be a boost like it was for Zach LeDay, who had a good game against SMU. And the Bulls have Josh Heath, who was still redshirting at the time of the first Memphis game.

Tip-off is at 2 PM Eastern/1 Central. The game will be on CBS Sports TV, but is not available for online viewing.