No. 14/15 Memphis Falls to No. 4/4 Kansas, 81-68

Dec. 7, 2010

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By: Preston McClellan

NEW YORK – Kansas’ physical play proved too much for Memphis (7-1) as the Tigers fell to the Jayhawks 81-68 Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic.

Will Barton scored 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting and and pulled down seven rebounds in the losing effort for Memphis. Chris Crawford added 15 points, while Charles Carmouche was the only other Tiger in double figures with 12 points.

Memphis battled back from being down eight on two different occasions in the first half and narrowed the deficit to 37-35 at halftime behind 12 first-half points from Crawford.

Tarik Black tied the game at 39 for the Tigers with two free throws at the 18:21 mark of the second half, but Kansas countered with a 9-0 run to recapture the lead 48-39 at the 16:05 mark. The Tigers narrowed the margin to 50-45 on a layup from Barton with 14:07 to play, but it would be the closest they would come for the remainder of the contest.

Kansas went on a 10-1 run capped by a dunk by Elijah Johnson at the 10:10 mark to extend the lead to double digits for good.

Twin post players Markief Morris and Marcus Morris led the attack for the Jayhawks, scoring 16 points and 14 points, respectively. Tyshawn Taylor (13) and Thomas Robinson (10) also finished in double digits for Kansas (8-0).

Memphis struggled shooting the ball, making just 27-of-72 (37.5 percent) attempts from the floor, including 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Black and Witherspoon added eight points apiece, but went at combined 6-of-21 from the floor.

The Tigers forced 21 Jayhawk turnovers in the game, but were outworked on the glass 38-26.The Tigers now break for finals before returning to the friendly confines of the FedExForum for a matchup against Austiny Peay Thursday, Dec. 16. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.

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