The Tigers were not supposed to win in Tulsa tonight. The Golden Hurricane was picked to win Conference USA in the preseason. They suit up two likely all-conference picks in center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh. They hadn’t beaten Memphis in 10 games. Prime time, Saturday night, a Tiger team down to a seven-and-a-half-man rotation . . . and that’s if Angel Garcia and his knee brace can be counted as half a player.
Memphis 93, Tulsa 86.
And it’s starting to look like the 2009-10 Tigers may be merely a healthy Garcia knee away from the NCAA tournament. Playing in only his third college game as he recovers from ACL surgery, Garcia hit seven of nine shots (including a pair of treys) to score 16 points and take Tiger Nation a step closer to forgetting the dismissed player he replaced in Josh Pastner’s rotation.
This was a gutsy win, and not just for Garcia’s unexpected stat line. Burdened with the “only post player on the team” label, Will Coleman held his own against Jordan, with seven points, six rebounds, and a pair of blocks. (Jordan’s line: 19-6-5).
