USF vs Memphis: The Bucket Getter

The Memphis season is long gone. Penny Hardaway is trying to hype up this last home game tonight against USF, maybe because it might be his last home game as the Memphis coach. Their only hope in this game is likely to commit to just trying to outscore USF. The Bulls have a similar archetype of some of the better Memphis squads Penny has had, just with better shooting. They play at the second-highest pace in college basketball and rank ninth in PPG at 87.5. A high-powered offensive attack built of essentially four guards and big man Izaiyah Nelson, who is an absolute stud. 

All this to say, I don’t see too many worlds where Memphis has enough to stifle the Bulls offense. The first matchup between these teams went the Bulls way to the tune of 87-66, where USF went on a run late in the first half and never looked back. I expect something similar from USF at least offensively. Attacking the guards off the dribble and in transition is the best way to beat this USF defense, and plenty of similar guards have had success against them in doing so. Jamir Simpson of UTSA with 24, Devin Vanterpool of FAU with 26, Kenyon Giles of Wichita St with 24 just to name a few of the guys from the past month.

Memphis had another similar dud on offense in their last game against ECU. They were a bit thin with some injuries and went with what feels like their 75th different lineup combination of the year. It showed. Penny has said repeatedly over the past few days that more lineup changes are coming. They have stayed pretty committed to bringing Parker off the bench, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting major minutes when the matchup calls for it. All roads should lead to increased minutes from him tonight.

Memphis will need some bucket getters tonight against USF, and nobody on that squad fits that more than Sincere Parker. In the first matchup he only tallied 8 points but it was on 3-11 shooting. Better shooting and more than the 20 mins played in that game is my educated guess. Especially coming off of a game where he only played 19 minutes against ECU. After his last game only playing sub-20 minutes, he responded with 40 points on 20 FGA against UAB. Different talent level than USF, but you get the point. Penny says changes will be made and I’d be shocked if it doesn't start with Sincere.