Memphis @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2019 ) Memphis 77, Houston 90

Houston reached the 30-win mark for the first time since the days of Phi Slama Jama more than 35 years ago and has its sights set on a second straight trip to the American Athletic Conference Tournament title game. To get there, the top-seeded and 10th-ranked Cougars will have to get past a surging fifth-seeded Memphis squad playing on its home floor when the teams meet Saturday in the semifinals at FedExForum.

Houston opened its postseason by throttling ninth seed Connecticut 84-45 in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon, riding 22 points from Corey Davis Jr. and 16 on 7-of-8 shooting from fellow senior guard Galen Robinson Jr. to the milestone victory. "Defense was solid. We watched the first half yesterday (of UConn's quarterfinal win over South Florida)," Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson told the media. "Our coaching staff went to work. ... I thought our kids really paid attention to the details, very scouting report specific, especially Corey and Galen. I thought they were very cerebral in how we wanted to guard their guards. And then our depth. I thought we wore them down." The Tigers entered the tournament needing to do some work to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee and they turned some heads with a 79-55 victory over fourth-seeded Central Florida on Friday. Junior forward Isaiah Maurice was the catalyst with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 from the floor as Memphis reached the tournament semifinals for the second straight season.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT MEMPHIS (21-12): American leading scorer Jeremiah Martin was held to 1-of-6 from the floor in Friday's win but he made 11 foul shots, chipped in four assists and two of the Tigers' nine steals. Senior forward Kyvon Davenport contributed his 10th double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for a Memphis team that knows it will be hard-pressed to get a third win in as many days, especially against the Cougars. "We got Houston. That's a beast," Tigers coach Penny Hardaway told reporters. "They've earned everything they've gotten. Best record in our league. First place. ... We know what it is. As soon as we leave here we focus on them and it is a totally different game because they are relentless, and we understand that."

ABOUT HOUSTON (30-2): Davis averaged 16.6 points during the regular season but has been above that mark in five straight games, averaging 23 points in that span. Freshman guard Nate Hinton chipped in 15 points against the Huskies and is averaging 15.5 while making 7-of-8 from 3-point range over his last two games. Junior guard Armoni Brooks finished with 22 points and Hinton added a personal-best 19 in a 90-77 win over Memphis at home in the only meeting of the regular season.

TIP-INS

1. Davenport has made 5-of-11 from 3-point range over his last two contests following a seven-game stretch in which he was 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.

2. Tigers senior G Kareem Brewton Jr. scored a career-high 25 points in the loss to Houston earlier in the season.

3. The Cougars need two wins to match the school record of 32 accomplished in 1983-84.

PREDICTION: Houston 81, Memphis 72