Connecticut @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 10, 2019 ) Connecticut 71, Memphis 78

In the matter of just over a week, Memphis has gone from being ranked to a bubble team, losing by 40 to Tulsa, blowing a nine-point lead against SMU and barely edging out Central Florida. The Tigers on Saturday will look to stay on the right track for March when they host Connecticut, which broke through for its second win in American Athletic Conference play after multiple close efforts against top opponents.

After the embarrassing performance against Tulsa, the Tigers are headed in the right direction offensively, shooting a combined 46 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from 3-point range in the last two games. Penny Hardaway's young team has struggled to take care of the ball all season, coughing it up 17 times a game - most among AAC teams and ninth-worst in the nation, which could allow UConn to stay in the game as they have the third-best turnover margin (plus-1.75) in the conference. The Huskies had perhaps their best showing of the year against Temple despite having just seven scholarship players and will likely once again be without point guard Alterique Gilbert (personal reasons) and forward Sidney Wilson (knee contusion). Coach Dan Hurley is now forced to hand the keys to three of his own freshmen recruits in the starting lineup in guards James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney, and forward Akok Akok.

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: CBS

ABOUT UCONN (11-9, 2-5 AAC): Gaffney has seen the most significant increase in court time, playing at least 28 minutes in the last two games after reaching the 20-minute plateau twice all year, though he has shot 25 percent from the floor in that span. While Akok is not a prolific scorer, he has reached double figures in the last two games, including a career-high 13 points against Tulsa and leads the conference in blocks per game (3.1), swatting 11 in the last two contests. Despite the abrupt youth movement, the team still relies on senior Christian Vital, who is the leading scorer and rebounder, in addition to leading the AAC in steals (2.5) and free-throw percentage (89.8 percent).

ABOUT MEMPHIS (15-5, 4-3): Freshman Precious Achiuwa has been grabbing the headlines since James Wiseman’s departure as he's fourth in the AAC with 15.2 points per game and the only player in the league averaging a double-double, reaching that feat 11 times. After making one 3-pointer leading up to the UCF contest, redshirt sophomore Lance Thomas hit four to down the Knights, including two in the last three minutes, en route to a career-high 20 points. Freshman Boogie Ellis is averaging 13.5 points on 50 percent shooting in the last two games after failing to make a shot in the previous four.

BUZZER-BEATERS

1. The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings and the last three at home.

2. The Huskies had six of seven scholarship players reach double figures against Temple.

3. Memphis is second in the nation with a 36.3 field goal percentage defense.

PREDICTION: Memphis 72, UConn 60