Tulane @ Memphis preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 13, 2019 ) Memphis 83, Tulane 79

Memphis should have little trouble bouncing back from a loss that virtually ended its hopes of receiving a first-round bye in the American Athletic Conference tournament when it hosts struggling Tulane on Wednesday. The Tigers lost 79-72 at Central Florida on Saturday and are tied for fifth in the American standings, two games behind Temple for the fourth and final bye position and 2 1/2 back of UCF.

"We made some mistakes at the end, but we're getting better at the right time with the (American) Tournament right around the corner," Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, whose club led 41-40 with 14:22 remaining, told reporters. The Green Wave have lost 14 straight - their longest slide since dropping 22 in a row in 1963-64 - after Sunday's 85-50 loss to No. 8 Houston, and have been outscored by an average of 24.3 points in their last three games. “We’re disappointed in this year, there’s no question about it,” Tulane coach Mike Dunleavy Sr., who received a vote of confidence from athletic director Troy Dannen, told reporters. “Going forward (from) this year we feel good about what we have. We think our young guys are going to be good. We got some recruits coming in. We feel like we’re going to be in place.” Memphis has won six straight meetings, including 83-79 in New Orleans on Jan. 13 behind 27 points from senior guard Jeremiah Martin.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (4-20, 0-12 American): Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels averages a team-high 15.4 points - 15.0 in American games - after scoring 13 versus Houston and 12 against Memphis last month. Freshman guard Kevin Zhang (7.1 points) scored a career-high 25 versus Memphis but has totalled only 10 points in the last four games while senior forward Blake Paul (4.8 points, 4.2 rebounds) recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds - both career bests - in his first game against Memphis. Senior guard Jordan Cornish (10.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, team-high 3.8 assists), who needs 56 points for 1,000 in his career, scored three versus Houston after averaging 12 in his previous five games.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (15-11, 7-6): Martin (team highs of 17.4 points and 4.3 assists) scored 25 points Saturday and is averaging 27 over his last five games. Senior forward Kyvon Davenport (14.2 points, team-high 6.8 rebounds), who fouled out of three straight games before being whistled for 11 infractions in the last three contests, left Saturday's game after landing hard following a botched alley-oop but returned a few minutes later. Freshman guard Tyler Harris (11.5 points) is averaging 5.2 over his last five games after averaging 9.1 in his first eight American contests.

TIP-INS

1. Memphis leads the American in scoring at 81.3 per game but is last in points allowed at 76.5.

2. Tulane junior F Samir Sehic (11.2 points) grabs a club-most 7.6 rebounds - good for third in the American.

3. Hardaway was 14-6 as a NBA player against Dunleavy-coached teams, averaging 16.3 points - slightly above his career number of 15.2.

PREDICTION: Memphis 81, Tulane 65