Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points to pace No. 5-ranked Memphis past Tulane, 71-49, in
Conference USA Tournament semifinal action at the FedExForum in Memphis Friday afternoon.
The loss eliminated the Green Wave, whose record falls to 17-13, from the post-season tournament.
Memphis won-loss record is now 29-3.
Junior Donnie Stith led the Green Wave with 14 points and seven rebounds Chris Moore, likely
playing in the final game of his college career, finished with nine points and five boards. The
Tigers held David Gomez, the Wave's leading scorer, without a point.
The Tiger's Jeremy Hunt contributed 10 points despite going 0-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc, while Antonio Anderson added 9 for the Tigers.
The Tigers have now won 21 consecutive games, the nation's longest overall winning streak and
was a perfect 18-0 in the FedExForum this season, and has now won their last 31 home games
overall, the nation's longest-running home court win streak.
Memphis will play the Houston Cougars in the tournament championship game.
The game's first ten minutes were competitive, and a Chris Moore trey made it a two-point game at 20-18 with 10:05 remaining. But the wheels fell off the Greenie scooter at that point, as they did not score again until Donnie Stith nailed a pair of free throws with 1:37 remaining. Stith also scored the only Green Wave field goal in the final 10 minutes of the
half with seven seconds remaining before the break. During the scoring drought, the Green Wave missed 10 shots from the floor and a pair of free throws.
While Tulane struggled to make a basket, the Tigers went on a 16-0 run, giving them a 36-18
lead and the game was basically over. The Tigers took a 41-22 lead into the half time locker
room.
Tulane was held to a 32 percent shooting percentage in the first half on an 8-of-25 performance from the floor. In the second half the Tulane shooting percentage actually declined to 27.3 percent, on a 9-of-33 effort. For the game, the Green Wave connected on 29.3 percent of their shots.
The Green Wave was only 3-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc, but in the first half made only
1-of-7 attempts from outside.
Memphis has now won 12 straight games between the two clubs, and has a 21-2 advantage in games
played in Memphis, winning the last 9 games played on their home court. Overall, the Tigers lead the series 35-9. The Green Wave last defeated the Tigers in the 1999-2000 season, and last won in Memphis in 1992.
Tulane is apparently not in the post-season picture.
The Wave started the season with a 77-37
blowout loss to Butler at Fogleman Arena and and at that point not much was expected from the
team in Dave Dickerson's second season as head coach. But Dickerson's team showed much
improvement during the season and had won four in a row prior to the Memphis loss, including
six of the last seven, and nine of their last twelve to end the regular season. Dickerson's record in his two seasons at Tulane is now 29-29.