No. 14 Memphis will look to remain in firm command of the AAC regular-season title race on Thursday as it travels to USF in the first of two meetings between the league foes. The Tigers (20-4, 10-1 AAC) own a two-game lead in the loss column with just seven games to play and are closing in on their first conference crown under seventh-year coach Penny Hardaway.
After falling apart in the second half of last season and missing the NCAA Tournament, Hardaway has taken a revamped roster and turned it into his best team yet. Memphis is No. 1 nationally in 3-point accuracy at 40.3% but can hurt you in a variety of ways. The Tigers' high-intensity defense forces 14.4 turnovers per contest and often uses them to spark transition opportunities.
South Florida enters at 11-12 (5-6) amid the tragedy of coach Amir Abdur-Rahim's sudden death before the season. Interim coach Ben Fletcher's team likes to play fast offensively and ranks third in the AAC in steals forced per game at eight. That penchant for pesky defense could pay dividends against a turnover-prone Memphis team.
The Tigers enter as a projected No. 4 seed in Jerry Palm's NCAA Tournament Bracketology and could end up with the program's best NCAA Tournament seeding since coach John Calipari guided Memphis to a No. 2 seed in 2009. But to stay on that trajectory, they'll need to avoid bad losses down the stretch.
How to watch Memphis vs. USF live
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Yuengling Center -- Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN2 | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
Memphis vs. USF prediction, picks
All odds via SportsLine consensus.
Memphis' second-leading scorer, Tyrese Hunter, missed the Tigers' 90-82 win over Temple on Sunday due to an injury to his right kneecap. Entering Thursday, his status against South Florida was up in the air. If he's absent, it opens up more opportunities for PJ Carter. The UTSA transfer is averaging 12.2 points on 48.4% 3-point shooting over his last five games after averaging just 3.8 points over the season's first 19 games. Even if Hunter can't play, Carter's emergence and the steady play of PJ Haggerty should help Memphis cover the spread. Haggerty is a top-five scorer nationally, averaging 21.6 points on 51.2% shooting. What's been most impressive for Haggerty is the uptick in his 3-point accuracy. At Tulsa last season, he made just 28.9% of his 3-point attempts but has upped that mark to 43.2% for the Tigers. Pick: Memphis -6.5
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