NASHVILLE — Shot-making kept Memphis basketball within striking distance for one half against No. 19 Vanderbilt on Nov. 10.
The Tigers shot 53.6% from the field in the first half and trailed 47-42 at halftime.
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But the Commodores (3-0) used a relentless offensive onslaught and a dominant rebounding performance to blast Memphis (2-1) out of Memorial Gymnasium in 105-81 drubbing.
Vanderbilt made 15 3-pointers on 32 attempts and overwhelmed the Tigers on the boards, finishing with a 44-29 advantage.
Memphis guard Luke Almodovar, who has a team-high 21 points, said the root of the Tigers’ issues was effort.
“Straight-line drives. Open 3s. Just stuff we talk about during the scout,” he said. “It’s just not good enough. We have to have enough heart to stay in front of our man and not give up straight-line drives.”
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Here are three more takeaways from coach Penny Hardaway and Tigers’ first loss of the season.
So. Many. 3-pointers.
The Tigers have been victimized in back-to-back games by massive 3-point shooting performances – first, in a win where VCU knocked down 13. Then, against the Commodores, who buried 15.
Many of those 28 made 3-pointers were open shots.
“Obviously, in the VCU game in the first half, their higher 3-point percentage shooters made the shots, so we were very disappointed,” Hardaway said. “Tonight, the lower percentage guys made the shots. But, you know, they’re still college athletes.”
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How does Memphis plan to address the problem?
“To me, we want to get out there .. and contest everything,” said Hardaway. “We’re just not doing it yet. We just have to get better with that.”
A concerning trend?
The first half against Vanderbilt followed a similar script to that of the Tigers’ win over VCU – almost to an eerie extent.
The Commodores, just like the Rams did four days earlier, lit Memphis up at the 3-point line, hitting eight out of 13 attempts (61.5%). VCU was 10-of-17 (58.8%). Vanderbilt out-rebounded the Tigers by six – just like the Rams did. And the Commodores had 11 assists in the first half to Memphis’ three. VCU had a 12-3 advantage against the Tigers.
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The Tigers trailed Vanderbilt 47-42 at halftime. VCU led Memphis 48-44 at the break.
And, just like the game at FedExForum on Nov. 7, the Tigers’ opponent rattled off a 6-0 run to start the second half.
“Decent first half, to only go in down five, (even with) giving up a 3 right before the end of the half,” he said. “And then just get blasted in the second half. Very disappointing. But we’ll get this game behind us and move on.”
Jayden Reid, Luke Almodovar have injury scares
Memphis had to alter its game plan almost immediately when Reid was removed just 96 seconds into the game with a left ankle injury.
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Reid stayed on the bench for the next 3:12, during which time Vanderbilt took what was a 4-0 deficit and turned it into a 10-8 lead. He wound up playing 30 minutes and scoring 11 points, but he wasn’t the same after the injury.
“I mean it’s always going to alter (the game plan), because he scores the ball so well and he’s such a catalyst for our offense,” Almodovar said.
Almodovar also experienced a significant injury scare. After letting go of the rim following a slam dunk with 11:18 remaining in the game, he came crashing down on the court, landing on his head, knocking him unconscious for about 45 seconds, he said.
Almodovar left the floor under his own power and later returned to the bench. But he did not go back into the game. Following the game, he told reporters he is “all right.”
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“He’s a super athlete. Tough guy,” Hardaway said. “(I was) just hoping that he didn’t land hard enough on his neck that it was going to put him in any kind of bad situation.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Memphis basketball, Penny Hardaway plan to fix 3-point defense
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