MEMPHIS, Tenn. -Expectations sometime are hard to live up to, especially at season's start.
Teeth were gnashing, the talk show phone lines were lighting up after Memphis, a preseason Top 20 team, got off to a 2-2 start.
But with highly-touted guard Geron Johnson now five games past an NCAA-imposed three-game suspension and prep All-American forward Shaq Goodwin now more accustomed to the college game, the Tigers now seem back on track...heartbeats are a little rapid.
Amidst a seven-game homestand, Memphis has amassed a three-game winning streak. Most impressive was a Wednesday, 84-58, victory against Ohio, an NCAA tourney last spring that returns all five starters.
Sophomore forward Adonis Thomas leads the way, averaging 12 ppg, while guard Joe Jackson is at 10.4 ppg. The Tigers have three other players averaging better than 9.0 ppg.
Memphis will seeking its 150th victory in the FedExForum, Saturday, while APSU head coach Dave Loos is looking for his 450th coaching victory.
Austin Peay, 4-4 on the season, is coming off an 88-53 home win against Oakland, a game that saw the Govs pull away right before halftime.
Fastbreak
- This is Dave Loos' 23rd season as Austin Peay head coach and he is 367-314 at Austin Peay-the winningest basketball coach in Ohio Valley Conference history-while 449-367 all-time in his 27th season as a college head coach.
- Austin Peay was picked to finish third behind Murray State and Southeast Missouri in the newly formed OVC West Division in the preseason poll.
- Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos is a 1970 Memphis alum and the former basketball and baseball standout was inducted into M-Club (Memphis Athletic Hall of Fame) in 2002.
- After playing three straight home games, Austin Peay now will be on the road to play two straight--at Memphis, this Saturday, and Arkansas State, Dec. 16.
- In virtually all preseason publications, Memphis is picked to win the 2012-13 Conference-USA title.
- Memphis forward Tarik Black was named Preseason C-USA first-team while a trio of teammates, guards Chris Crawford and Joe Jackson along with forward Adonis Thomas were named second team.
- Memphis is 31-4 at the FedEx Forum under fourth-year coach Josh Pastner.
- Austin Peay freshman Shaq Goodwin and APSU freshman Chris Horton, both Atlanta area natives, played against each other in AAU basketball for four years. They also squared off in high school last season. Horton is coming off a 21-point game against Oakland City while Goodwin had a 20-point outing versus Ohio.
- Memphis played the season's first three games this season without juco transfer guard Gerron Johnson, who served an NCAA-imposed suspension. Johnson had 21 points on 8-of-11 field-goal attempts against Ohio.
-AP-
