Round 2
South Region
#4 Virginia Cavaliers (2019) vs #5 Memphis Tigers (2008)
Virginia starters: PG Ty Jerome; SG Braxton Key; SF De’Andre Hunter; PF Mamadi Diakite; C Jay Huff
Memphis starters: PG Derrick Rose; SG Antonio Anderson; SF Chris Douglas-Roberts; PF Robert Dozier; C Joey Dorsey
Memphis took a 9-2 lead but Virginia bounced back to go ahead 13-11 with 13-1/2 minutes left in the half. The Tigers scored the next 7 points and stayed ahead throughout the rest of the half which ended with Memphis leading 30-26. Defense predominated but Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter scored 14 and Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 10 in the first half.
The Tigers stubbornly held onto a 3-9 point lead until they went on a run that ballooned the margin to 15 points with 5 minutes remaining. Virginia was unable to reduce their deficit to less that 11 and Memphis came away with a 72-59 win. The biggest difference was that Virginia made 11 more turnovers than Memphis.
For Memphis, Robert Dozier had 17 points and 7 rebounds, Chris Douglas-Roberts finished with 13 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals, and Derrick Rose added 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. The Cavaliers’ ledger was led by De’Andre Hunter’s 24 points with Jay Huff contributing 9 points, 9 boards, and 3 steals, and Kyle Guy scored 10.
“Our defense was solid. So while our offense wasn’t tip-top, that made it possible for us to get by a very stubborn Cavaliers’ team,” said Memphis coach John Calipari.
Next up: #1 UNLV (1991) vs #8 UCLA (2008)