Neither Memphis or Ucf has enough on their resume to get an at-large bid, but one of them will be able to keep their NCAA tournament dream alive after their quarterfinal matchup on Friday afternoon. The Tigers have limped to the finish line losing five of their last six games. The Knights have had reverse fortune winning their last five games of the season. UCF broke a long losing streak to Memphis with a 72-57 win at home on February 4th. Tipoff is set for approximately 2:30 PM Eastern time and the game can be seen on ESPN2 and online with WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
No. 5 Memphis (19-12, 9-9 AAC)
A miserable second half of the season culminated with an awful 103-62 loss to the conference champions, SMU. It's a streak that pushed them out of any bubble consideration and now they'll likely have to win three consecutive games to get into the big dance. The Tigers have had a lot of time to process the loss and will look to come out rejuvenated in the AAC tournament.
Dedric Lawson (19.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg) has been inconsistent in recent games. He's put up 13 or less points in three of his last six games, but in the other half he's recorded 21 or more points. K.J. Lawson (12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) had a streak of 13 or more points in three contests until getting just six points in the loss to SMU.
No. 4 UCF (20-10, 11-7 AAC)
Tremendous defense has been the story of UCF's recent success. They've been shutting teams down in their five-game winning streak, holding opponents to just a 57-point average in the stretch. Their most notable win was a 53-49 victory against Cincinnati at home.
B.J. Taylor (17.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) was a bigger story on offense with that win over the Bearcats.
He put up 27 points in the contest and has a string of three consecutive contests with 17 or more points. Also keep an eye on Matt Williams (15.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg), who exploded in the win over USF with 20 points.
All AAC tournament games are being played at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. With contrasting styles of play, UCF is favored by just two points and the O/U is set at 130.5 points. The Knights are 13-12 against the spread this season.
