PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — DeAndre Williams had 14 points, Jalen Duren made a crucial basket down the stretch and No. 9 seed Memphis held off a second-half rally by Boise State for a 64-53 victory Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers (22-10), whose poor start to the season had coach Penny Hardaway dropping expletives in a press conference, are into the second round in the West Region and will play top-seeded Gonzaga or Georgia State on Saturday.
Duren finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who were 9-8 after 17 games but went on a late-season charge to reach the tournament for the first time since 2014. The Tigers have now won 13 of their past 15 games.
Abu Kigab had 20 points to lead the eighth-seeded Broncos (27-8), the Mountain West regular-season and tournament champs, who were making their first appearance in the tournament since 2015..
Boise State trailed by 19 at the half but, taking advantage of a cold snap by the Tigers, narrowed the gap to 42-35 with 9:45 left. The Tigers had scored just four second-half points before Williams' dunk with 9:18 left got them going again.
Kigab hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper to get Boise State within 49-43 with 5:55 remaining, but Williams answered again with a 30-pointer for the Tigers. And when the Broncos closed to 56-51 with 1:26 left on Naje Smith's layup, and the teams traded foul shots, Duren's layup pushed the margin to 60-53 and gave Memphis some breathing room.
Alex Lomax, hobbled in the first half by an ankle injury, added some clinching free throws for the Tigers.
It was a disappointing finish to a dream season for longtime coach Leon Rice, whose Boise State teams had been dumped from the NCAA Tournament in First Four games their past two trips. The Broncos beat San Diego State to win the Mountain West tourney title and their 27 wins set the school record for a single season.
If it was a dream season for the Broncos, a good chunk of it was a nightmare for Hardaway and the Tigers. They had one of the nation's top recruiting class, led by Duren and fellow early arrival Emoni Bates, but Hardaway struggled to find a solid lineup until January — Bates had not played since Jan. 27 because of a back injury.
The Tigers have hit their stride down the stretch, though, reaching the title game of the American Athletic Conference tourney before losing to Houston. And they kept that momentum going into Thursday's first-round game, going on an 8-0 run early to take a 27-17 lead when Bates hit a 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the half.
Lomax hit a 3 a few minutes later that gave Memphis a 38-19 lead at the break, but he came down hard and appeared to injure his left ankle. He was limping as he headed for the Tigers' bench but returned to start the second half.
BATES IS BACK
Bates, who reclassified as a freshman, traveled to Portland with the team but it wasn't certain he would play until the moment he stepped on the court. He warmed up before tipoff and was in uniform for the game, finally checking in with 5:57 left in the first half. His 3-pointer was his only points of the game.
BIG PICTURE
Memphis, which beat Boise State in last year's NIT, had a big advantage on the boards (39-30) to overcome 15 turnovers and pull away down the stretch. But it will take a better performance on the offense end if the Tigers want to beat their likely second-round opponent Gonzaga, the national runner-up a year ago.
Boise State, which ranked 17th in the nation for defensive efficiency, had not trailed by more than seven points at halftime before Thursday. The Broncos nearly overcame the deficit but it proved to be simply too much.
UP NEXT
Memphis faces Gonzaga or Georgia State for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Here's more from the University of Memphis:
Tigers Move Past Boise State in NCAA Tournament First Round
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – DeAndre Williams had 14 points, Jalen Duren made a crucial basket down the stretch and No. 9 seed Memphis held off a second-half rally by Boise State for a 64-53 victory Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers (22-10) are into the second round in the West Region and will play top-seeded Gonzaga or Georgia State on Saturday.
Duren finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who were 9-8 after 17 games but went on a late-season charge to reach the tournament for the first time since 2014. The Tigers have now won 13 of their past 15 games.
Abu Kigab had 20 points to lead the eighth-seeded Broncos (27-8), the Mountain West regular-season and tournament champs, who were making their first appearance in the tournament since 2015.
Boise State trailed by 19 at the half but, taking advantage of a cold snap by the Tigers, narrowed the gap to 42-35 with 9:45 left. The Tigers had scored just four second-half points before Williams' dunk with 9:18 left got them going again.
Kigab hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper to get Boise State within 49-43 with 5:55 remaining, but Williams answered again with a 3-pointer for the Tigers. And when the Broncos closed to 56-51 with 1:26 left on Naje Smith's layup, and the teams traded foul shots, Duren's layup pushed the margin to 60-53 and gave Memphis some breathing room.
Alex Lomax, hobbled in the first half by an ankle injury, added some clinching free throws for the Tigers.
The Tigers have hit their stride down the stretch, though, reaching the title game of the American Athletic Conference tourney before losing to Houston. And they kept that momentum going into Thursday's first-round game, going on an 8-0 run early to take a 27-17 lead when Bates hit a 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the half.
Lomax hit a 3 a few minutes later that gave Memphis a 38-19 lead at the break, but he came down hard and appeared to injure his left ankle. He was limping as he headed for the Tigers' bench but returned to start the second half.
UP NEXT
Ninth-seeded Memphis will play the winner of overall number-one seed Gonzaga and 16th-seeded Georgia State on Saturday at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. Time and broadcast information for the game will be announced later on Thursday.
POSTGAME NOTES
Memphis used the starting lineup of Alex Lomax, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams and Jalen Duren for the 11th-straight game.Memphis has used 16 different starting lineups in its 32 games this season but this same lineup since Feb. 12 at No. 6/7 Houston.The Tigers are now 35-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in their 27 appearances.Memphis has won at least one game in three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 2014, 2022).Memphis is now 17-1 this season when allowing 69 points or fewer in a game.The Tigers have allowed 75 points or fewer in 14-straight games.Memphis is 16-1 when the opponent shoots less than 40.0 percent from the floor.The Tigers led 38-19 at the half.Memphis is 19-4 this season when leading at the break.With Boise State’s No. 23/23 ranking, the Tigers improve to 4-1 against ranked foes this season.Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway notched his 85th win as Tiger head coach.He moves into a tie with Larry Finch for third all-time among Tiger coaches in the modern era in their first four seasons.The Tigers’ 22 wins this year equal 2018-19 for the most in the Penny Hardaway era.DeAndre Williams led the Tigers with 14 points going 7-of-8 from the floor.Williams has led Memphis in scoring four times this year.Jalen Duren logged a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double.He has an American Athletic Conference-leading nine double-doubles this year.The freshman has had a double-double in four of the last six games.With one block, the Sharon Hill, Pa., native moves into sole possession of third place on Memphis’ all-time single-season freshman blocks list.Landers Nolley II was also in double figures with 12 points.He has had at least 10 points in 16 games this year.Alex Lomax finished with nine points, five rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes.The Tigers are 29-7 when Lomax has five or more assists in a game, including 7-3 this year.Emoni Bates played three minutes and hit a 3-pointer.It was his first action since Jan. 27 after missing 12 games.A total of 12 Tigers played in the game and 10 scored.