TIGERS REPLAY

As the game turned

Though Memphis had a comfortable lead for the last 30 minutes, there was a moment early in the second half when this could have become a battle. The Tigers were solving Oakland's zone with ease, but they weren't getting stops, and a 3-point play by Keith Benson had cut the margin to 37-28 with 16:46 left. Memphis responded with a dunk by senior Pierre Henderson-Niles off an easy look from junior Roburt Sallie , who hit a 3-pointer on the next possession. Senior Doneal Mack's 12-foot jumper made it 44-30, and the Tigers eventually finished off a 13-2 run to create separation.

Rim gems       

The Tigers tried the lob into the post over and over again without any success in the first half. In fact, their inability to make that play work - resulting in a few of their seven turnovers - was one reason they scored just 31 points. But when Oakland went zone to start the second half, Memphis kept looking for it and finally made a good connection with 18:47 to go. Sophomore guard Elliot Williams drove into a gap in the zone off the left side and came to a jump-stop at the free-throw line. Instead of trying to feed Coleman on the block, he lobbed it high toward the rim. Coleman jumped high enough to catch and stuff it in one easy motion, giving the Tigers a 35-20 lead.

Hide your eyes

Tulsa fans might want to hide their eyes on the job Memphis did against 6-foot-11 Keith Benson , who went 3-for-13 from the field with five turnovers. Running constant double-teams at Benson, the Tigers were able to completely disrupt Oakland's offense in much the same way they did last season against Tulsa big man Jerome Jordan .

Scorer's table

Memphis got six points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots from Henderson-Niles, all of which were season highs. The best part about it, however, was that Henderson-Niles was able to keep going and play with effort despite two missed layups early in the game and an ill-advised jump shot late in the first half. Coach Josh Pastner said keeping Henderson-Niles thinking positively was crucial to staying mentally engaged in a game when he has some bad breaks early on. "When you dwell on the positive you become much more athletic," Pastner said. "When he's in that state of mind mentally, he's much more athletic and that's what he was."

Locker room chatter                 

"We forced them into 24 turnovers. I don't know what the deflection count was, but we got deflections because we were quick. We do a lot of hand drills in practice. That's one of the things we chart, and we want to make it tough on the passer. We talk about, if they're able to complete passes it's not the guy guarding the guy, it's the guy guarding the ball." - Pastner

Odds and ends

Pastner's first weekly call-in show will be tonight from 7-8 on WREC-AM (600), the Tigers' flagship station. The show will be broadcast from the Lynchburg Legends Bar and Grill in the Doubletree Hotel in East Memphis (formerly known as Cal's Championship Steakhouse).

Johnny O'Bryant , a 6-9 forward from Cleveland, Miss., who is rated as one of the top-15 prospects nationally in the class of 2011, told Scout.com on Monday that Memphis, Ole Miss and Auburn were at the top of his list.