Teams trying to bounce back from tough losses meet in a consolation bracket game of the ESPN Events Invitational when Nebraska takes on Memphis on Friday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Nebraska (3-2) lost its tournament opener Thursday 69-56 to Oklahoma, while Memphis (2-2) fell 70-69 to Seton Hall on a buzzer-beater to wrap up the tournament’s first day of action.
The Cornhuskers shot 34.6 percent in the second half and 42 percent for the game against Oklahoma, going 3 of 14 from 3-point range after averaging 6.5 made threes in their first four contests.
“We had plenty of opportunities,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We just could not make a shot.”
Juwan Gary had 16 points and seven rebounds in the loss, following his season-high 17 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Cornhuskers’ previous game. But leading scorer Sam Griesel — a transfer from North Dakota State — tied a season low with six points.
As for Memphis, the Tigers held a six-point lead with four minutes to play but couldn’t hold off a Pirates comeback that culminated with a banked-in 3-pointer at the buzzer. Memphis had only one field goal down the stretch and turned the ball over 17 times, wasting SMU transfer and reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Kendric Davis’ monster game (22 points, seven rebounds, six assists).
“At the end, to lose it like that … we’ve just got to finish the game,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said.
The Tigers will be looking for a bounce-back game from senior forward DeAndre Williams, who fouled out in just 10 minutes of action against Seton Hall.
The winner of the first-ever meeting between Nebraska and Memphis will play in the fifth-place game Sunday against the winner of Friday’s other consolation game between Florida State and Stanford. The consolation losers will meet for seventh place on Sunday.
–Field Level Media