Memphis pulled away Saturday in its first-round National Invitation Tournament contest, but the task of advancing gets much taller Thursday night.
In their quarterfinal game, the top-seeded Tigers will meet second-seed Boise State in Denton, Texas, with the winner facing either Colorado State or North Carolina State on Saturday.
Trailing by two with less than seven minutes remaining against Dayton on Saturday, the Tigers (17-8) had to rally to beat the Flyers 71-60. They finished on a 15-2 run and held the opposition scoreless over the final 2:17 to advance.
Landers Nolley II (team-high 21 points) and Lester Quinones (15 points, 10 rebounds) paced the way for the Tigers, and their work on the glass played a crucial role.
Dominating the lane, Memphis compiled a 44-26 rebound margin, including a hefty 17-2 edge at the offensive end.
Quinones notched six of his 10 on misses around the Memphis hoop, and the squad also held Dayton's 6-foot-11 center Jordy Tshimanga without a single board.
Coach Penny Hardaway said his Tigers could win the postseason classic if they continue to hit the boards that hard.
"When you crash the glass like that -- like Lester was doing, like DeAndre (Williams) was doing, like D.J. (Jeffries) was doing, those guys were all over the glass -- it adds to our points and gives us second opportunities," Hardaway said. "We've seen Houston do that to us. If we can do that, we'll be tough to beat."
Boise State (19-8) presents serious size in big men Derrick Alston Jr. (6-foot-9) and Emmanuel Akot (6-foot-8) and even guard Devonaire Doutrive (6-foot-5), whom Memphis will have to battle with in the paint.
Without Doutrive's late-game heroics -- with some help from 6-foot-10 Serbian center Mladen Armus -- the Broncos would likely have lost in their opening-round game against SMU.
Armus reached out and directed the ball to Doutrive, who then sank a jumper in the key with 10.1 seconds left to beat the Mustangs 85-84.
"We nicknamed Mladen 'The Beast' because he's so powerful down there," Akot said of Armus, who led the club with 18 points and 10 rebounds. "He's a force to be reckoned with."
Akot notched 17 points and a team-high nine assists, and Alston Jr. and Marcus Shaver Jr. each netted 13.
"I think that's (Doutrive's) third putback for a game-winner. That's pretty impressive," Broncos coach Leon Rice said.
