What concerns Auburn's Bruce Pearl most about Memphis

MAUI, Hawaii – Most of the Memphis basketball team’s opponents cite his defensive style and philosophy as what sets the Tigers apart.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl doesn’t see it that way. Speaking to reporters after his team’s commanding 85-72 win over No. 13 North Carolina late Tuesday, Pearl was more worried about coach Penny Hardaway’s Tigers offense than anything else.

The two 6-0 Tigers meet in the Maui Invitational championship game on Wednesday (4 p.m. CT, ESPN) at the Lahaina Civic Center.

“Our defense capabilities will be really challenged tomorrow,” he said. “Our full-backs will all be challenged. Memphis is a very strong coverage.”

Memphis’ backcourt turned some big heads this week, with Tyrese Hunter, PJ Haggerty and Colby Rogers averaging 58 points per game in wins over No. 2 UConn on Monday and Michigan State on Tuesday. Another major concern for Pearl is the aggressiveness and physicality that Hunter, Haggerty and Rogers employ as large parts of their games.

“Memphis will drive in, they will make contact. They will fall to the ground. You know, the game is really difficult to officiate,” he said. “They have three guards that are really hard to stay in front of. They can all make great one-on-one games. They can all make difficult 2-pointers and 3-pointers and they all shoot a lot of free throws.”

“So we have to stay down. We have to stay up. We must continue to protect with verticality. And when they come into contact, we hope we can maintain our position on the floor.”

Pearl also seemed impressed with the success Memphis has had so far compared to strong competition. KenPom ranks Hardaway’s Tigers’ non-conference schedule as the 11th toughest in the country. Five of their six wins have come against top 100 KenPom teams, and they are 6-0 for the first time since 2010-11.

“And they had North Carolina in the preseason,” Pearl said. “And Penny always has a tough schedule.” A lot of people have moved from a lot of big places.

“He just lets them play great, great basketball.”

Pearl admitted he hasn’t had enough time to delve deeper into Memphis yet. However, he said it was reasonable to assume his team would be at a slight disadvantage from a freshness perspective. Auburn’s game ended around 9 p.m. local time, while Memphis ended about eight hours earlier against Michigan State.

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