PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas − Memphis basketball and Villanova will play Friday (2:30 p.m., ESPN) with the Battle 4 Atlantis championship on the line.
The No. 23 Tigers (5-0) have beaten Michigan (who received votes in this week’s AP Top 25 poll) and Arkansas (who is No. 20 in that poll) so far this week. The Wildcats (5-1) defeated Texas Tech, then a ranked North Carolina team in overtime to reach the finals at Imperial Arena.
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway expects Villanova’s best shot.
“The pedigree is high,” he said. “They have a standard there that (former) coach (Jay) Wright has built. They didn’t have the best season last year, so they’re coming in with a chip on their shoulder as well.”
Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of Friday’s contest.
Nick Jourdain coming into his own
Memphis forward Nick Jourdain had his best game in a Tigers uniform Thursday against Arkansas. He put up 12 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting with three rebounds and two blocks.
In 20 minutes, Jourdain hounded every Razorback he lined up against. His toughness was also on full display in the second half when he denied a Trevon Brazile dunk attempt, catching an elbow to the brow in the process that left him bloodied, but otherwise no worse for wear.
“I take pride in my defense the most,” he said. “I mean, being able to guard 1 through 5 and switch, I think that’s super cool. I’m just going to continue keep focusing on defense, focusing on rebounding. I’ll have nights like this occasionally. Maybe some bigger than others, but I’m cool with whatever.”
An area to exploit?
Memphis has established that the 3-ball will be a mainstay in its arsenal this season.
The Tigers are making 9.4 3-pointers per game. Couple that with Villanova’s penchant for giving up an average of 8.8 of them a game and, on paper, that may seem like an area Memphis could have success attacking.
Opponents are also shooting the ball efficiently from long range versus the Wildcats this season. Villanova ranks 207th in the nation as opposing teams are hitting 33.5% of their deep shots against it.
Villanova scouting report
Step one for Memphis: Don’t foul.
Villanova has the third-best free throw percentage in the country at 84.4%. In the Wildcats’ game against North Carolina, they got to the line a whopping 36 times and made 32 free throws. Furthermore, Kyle Neptune’s team is getting 25.6% of its points via the free throw, which is the 31st-best ratio in the country.
Step two for Memphis: Focus on Justin Moore and Eric Dixon. The Wildcats’ two leading scorers (16.3 points per game and 14.5, respectively) have accounted for 39.3% of their points so far this season. Moore (a 6-foot-5 senior) does most of his damage inside the arc, while Dixon (a 6-8 senior, who dropped 34 on North Carolina) is shooting 47.5% from the field and 45.0% from downtown.
Step three for Memphis: Crack the code. Villanova is not an overly long team, evidenced by its struggles to block shots (only 5.7% of its opponents shots are being blocked, the 303rd-worst rate). But the Wildcats rank 22nd in the country in 2-point field goal percentage defense, as opponents are shooting only 42% inside the arc.
DAVID JONES:‘He kicked our butt’: How Memphis star’s monster game was viewed by Arkansas
Memphis vs. Villanova score prediction
Memphis 77, Villanova 70: The Tigers won’t be denied.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected] or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.