Scratch the pep talks. Throw out the mind games and the reverse psychology.
The Cougars won’t need any extra motivation for their game against Associated Press No. 18 Memphis at noon Saturday at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.
The Cougars are clearly the underdogs. Memphis (17-3, 6-0 Conference USA) has not lost to a conference opponent in more than two seasons.
UH (12-6, 3-2 C-USA) needs to upset the Tigers at least once this season to be considered for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Not to mention, if the season ended today, the Cougars would be the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.
The Cougars will play their first nationally televised game of the season. CBS College Sports will broadcast the game, giving the country a chance to get another look at junior guard Aubrey Coleman.
Saturday’s game will be Coleman’s first since he was suspended by C-USA for stepping on the face of Arizona junior forward Chase Budinger in UH’s 96-90 overtime loss at Arizona last Saturday. Coleman was charged with a flagrant foul and ejected from the game. The incident drew a lot of criticism from around the nation.
Coleman’s scoring and rebounding abilities were missed in Wednesday’s 62-55 loss to Texas-El Paso at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Coleman is averaging 18 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.
