Going into this season, the Memphis Tigers knew they would struggle on the perimeter with only one guard on the roster with any college experience. However, no one could have anticipated what occurred on Wednesday night as the Tigers fell at home, 74-70 in overtime, to Christian Brothers University, a Division II school.

Memphis coach Josh Pastner, while obviously disappointed, is trying to take it all in stride.

We’re gonna be better,” Pastner said after the game. “Look, I hope the fans are upset. They should be upset. They should criticize me. The media should criticize me. I got no issue with that. I gotta take it right on the chest. That being said, I do feel let’s hold overall judgment on the team until we’re playing countable games.”

Memphis struggled to maintain control of the ball and finished with 21 turnovers. The Tigers also missed 17 of their 22 three-point attempts in the loss.

The only guard on the roster with any college experience, Kedren Johnson, is a transfer from Vanderbilt. Still getting used to the Memphis system, Johnson accounted for 6 turnovers on the night.

Despite poor shooting and horrific ball control, the Tigers were poised to sneak away with a win over CBU, but missed costless throws and poor defense down the stretch ultimately sealed their fate.

I’m not shocked. This is basketball. This is a game of runs,” said junior forward Shaq Goodwin. “They made those key plays that we needed to make toward the end. Key rebounds. Key stops.”

Goodwin, who led the Tigers with 18 points and 10 rebounds, also committed 4 turnovers against the DII Buccaneers. He too is trying to stay positive.

We were a little dead in the beginning,” he said. “To me, we looked exhausted. We didn’t have a sense of urgency in the beginning. That sense of urgency, we’ll start it on Friday at 8 (a.m.) with film and we’ll get it back right by Tuesday.”

Memphis opens its regular season on Tuesday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota where the team will face nationally ranked Wichita State.

The Tigers' loss to CBU comes on the heels of defeats of UAB and Oregon State to UNC-Pembroke and Western Oregon, two other Division II programs.

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