Memphis vs Tulane Prediction, Odds | College Basketball Betting Guide (Sunday, Jan. 21)

No. 10 Memphis and Tulane will meet on the hardwood Sunday afternoon in New Orleans in what should be an entertaining matchup in the American Athletic Conference.

The Tigers squandered a 20-point lead in a midweek loss to South Florida, dropping to 15-3 on the season. Meanwhile, the Green Wave need a big win on their resume if they want to push for an invitation to postseason play.

This is a set of high-scoring offenses that play at fast tempos, which should make this a great watch for the neutrals and fans of the AAC. Let's take a closer look at the matchup in our Memphis vs. Tulane preview and pick.

Everything was headed in the right direction for coach Penny Hardaway’s squad. The Tigers had 10 straight wins to go along with a perfect start to conference play.

However, there were warning signs before the collapse against South Florida. Memphis was forced to go to overtime to take down a weak UTSA squad, which followed back-to-back game-winners by Jahvon Quinerly.

Those close calls are likely strong contributors as to why Shot Quality has Memphis only behind Ole Miss in the record luck metric. In other words, Memphis has been very lucky and is due for negative regression.

One of the key players for Hardaway this season has been David Jones. The St. John’s transfer leads the conference and ranks in the top 10 in the country at 21.1 points per game.

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This would be a monumental win for coach Ron Hunter and his program. Tulane comes into the game on a 53-game losing streak to ranked opponents and has not beaten a top-25 squad since 1992.

The drought very well could've ended a few games ago when the Green Wave battled then-No. 24 Florida Atlantic in a one-point loss. The Owls needed a pair of free throws with one second remaining to avoid the upset.

The recipe for success is the same as last season for Hunter’s squad. The Green Wave like to spread you out in space and attack with the dynamic duo of Jaylen Forbes and Kevin Cross.

Cross leads the team in scoring (17.1 PPG), rebounding (8.1 RPG) and assists (4.6 APG). Meanwhile, Forbes is another prolific scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game.

Let’s also not forget that Tulane won both meetings last season against Memphis in dramatic fashion. Both teams lit up the scoreboard in those contests as well.

If you like points and tempo, this is the college basketball game of the day for you. I can’t bet a total as high as 168, but I do see another way to bet on this contest.

My best bet is for the game to fly over the first-half total of 81 points. I also don’t hate a look at either squad’s team total in the opening period.

Memphis came into the weekend ranked in the top 30 in pace, according to KenPom, while Tulane is even faster at 11th nationally. Meanwhile, these two offense consistently get out to great starts in games. Both squads rank inside the top 65 in first-half scoring. However, the defenses tell a different story. Memphis is 224th in first-half points allowed per game, which is still a step up from the Green Wave at 317th.

If I were picking a side, I do think the Tigers get revenge here. I just like how this matchup sets up for early points more for my favorite play in this one.

Pick: 1H Over 81

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