No. 16 Memphis downs South Florida, finishes atop AAC

Dain Dainja and PJ Haggerty each had 20 points to lead host Memphis to an 84-68 victory over South Florida in the American Athletic Conference matchup on Friday night.

The 16th-ranked Tigers (26-5, 16-2 AAC) secured the conference's regular-season title. It was their first such feat since 2012-13 when they won Conference USA.

Jayden Reid scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead South Florida (13-18, 6-12), which ended the regular season on a four-game losing streak. CJ Brown added 11 points and Brandon Stroud grabbed 13 rebounds before fouling out.

The Tigers have won five in a row and swept both meetings with the Bulls this season. Memphis will be the top seed in next week's AAC tournament, earning a double-bye.

Memphis will next try to boost its NCAA Tournament resume with a strong run in the conference tournament.

For a half, the Bulls entertained thoughts of an upset, leading for most of the first half before going to halftime in a tie at 35.

Memphis spent the first 11 minutes of the second half squashing those hopes. The Tigers took the lead for good on back-to-back 3-pointers by Tyrese Hunter to start the half and outscored South Florida 30-15.

Dainja went 10-for-13 for the floor and grabbed six rebounds. Hunter finished with 16 points and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. He also chipped in seven assists and three steals.

Memphis' defense and efforts on the boards swung the game in its favor in the second half.

The Tigers outrebounded the Bulls 43-30 for the game, led by Nicholas Jourdain's nine boards. The Tigers blocked four shots and shared the ball well on the offensive end, totaling 21 assists.

Haggerty also had eight rebounds and five assists and went 8-for-10 at the free-throw line.

--Field Level Media