University of Memphis coach Josh Pastner was on a roll.
For more than 18 minutes Monday, he went on and on with local media about how losing stinks, how Conference USA is a better league and how he despises negativity.
"Everyone needs to cut out all the negativity. I cannot stand losing, but I also cannot stand negativity," Pastner said.
After a blowout loss at Rice on Saturday, the Tigers' first to the Owls in eight meetings, the usually cool-headed Pastner appeared to be feeling the heat with Memphis now needing to win its final four games to earn at least a share of Conference USA's regular-season title.
Although the Tigers actually moved from a tie for fourth place into a three-way tie for third in the league standings Monday by virtue of UCF's 74-68 win at UTEP, it didn't change the fact that Memphis (20-7, 8-4 in C-USA) still needs to win out if it intends to control its postseason destiny.
The task starts tonight at FedExForum against Houston (12-13, 4-8), which has dropped seven of its last eight games and won just twice in 11 road games this season.
While three of Memphis' final four regular-season games will come against teams with sub-.500 league records, the Tigers reminded fans Saturday what can happen when the players underestimate an opponent, as freshman guard Joe Jackson admitted the Tigers had done after the game.
"The four remaining games are not gonna be easy," Pastner said. "Houston's not gonna be easy. At UTEP's not gonna be easy. At East Carolina won't be easy and neither will Tulane. So we're gonna have to find a way. I believe our guys will find a way. We have to be in survival mode."
Freshman forward Tarik Black said the players had a meeting after the Rice loss to discuss their mistakes and roles. Memphis' 24 points in the paint against the Owls tied its season low and were the fewest it has scored in 12 C-USA games. Instead, the Tigers' guards were content to jack up shots from the outside, as Jackson and freshmen Will Barton and Chris Crawford combined to go 5-of-24 from the field and 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
"Everybody had thoughts after that game, obviously, because it's a loss. They saw things we did wrong, so we had to correct it," Black said. "It was kind of like people had thoughts of what they should be doing out there on the court. No bad intentions, you know?
"We all have thoughts of what we're capable of, but it's sacrificing for the team. That's what it takes to win, so that's what we need to start doing."
Houston's back-to-back wins over Memphis last season cost the Tigers a chance at an NCAA Tournament bid in Pastner's first season. The Cougars beat Memphis, 92-75, at Hofheinz Pavilion in the teams' second meeting last season, then sent the Tigers to the NIT with a 66-65 quarterfinal victory in the C-USA Tournament in Tulsa.
While the Cougars lost a pair of C-USA all-tournament team performers to graduation in former guards Aubrey Coleman and Kelvin Lewis, senior forward Maurice McNeil was a thorn in the Tigers' sides in each of the teams' three meetings last season. The 6-7, 225-pound forward is averaging 16.2 points and 7.7 rebounds over his last five games.
"Totally different," Pastner said of tonight's matchup. "Last year, they had the leading scorer in the country (in Coleman), a different coach. We've got different personnel. It's totally different.
"They're good. They pound it inside. They're shooting the 3-point shot really well, like over 40 percent (in C-USA play), and they've lost some close games. They're very similar to Rice in that they could easily have a better record."
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