GLENDALE, Ariz. — A career night by J.T. Tiller put Missouri one win away from its first trip to the Final Four.
Memphis’ 27-game winning streak, meanwhile, is history.
Tiller scored a career-high 23 points — 15 more than his season average — and Missouri held off Memphis’ frantic rally for a 102-91 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the West Regional.
Third-seeded Missouri led by 24 points four minutes into the second half, then saw Memphis close within six with 2:14 to play.
Mizzou put it away from the foul line.
Missouri (31-6) advanced to play top-seeded Connecticut for the West title on Saturday.
“We came out and kind of took the fight to Memphis early on, and before you know it, our guys had a little confidence,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said.
Dynamic point guard Tyreke Evans scored 33 for second-seeded Memphis (33-4), which made only 18-for-32 shots from the foul line.
Missouri freshman Marcus Denmon had the game’s most amazing basket, a swish from three-quarters court at the halftime buzzer for a 13-point lead.
Tiller, the co-defensive player of the year in the Big 12, made 10-of-16 shots and had three steals. All five Missouri starters reached double figures. DeMarre Carroll scored 17 points and Leo Lyons had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Robert Dozier had 19 points and 16 rebounds in Memphis’ first loss since a Dec. 20 setback against Syracuse. Antonio Anderson scored 18 in his last game for Memphis.
Missouri is among the last eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament in just its third season under Anderson, a Nolan Richardson disciple who coached the last Conference USA team to beat John Calipari’s Memphis team — that was for UAB 62 games ago.
This was Tigers vs. Tigers in a matchup not only of nicknames but in-your-face, high-energy styles. Missouri ended up beating Memphis at its own game.
Missouri overwhelmed Memphis with a 27-7 run that spanned the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second.
Matt Lawrence’s third 3-pointer of the night — in four attempts — put Missouri ahead 64-40 with 16 minutes to play.
In its fourth straight regional semifinal appearance, Memphis finally turned up the pressure to force a series of turnovers that got the Conference USA champs back in the game.
Shawn Taggart’s rebound dunk cut it to 89-83 with 2:14 left, but Zaire Taylor sank two free throws to boost the lead to 91-83.
