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Memphis looks to rebound against Marist

Dec 2, 2008 - 1:37 PM Marist (2-3) at (15) Memphis (4-1) 8:00 p.m. EST

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Similar to last season's national championship game, Memphis again cost itself a title with suspect free-throw shooting.

The 15th-ranked Tigers will look to bounce back from a loss in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship game when they host Marist on Tuesday.

Memphis was handed its first loss of the season, 63-58, by Xavier in the finale of the early-season tournament. The Tigers converted just 15-of-30 free throws, including two of their final nine attempts, and shot 33 percent (18-of-55) from the field in the loss.

A poor performance at the charity stripe also played a hand in Memphis' defeat in the title game to Kansas last season, as the team missed four free throws down the stretch before falling in overtime.

Freshman standout Tyreke Evans has helped Memphis fans forget the sting of last season, but struggled to the worst shooting game of his young career against the Musketeers. Evans scored 12 points on just 4-of-16 from the field and has made 11-of-36 (31 percent) over his last three games.

Tuesday's contest will be a homecoming for Marist coach Chuck Martin, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Memphis.

The Red Foxes are coming off a 63-61 win over New Hampshire. David Devezin leads the team with 14.4 points a game while Ryan Schneider is averaging a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds per contest.