Austin Peay coach Dave Loos decided he was going to try to stop Memphis' inside game by packing in a zone defense.
The 22nd-ranked Tigers overcame the strategy by shooting accurately from long range en route to a 91-60 win over the Governors on Saturday night.
''Oh, they were on fire,'' Loos said of Memphis' 11-for-15 shooting on 3s in the first half. ''They just buried us before we really had a chance to really get a grasp.''
Will Barton had 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead the Tigers. Adonis Thomas added 17 points for Memphis (4-2), which finished with 15 3-pointers. Joe Jackson had 11 points, and Tarik Black added 10.
''We thought on the defensive end that we had to make them try to beat us over the top, and they did,'' Loos said of his game plan. ''We said we were going to pack it in, try to keep them out of the lane. Keep them away from the rim and the basket.''
Melvin Baker scored 15 points for Governors (0-9). Tyshwan Edmondson, who was averaging a team-best 13.4 points per game, was held to three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
''Our whole team's struggling offensively,'' Loos said before adding that Baker ''was representative. ... He, unfortunately, was the only one.''
Memphis led by at least 30 for much of the second half, even though its 3-point shooting tapered off.
The Tigers fell one short of the school record for 3s, set against Marquette in 2004.
''I thought our shots were good. We were in rhythm,'' Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. ''Our team is not going to live and die by the 3. But we are going to take open shots.
''When we move the ball, throw the ball ahead and make the extra pass, we're going to have shots in rhythm. We've just got to stick them. That's the facts..It's kind of like a shooting practice.''
Memphis shot 62 percent (18 for 29) in the first half and led 52-27 at the break.
The Tigers broke the game open with a 16-2 run midway through the opening half. They were never really threatened in the second half, either.
The Tigers, who were being outrebounded by 8.4 a game coming in, managed to outwork the Governors 42-37. But Austin Peay did finish with 19 offensive rebounds.
Barton had promised coaches he would reach double-digits in rebounding for the game to hopefully spur a better performance on the boards from the team.
''Every time we are lacking in an area, I feel like me, being the leader and the go-to player, I've got to go fix the problem, and put a lot of weight on myself,'' Barton said. ''Not just to get (myself) on, but to get my teammates going. To kind of set the tone and example.
''If everyone sees me doing it, everybody is going to fly to the boards and try to get rebounds.''
Pastner said he saw improvement in his team after losing two of three at the Maui Invitational and a lackadaisical start last Monday in a win over Jackson State.
''I thought for 40 minutes tonight we had good energy,'' he said. ''There wasn't any drop off in energy or intensity.''
