No. 24/rv Memphis raced to an early first-half lead and maintained a comfortable margin to get past Rutgers in the lone American Athletic Conference action Wednesday night.
 
The Tigers opened with a 22-3 run and led 56-21 halftime lead on their way to a 101-69 victory against the Scarlet Knights. Buoyed by 36-of-61 shooting (59 percent) for the game, Memphis had six players in double digits, led by 18 points from F Austin Nichols. G Chris Crawford had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
A pair of in-state foes will meet Wednesday as the two Florida schools in the American Athletic Conference play for the first time this season. USF is at UCF (7 p.m. ET, ESPNews) in at CFE Arena for the 28th meeting of the schools on the hardwood and the first as conference opponents.
 
The teams split a home-and-home nonconference series last year, with the road team winning both games. The Bulls will be tasked with keeping the Knights off the offensive glass, as UCF leads the conference with 14.4 offensive rebounds per game.
 
No. 14/10 Louisville heads to Hofheinz Pavilion for a matchup with Houston (9 p.m. ET, ESPNU). Louisville owns a 14-5 edge in the lifetime series after posting a 91-52 victory in the teams’ Jan. 16 meeting. The Cardinals average 82.6 points per game,  the best in The American, and their 20.2-point scoring margin leads the nation. The Cougars will honor legendary coach Guy V. Lewis in recognition of his recent induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.