Led by its phenom freshmen Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren, No. 12 Memphis cruised to a 90-51 victory over visiting North Carolina Central on Saturday night.

Bates totaled 15 points and four rebounds, while Duren had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds as Memphis led wire to wire.

Bates and Duren, two top 10 recruits in this year's class, set the tone early for the Tigers (2-0) who led by as many as 49 points.

Memphis, which is coming off winning the NIT championship last season, stymied NC Central shooters throughout the contest both inside and on the perimeter.

The Eagles (0-2) struggled to shoot even without Memphis' defensive tenacity, finishing just 17 of 65 overall from the field (26.2 percent) and a dismal 3 for 25 from 3-point range (12.0 percent).

Memphis shot 50 percent and went 7 of 19 from 3-point range.

The Tigers blocked 13 shots, led by three each from Duren and Malcolm Dandridge.

Landers Nolley II, Tyler Harris and Lester Quinones each scored in double figures off the bench. Nolley finished with 12 points while Harris tallied 11 and Quinones finished with 10 points.

Josh Minott just missed a double-double finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.

Eric Boone was the lone NC Central player to score in double figures, finishing with 13 points to go along with five rebounds.

The Eagles are coming off a 5-9 season during a shortened 2020-21 slate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

--Field Level Media