Tigers have work to do before Wichita St.
NEW ORLEANS — “We have to win out.”
Penny Hardaway's plainspoken proclamation was made after his team's loss at SMU Tuesday. The three-game gauntlet began Saturday against Tulane and so far, so good. Memphis – still in the “next four out” category on ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's most recent projections – needed overtime to do it but returned home with a 74-67 win over the Green Wave.
So, step one: check. Due up next is a home date with Wichita State (8 p.m. Thursday), followed by the regular-season finale at Houston (11 a.m. Sunday). Still on the table for the Tigers is a first-round bye at the AAC Tournament, but they've still got their eyes on an NCAA Tournament at-large prize.
“Well, I mean, I think with us losing at SMU, they had us the ‘last four out,' whatever it was,” Hardaway said. “(The win over Tulane), at least, puts us back in the conversation to go back home and play a good Wichita State team that's (the first team on the wrong side of the bubble, according to Lunardi's latest bracketology). And then finish the season at Houston. So, these two games are the two games we needed to finish the season with to give ourselves an opportunity with where we are right now.”
For all the Tigers' faults, Hardaway can take solace in the culture that continues to blossom despite a season filled with more potholes and pitfalls than anybody could ever
have anticipated. In the face of intense scrutiny, major setbacks and enough distractions to last their entire careers, Memphis still presents a unified front that goes all-out each time it takes the floor.
At 20-9 overall and 9-7 in the AAC, the Tigers have been blown out just once (at Tulsa). Their average margin of defeat since Jan. 4 – not counting the 80-40 loss to the Golden Hurricane – is 4.6 points.
Following the overtime win at Tulane, leading scorer and rebounder Precious Achiuwa interrupted sophomore guard Tyler Harris' interview with local media. Achiuwa put his left arm around Harris and bestowed a new nickname upon him.
“This is Mr. Clutch right here, man,” Achiuwa said smiling.
Hardaway recognizes how easy it would have been for this group of players to come unglued given the rocky path it's traversed to this point.
“It says a lot to me about these kids, because they want it bad,” he said. “I told them, ‘There are no losers in this locker room. We're not losers. We're losing games, but we all have an opportunity to do something about it.' It says a lot about these kids that they respond. They don't put their head down. They haven't quit. They haven't let go of the rope. They're fighting.
“And it says a lot about our staff, because they respect us to be playing that hard. Still, right now, after all the blows we've been hit with. It lets us know they love us like we love them and we're (still) all together.”
Thursday's game against the Shockers represents a Quadrant 2 opportunity for Memphis, while Sunday's matchup with the Cougars is a Quadrant 1 game. The Tigers have not been eliminated from contention for one of the top four seeds in the conference tournament, something that would earn them a firstround bye.
But, before they get to Wichita State, Hardaway said there's still plenty of work to do.
“We have to get some things accomplished, because (opponents) are starting to take advantage of our guards on the post,” he said.
“And then, they're spreading us out with shooters. So we're definitely going to have to shore that up. We've got to put a couple things in defensively to help us at the end of games. Because, if you notice, we've lost games at the end with one-on-one basketball. South Florida: one-on-one basketball. Georgia: oneon-one basketball. SMU, both games. And (Cincinnati's) Jarron Cumberland, we tried to play box-and-one, and he kind of shredded us just by running through and drawing fouls.
“But we've got to do some things defensively at the end of games to kind of help our guards out on the post.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.