Memphis can change how season remembered
Four wins in four days is all it will take to change
Four wins in four days.
That's all it will take to change how this Memphis basketball season is remembered. That's all it will take, and that's likely the only option left, to get Memphis basketball back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
Four wins in four days at this week's American Athletic Conference Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, starting with Thursday's first-round matchup against East Carolina that may or may not be played with fans in the stands at Dickies Arena.
That's all it would take to lessen the sting of losing James Wiseman, of the resulting NCAA infractions case that looms over the program now because of how his eligibility situation was handled.
Four wins in four days.
It can seem a daunting task when viewed through the prism of Memphis basketball history because no Memphis basketball team has done it, and no AAC
team has done it, either. It can seem too much to ask of this particular team because it hasn't yet won four games in a row against the AAC this season.
But it can seem reasonable when viewed through the prism of March Madness, when taken in context with what's happened recently in college basketball.
There have been 15 teams in the history of college basketball to win four games in four days and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Two did it last year, including one (Oregon) that entered its conference tournament as a No. 6 seed in a 12-team bracket like Memphis will this week. Four teams have won four games in four days at conference tournaments over the past three seasons.
So Memphis coach Penny Hardaway may sound overly optimistic. But he's also being realistic.
“There's a first time for everything,” he said Tuesday before the Tigers left for Fort Worth, Texas. “It's not impossible because it's been done before. Maybe not by our school, but it's been done before and it can be done again.”
Four wins in four days.
It can be done because this league is either wide open, or just not very good. However you look at it, it's feasible with the right circumstances. For Memphis, and for probably six other AAC teams.
Only No. 2 seed Houston appears to be a lock to be in the NCAA Tournament field, and Memphis beat the Cougars less than three weeks ago. The Tigers beat No. 1 seed Cincinnati, No. 4 seed Wichita State and No. 5 Connecticut this season, too.
“Neutral court against our league," Hardaway said, "we feel like we can play against anybody."
So this could either change or reinforce the narrative that has formed over 31 games.
This could either temporarily ease or further magnify the impact of losing Wiseman and D.J. Jeffries.
This could either be a welcome diversion from Memphis' issues with the NCAA, or accelerate the arrival of an offseason full of uncertainty
This could either infuse a jolt of joy or suck more joy out of a season that began with so much.
Four wins in four days.
Either it's an achievement no Memphis basketball team has accomplished, or it's a feat plenty of teams have pulled off before.
“I think that would be the end of the movie that you would want,” Hardaway said, “as far as fighting so hard through everything, injuries, James leaving and then to end up where we wanted to be in the first place, and that's in the NCAA Tournament. That would definitely be a win for all of us. The city, the school, all of us.”
The problem with this particular film, or at least where this particular film stands right now, is that it's become so unpredictable off the court and entirely too predictable on it.
There's promise brought on by freshman Precious Achiuwa, and the Tigers' fierce defense. There's also frustration caused by too many turnovers, too many offensive rebounds for opponents, and too little help for Achiuwa. All of that, the good and the bad, have been part of the plot for months now.
But it doesn't have to be this week, and it can't be, if Memphis is to create a March Madness memory this week. Four wins in four days.
That's all it takes to change how this season is remembered.