Henderson to skip bowl, ends his Memphis career
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway gave his team a couple of days off after their win over UAB last Saturday. He wanted his players to study for their final exams.
But not before putting the Kansas vs. Tennessee game from November on their iPads first.
"We can't take any mental time off," Hardaway said. " We still have to study at night. Not only our books but also our playbook. We know they are getting ready for exams, but they could still watch film."
Hardaway knows his team is in for a mental and physical battle when it takes on No. 4 Tennessee (coaches poll) Saturday.
Here are five factors that could potentially impact the big game:
Memphis freshman Tyler Harris was there for the "crazy" atmosphere that surrounded the No. 1 vs. No. 2 game between Tennessee in 2008.
"I expect it to be the same way," Harris said Thursday.
FedExForum is sold out for a Tigers home game for the first time since 2009, and Hardaway said he hopes the arena is, "As crazy as it's ever been."
In fact, Hardaway's Tigers are so
Memphis coach Mike Norvell announced Friday that All-America running back Darrell Henderson will not play in the Birmingham Bowl, officially ending his Tigers career.
Henderson, a junior, declared for the NFL Draft earlier this week and did not participate in Memphis' first three practices following the Tigers' loss in the AAC championship game to UCF.
"He's got a great future in front of him. He did a wonderful job when he was here, he represented our program in a first-class fashion. I know he's going to continue to do that," Norvell said.
Henderson is second all-time in school history in rushing yards (3,545), all-purpose yards (4,790), 100-yard rushing games (16) and total touchdowns (45).
He became the program's first unanimous All-American after leading the nation in all-purpose yards (2,328), total touchdowns (25) and sharing the national lead with 22 rushing touchdowns.
He rushed for 1,909 yards, second in the country, and his 8.92 yards per carry led all FBS players with a minimum of 125 carries.
According to Sports Reference, Henderson's career average of 8.2 yards per carry ties Houston's Chuck Weatherspoon for the highest in NCAA history since 1956.
Norvell said that he will rotate Patrick Taylor Jr. and Tony Pollard at running back for Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 22 against Wake Forest.
Both had a similar role when Henderson left the first quarter of the Tigers' loss to Missouri with an injury.
Taylor rushed for 1,012 yards and 15 touchdowns this year while splitting carries with Henderson.
Taylor also started in last year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl against the Iowa State Cyclones when Henderson sat out with an injury.
Pollard ran for 443 yards and five touchdowns and also split duties at wide receiver/kick returner.
"This football team is going to count on them for the next year and this is their opportunity to go showcase what this duo can do," Norvell said.
sure the atmosphere will be overwhelming, that they are preparing for the danger of becoming too hyped once the game begins.
"Like coach (Tony) Madlock says, you can only play off emotion for so long," Harris said. "So you just have to settle down and play your game."
The game will also be Tennessee's first true road test this season. The Vols already played three neutral site games.
'Something to prove'
Despite Tennessee's No. 4 ranking in the USA Today coaches' poll, Hardaway said the Volunteers still have plenty to prove.
"They are not going to come in overconfident," Hardaway said. "They are still the hunters, not the hunted because they are at No. 3. Until they get to No. 1, they feel like, 'Hey, we're still hunting the big dogs."
Memphis, on the other hand, wants to prove it can compete with one of the best teams in the country after keeping it close with AP Top 25 teams LSU and Texas Tech.
"I love that all those SEC around here and are playing in –supposedly – a better league, and all the teams are better than all the teams in our league," Hardaway said. "We have an opportunity to prove we can play with anyone in the country."
Pressure
It's obvious what the game means for Memphis if the Tigers win Saturday. "It's huge," Hardaway said. "You have a team that just beat the No. 1 team in the nation a couple days before and you beat them on your home floor. If you lose the game, then you just figure out what caused you to lose the game."
So does Hardaway think it's fair to say most of the pressure is on Tennessee? Yes, he does.
"Any time a ranked team goes on the road to a non-ranked team it's a lot more pressure on them not to get the job done," Hardaway said.
So does that make the game free shot? Not quite, according to Harris.
"They are the higher-ranked team," Harris said. "They got a lot to lose. But we also have something to lose as well, because we have to protect our home court."
"It's that old saying," Hardaway said. "It's not about the size of the dog. It's the fight in the dog."
And Memphis is will need to fight if it wants to keep up with the Vols on the boards Saturday.
Tennessee is No. 21 in the country in rebounds per game, and has outrebounded its opponent in all but one game this season – against previous No. 1 Gonzaga.
All three of the Volunteers starting guards, Admiral Scholfield, Jordan Bone and Yves Pons are taller than Memphis' starting trio of Harris, Martin and Alex Lomax.
"We're going to be smaller than them the entire game," Hardaway said. "... Our pride has to kick in and all game long we cannot get bullied, pushed around and beaten up."
Memphis' speed
But what Memphis lacks in stature, it makes up for in speed.
"It's going to be a challenge with their size and everything," Harris said. "But I feel like since we're smaller, we can be faster and quicker than they are. We have to beat them to spots and win every 50-50 ball."
Memphis is playing at the 19th-fastest pace in the nation this season, according to KenPom.
Eastern Kentucky was the only other team Tennessee has played this season inside the top 20 in KenPom's adjusted tempo statistic.
The Tigers are averaging a shot just 14.9 seconds into the shot clock on each possession.
"They are bigger, we are faster," Hardaway said.
"We have to be quick all night. We cannot let them get set up defensively and get loaded up on us because they are so good at that."