Memphis avoided drama. Now they can make history
They’ve been so good at avoiding the wrong kind of drama, so much better than any of their recent predecessors at Memphis.
So their reward will be the best kind of drama.
The biggest home game of the Penny Hardaway era. A home game featuring the largest crowd of the season. A home game that can provide the exclamation point on this run to March Madness, in much the same way last year’s regularseason finale win over Houston did.
But this home game will be against No. 1, with Memphis serving as host to the best team in the land for just the second time in program history. This home game might just be the most significant one played since No. 1 Memphis took on No. 2 Tennessee at Fedexforum 15 years ago.
I’ll leave the debate to the diehard fans after Memphis dispatched SMU, 81-62, to set the stage for a memorable Sunday on Beale Street. But everyone can agree this is what Memphis basketball should be.
This is what Hardaway craved, from the moment he took this job. This is what Kendric Davis craved, from the moment he took up Hardaway’s offer to come to Memphis. This is what the city craved, and the moment is not lost on anyone. Tickets to this Houston game are sold out. This will even feature a celebration of the 1972-73 team, the one that sparked generations of Tiger basketball fans.
“Can’t get any better,” Hardaway said. “The way we’re ending the season, it’s unbelievable. I just thank God for the opportunity to have this game at home in front of our crowd, and it’s extra special with the ‘73 team on senior day. Man, what more could you ask for?”
How about a win? Memphis is 0-9 facing the No. 1 team in the country.
Regardless, after five months spent accumulating wins mostly outside of the spotlight that Hardaway’s previous teams couldn’t avoid, these Tigers will be the center of attention. Finally.
They navigated the minefield that the American Athletic Conference has become, and a schedule filled with games that could only hurt their resume had they turned into losses. Games like Thursday’s triumph, when a loss to a team with SMU’S terrible profile would have created unnecessary stress heading into Selection Sunday.
It doubled as Davis’s return to the school in which he starred the past three seasons, and the SMU fans chanted “traitor” at him. But he got the better of this trade.
The Tigers’ performance was unspectacular and hardly flawless, but they made the plays they needed to keep SMU at bay. They built a doubledigit lead midway through the first half and were never really threatened again against an overmatched opponent. Davis had 23 points and Damaria Franklin set a new season high in scoring (15 points) for the third time in four games. They only added to the sense that this group has a sense of what it is and what it isn’t, and what that might mean with the postseason almost here.
Simply put: Memphis didn’t lose when a loss would have been especially
damaging. Along with the exploits of Davis and Deandre Williams, it may well be the most distinguishable part of the Tigers' identity. Maybe, for a time, it all came off as a little boring. But now, with March Madness on the horizon, it's a quality worth rallying around.
This Memphis team won when it was supposed to, perhaps more so than any Memphis team of the past decade. Its worst loss, according to Kenpom (at Saint Louis on Nov. 15), is the program's best “worst loss” since the 2012-13 season.
Memphis (23-7, 13-4) was consistent in a way Hardaway's teams had never been before, even if it might not be as talented from top to bottom as the roster that got Hardaway his first NCAA Tournament berth a year ago. There were no losing streaks, no locker room power struggles that leaked out into public view. It's why the Tigers are likely to hear their name called again on Selection Sunday at this point.
It's why this meeting with Houston feels different than the past few, when the circumstances seemed as if Memphis absolutely, positively had to win to make the NCAA Tournament. There is not the same pressure attached to this game.
The Tigers don't need saving as much as they just need a better seed than last time. They gave Houston everything it could handle a couple of weeks ago on the road while playing without Davis.
But that No. 1 ranking adds more luster to this showdown.
It was almost 30 years ago that No. 1 last came to town. It was Arkansas, the eventual national champion, on Dec. 8, 1993, at The Pyramid. ESPN broadcasted the game and Dick Vitale was in Memphis to call it. The Razorbacks eventually ran away in the second half for an easy win.
But those Tigers wound up with an under .500 record under former coach Larry Finch, led by freshmen Cedric Henderson, Chris Garner and Deuce Ford. It was the beginning of that group's journey.
Sunday's matchup against the nation's best will be the culmination of one, with the chance to accomplish what no team before them at Memphis has before.
If you missed the drama, you've got it now.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto