Memphis Tigers Basketball

The ninth-seeded Memphis Tigers defeated No. 8 seed Boise State Broncos 64-53 in the first round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on Thursday at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

DeAndre Williams' 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting led the Tigers. Jalen Duren added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. 

Memphis led 38-19 at halftime and held Boise State to 31.5 percent shooting for the game.

However, the Tigers went cold in the second half. Boise State's Abu Kigab, who didn't score before halftime, took advantage and dropped 20 second-half points.

The Broncos sliced the Memphis lead to 58-53 and had a chance to cut the deficit to one possession after Boise State big man Tyson Degenhart grabbed a defensive rebound off a Duren miss with 55 seconds left.

However, Memphis guard Alex Lomax swiped at the ball, and Duren grabbed possession before making a layup for a 60-53 advantage.

Memphis forces a HUGE turnover and Jalen Duren capitalizes with a bucket 💪#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/KD0x07mhu7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

Memphis took control from there en route to the 11-point win.

This marked the first time that Memphis head coach and Orlando Magic legend Penny Hardaway led the Tigers in the NCAA tournament. He's guided Memphis to four straight 20-win seasons during his tenure, which began in 2018.

Boise State made its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.

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Notable Performances

Memphis F DeAndre Williams: 14 points, 5 rebounds

Memphis C Jalen Duren: 10 points, 11 rebounds

Memphis G Alex Lomax: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Boise State F Abu Kigab: 20 points, 2 steals

Boise State F Mladen Armus: 3 points, 11 rebounds

Boise State F Tyson Degenhart: 8 points, 4 rebounds

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Memphis' Strong First Half Provides Enough Cushion for Win

It was all Memphis in the first half, as the Tigers doubled the Broncos' point total and held on late for the win.

Early on, Lomax found Williams in transition for an easy bucket and 8-4 edge:

Oh my, Deandre Williams 💥 @Memphis_MBB pic.twitter.com/E3Om23Xn5B

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Boise State fought back to tie this one at 12, but Memphis then rolled off an 8-0 run.

Undeterred, Boise State kept clawing away, and it appeared to change the momentum with this Max Rice steal and three-pointer to slash the lead to 22-17:

Max Rice for 3️⃣! @BroncoSportsMBB pic.twitter.com/Y5hLI05SZZ

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

But Memphis closed the half on a 16-5 run.

Emoni Bates, the highly touted recruit who has been sidelined since January with a back injury, notably hit a big three to put Memphis up 27-17.

Emoni Bates checks in for the first time since January and knocks down a three 👌#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/I4wKkKQ1un

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

The second half got hairy for Memphis, but it was Lomax who guided them to victory.

It was an emotional day for Lomax, who appeared to suffer an ankle injury late in the first half after hitting a three to put Memphis up 38-19:

Memphis guard Alex Lomax goes down with an ankle injury after hitting a three plus a foul.#MarchMadness@GoTigers247 pic.twitter.com/hHuyK5OqAD

— Carter Bahns (@carterbahns) March 17, 2022

However, he gutted it out in the second half, notably coming up with the defensive play of the game leading to Duren's aforementioned layup to go up 60-53.

Lomax, whose history with Hardaway stems from well before their time at Memphis, spoke with Andy Katz postgame:

Memphis native Alex Lomax has been playing for Penny Hardaway since he was in the 6th grade.

Today, he led Memphis to its first NCAA Tournament win since 2014. He dedicated the win to his former coach Desmond Merriweather, and his grandmother. @iamalo02 https://t.co/s3PPsze3Kw

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 17, 2022

Now the Tigers are moving on after securing Hardaway's first NCAA tournament win.

    

Boise State Fights Hard, Falls Short in 2nd Half

To the Broncos' credit, they didn't wilt in the second half when Memphis started the final 20 minutes up 19. Rather, the Broncos' team defense shined as Kigab put on an absolute show.

Emmanuel Akot got Boise State off on the right foot with a little trickery:

Emmanuel Akot with the wide open slam‼️ @BroncoSportsMBB pic.twitter.com/PgtpkAhdD0

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Landers Nolley II made a jumper to put the Tigers up 40-21 with 18:29 left in the second half.

Memphis didn't make a field goal for the next 9:09 of game time, with a pair of free throws its only points during that stretch.

Boise State slowly but surely chipped away at the lead, with the team's leading scorer in Kigab hitting a tough layup to make the score 42-35 in Memphis' favor.

Tough bucket from Abu Kigab and the Broncos are fighting back 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uzN3b4Ubm2

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022

The Tigers offense woke up from that point, but Kigab kept the Broncos in the game. He scored 16 more points after that layup as he and the Tigers kept fighting back and forth. Lomax continued to be a thorn in the Broncos' side in the second half, finding Williams for two and a 51-43 lead.

Duren ➡️ Lomax ➡️ Williams for the jam 💥 @Memphis_MBB pic.twitter.com/ExZSZefdqA

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 17, 2022

Boise State cut the Memphis lead to five points on two different occasions, but the 19-point halftime edge proved too difficult to overcome. Still, it was a great second-half effort for the Broncos, who finish the season with a 27-8 overall record.

      

What's Next?

Memphis will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 16 seed Georgia State Panthers.

That second-round game will go down Saturday in Portland at a to-be-determined time.

Hansel Enmanuel, a high school basketball player who has gone viral for his impressive skills, said Friday that he has received a scholarship offer to play college basketball at the University of Memphis.

According to On3's Joe Tipton, Enmanuel, who had most of his left arm amputated as a child, now has three scholarship offers from Division I schools with Memphis being the highest-profile institution to date. Enmanuel has also received offers from historically Black universities Bethune-Cookman and Tennessee State.

Enmanuel, who was born in the Dominican Republic, is a 6'4" guard and senior at Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Florida.

An accident when he was six years old resulted in the amputation of his left arm below the shoulder.

Enmanuel is rated by 247Sports as a 3-star prospect and the No. 34 combo guard in the recruiting class of 2022.

Enmanuel's highlight reels show off his impressive skill set, including shooting three-pointers with a unique stroke and throwing down emphatic dunks.

Enmanuel has also gotten himself on the radar by recently appearing in a video for rapper J. Cole's Dreamer brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIs0t-lYBn8?

On3 estimates that Enmanuel has a name, image and likeness (NIL) value of $1.2 million, which is the third-highest among current high school basketball players.

With college athletes now able to profit from NIL deals because of new NCAA rules, Enmanuel should have no shortage of endorsement opportunities.

Memphis forward and 5-star recruit Emoni Bates' father, Elgin Bates, has refuted a report that claims his son's future with the program has "come into question."

"No plans at all," Bates said when asked by Jason Munz of the Commercial Appeal if his son had visions of leaving the team.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweeted Tuesday that Bates would not play in his team's upcoming game against Cincinnati and that his "future with the program has suddenly come into question."

Sources: Emoni Bates will not play in Memphis' game at Cincinnati on Thursday, as his future with the program has suddenly come into question. Bates has been projected as a 2023 NBA Draft prospect and had previous contact with OTE and overseas opportunities.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) February 2, 2022

In response, Elgin Bates told Munz that his son has been dealing with back pain for the past three weeks and has an appointment with a specialist this week. He also said his son won't play Thursday "unless he's cleared to play."

Bates is third on the team with 10.4 points per game. He was once the class of 2022's No. 1 recruit before reclassifying to the class of 2021.

Bates had five schools and three professional options on his list of top eight post-high school choices before choosing Memphis:

Class of 2022's five-star @BatesEmoni has narrowed his options down to these eight:

NBA G League
Overtime Elite
NBL
Oregon
Memphis
Michigan State
Baylor
Miami pic.twitter.com/VlFM1bMlKM

— ESPN (@espn) July 24, 2021

Memphis entered the season with high expectations thanks to the additions of Bates and fellow 5-star recruit/big man Jalen Duren,

Unfortunately, it's been a trying campaign for the Tigers, who started 5-0 and reached as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press poll before going 6-8 in their last 14 games.

They are now 11-8 overall (5-4 in the American Athletic Conference), and ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently has the Tigers out of the NCAA tournament picture.

Still, there are nine conference games left on the ledger plus the AAC tournament, so the story of this season has not yet been written for Bates and the Tigers.

For now, Memphis will look to ride the momentum of their two-game winning streak into Cincinnati in hopes of taking down the host Bearcats (15-6, 5-3 AAC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.

Bates would be a tough absence for Memphis, who benefitted from his 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 21 minutes during the Tigers' 87-80 win over Cincinnati on Jan. 9.

University of Memphis men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway issued an apology for his expletive-filled rant directed toward the media after Thursday's home loss to SMU.

Hardaway posted a video Friday on Instagram saying he let his "emotions get the best of" him: 

Penny Hardaway has issued an apology, via Instagram, to the University of Memphis, his players and the fans. pic.twitter.com/AQqtdgnYGo

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 22, 2022

Memphis entered the 2021-22 season with sky-high expectations. It was ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press preseason poll and reached as high as No. 9 amid a 5-0 start.

The Tigers have gone just 4-8 over their past 12 games, however, and the loss to SMU extended their current losing streak to three.

Injuries and COVID-related absences have started to take a toll with two of the team's top four scorers, DeAndre Williams and Landers Nolley II, missing the clash with the Mustangs.

The main point of Hardaway's rant centered around the unfairness of judging either the team or his coaching performance based on games where they are missing key players.

"It is what it is, man. I don't like to get out of character. We're hurt, man," he told reporters. "Our roster is depleted right now of guys that can definitely make a difference and help the young guys get through this. Right now they're having to learn on the fly. It's hard."

Nevertheless, the former NBA All-Star guard added it was also important to fight through some adversity.

"We gotta be tougher as a group. We gotta stop feeling sorry for ourselves when things aren't going right and just keep fighting," Hardaway said. "Right now we're not fighting. This isn't a Memphis team. We're not fighting hard enough for the entire game."

While there's no doubt the absences have hurt Memphis, a lot of teams have been forced to juggle their rotations during a season heavily impacted by COVID-19 over the past few months.

The Tigers must get hot down the stretch to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament—they're likely on the outside looking in at the 68-team bracket—and at that point they can press the reset button and hope their talent shines through during March Madness.

Hardaway has posted a 72-40 record across three-plus seasons leading the Memphis program and has consistently delivered strong recruiting classes, so he shouldn't be on the hot seat despite the fact that this season has yet to meet expectations.

Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway was not happy with the media following a 70-62 loss against SMU on Thursday night.

After the game, he was asked by reporters if he felt he could handle the job as head coach. He replied:

I think the one thing I can say when it comes to this media, because this media gets kinda f--ked up sometimes when it comes to me: We don't have our full roster. Y'all know we don't have our full roster. Stop asking me stupid f--king questions about if I feel like I can do something. If I had my roster like they did, then I feel like I can do whatever I want to do. I'm coaching really hard. My boys are playing really hard. I'm not embarrassed about nothing. We have four freshmen starting. Y'all need to act like it.

Penny Hardaway's answer to if he can get the job done at Memphis.

"Stop asking me stupid f***ing questions about if I feel like I can do something. If I had my roster like they did, then I feel like I can do whatever I want to do." pic.twitter.com/WA79u6Y7bc

— Cassie Carlson (@CassieCarlsonTV) January 21, 2022

The Tigers are now just 9-8 on the season, though the young team started three freshmen—Josh Minott, Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren—on Thursday night, while a fourth freshman, Tadarius Jacobs, saw minutes off the bench.

Two of the team's top players, DeAndre Williams and Landers Nolley II, remained out injured against SMU. Guard Alex Lomax did return to action and came off the bench, while Jayden Hardaway and Chandler Lawson also remained out.

So it's been a tough stretch for the Tigers, and Hardaway is clearly feeling the stress. 

The Memphis men's basketball team has minimized Rasheed Wallace's role with the team and removed him from in-person duties.

Head coach Penny Hardaway told reporters Wednesday that Wallace will serve as a consultant for the time being.

Penny didn’t close the door on Rasheed possibly returning in-person down the road.

Says Rasheed is “still a coach.” But said his in-person absence is a mutual decision based on “health and safety” concerns.

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022

Wallace, a four-time All-Star in the NBA, joined the Tigers in August as an assistant coach.

The exact reason for the move is unclear, though Hardaway confirmed on Jan. 12 that Wallace was in the COVID-19 protocols, thus taking him away from the team. He continued to work remotely with players through Zoom calls.

Star center Jalen Duren praised his contributions from afar.

More Jalen Duren on Rasheed Wallace: “Definitely a guy with a lot of energy and was a great mentor for the bigs when he was here and I definitely learned a lot from him.”

— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022

The logic behind bringing Wallace onto the staff was obvious.

In discussing the hire, Hardaway highlighted the insight the 6'10" former forward might be able to impart upon the likes of Duren, Emoni Bates and DeAndre Williams.

In addition to helping the Detroit Pistons win an NBA title in 2003-04 and return to the 2005 NBA Finals, Wallace was a bit ahead of his time. He shot 33.6 percent from three-point range and averaged one made three-pointer per game. The 47-year-old would've been a perfect fit in today's game, which places a high emphasis on spacing the floor.

For Wallace, this was an opportunity to take the next step in his coaching career, but the partnership only made it a few months before hitting a roadblock.

This adds to an already disjointed season for the Tigers, one interrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak. Heading into Thursday's game against SMU, Hardaway's squad is 9-7 and tied for sixth in the AAC.

The University of Memphis announced Saturday's men's basketball game against the University of Tennessee has been canceled because of COVID-19 issues within its program.

The matchup between the Tigers and the 18th-ranked Volunteers, dubbed the Nashville Showcase, was scheduled to take place at Bridgestone Arena.

Memphis snapped a four-game losing streak Tuesday with an impressive 92-78 upset over No. 6 Alabama. It was an important resume-building win for head coach Penny Hardaway's group.

The Tigers' matchup with the Vols was one of just three games against ranked opponents left on their schedule. Without it, they only have their two conference matchups with No. 14 Houston remaining, unless another team makes a surge from The American.

Depending how the rest of their season plays out following a 6-4 start, not getting an opportunity to take down the Volunteers could prove costly in their efforts to earn an NCAA tournament bid.

Meanwhile, UT was already on the court warming up for Saturday's game when word came down of the cancellation:

Vols walk off in disbelief after learning of the postponement of their showdown with Memphis. Team will scrimmage for the fans that are here at Bridgestone Arena @wvltrick pic.twitter.com/nJUAPSXjVA

— wvlt (@wvlt) December 18, 2021

The Vols are off to a promising 8-2 start highlighted by a win over then-No. 18 North Carolina in late November.

Tennessee's schedule gets tougher over the next few weeks as it prepares to host No. 8 Arizona on Wednesday before traveling to face the aforementioned Crimson Tide on Dec. 29.

With Saturday's cancellation, the Volunteers will continue to hold a 15-12 advantage in the all-time series between the in-state rivals.

The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team needed a win, and they got a big one Tuesday.

Memphis defeated No. 6 Alabama 92-78 in a high-profile inter-conference showdown. The victory snapped an ugly four-game losing streak for the Tigers that seemed to suggest they were a borderline tournament team instead of one capable of competing for a national title.

DeAndre Williams led a balanced attack with 20 points, six assists, three rebounds, three steals and one block as one of five players to score in double figures for the victors.

Jalen Duren (14 points and six boards) and Landers Nolley II (13 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals) also impressed, while Lester Quinones and Tyler Harris provided a spark off the bench.

Memphis was also dialed in on the defensive side for extended stretches and forced 20 Crimson Tide turnovers while holding the SEC team to 10-of-33 (30.3 percent) from deep. Keon Ellis (19 points) was the only Alabama player to score more than 12 in the loss.

The Tigers came into the campaign with elevated expectations, especially after head coach Penny Hardaway brought in the No. 1 overall recruiting class in 2021, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Things seemed to be going as expected when they started 5-0 and defeated Virginia Tech from the ACC, but they lost to Iowa State, Georgia, Ole Miss and Murray State prior to the bounce-back effort against the Crimson Tide.

Not only did the win bring the losing streak to an end, but it also prevented the situation from potentially spiraling since next up for Memphis is a challenging game against No. 18 Tennessee on Saturday.

As for Alabama, it is still off to a solid start at 8-2 and has high-profile wins against Gonzaga and Houston bolstering its resume. It will look to get back in the win column Saturday with a matchup against Jacksonville State.

Memphis men's basketball head coach Penny Hardaway provided a blunt assessment regarding his team's veterans following the Tigers' 67-63 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.

"Everybody's trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything," Hardaway said in an interview with Seth Davis of The Athletic.

"It's been miserable ... I'm going to have to be a complete assh--e from this point on and only play the players that care. The main reason we have these losses is the veterans don't want to take the young guys under their wings. They want it to be about them."

Hardaway also said that there was "so much negativity in our locker room with veterans being jealous."

Memphis began the season with high expectations after adding a pair of highly touted 5-star recruits in Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. The Tigers, who were No. 12 in the Associated Press preseason poll, rose to No. 9 after a hot start.

However, it's been all downhill after a 5-0 beginning. Memphis lost 78-59 to Iowa State and 82-79 to Georgia before falling to Ole Miss. The Tigers are in danger of falling out of the Top 25 entirely at this point.

In response to the skid, Hardaway promised changes to the starting lineup.

"I guarantee you we'll start winning because you're gonna see guys out there who care and will carry out the game plan," Hardaway said. "They might make mistakes, but there are not gonna be any character issues."

Saturday was a close game but an ugly one for Memphis, which shot just 38.8 percent from the field and 2-of-11 from three-point range. Bates and Duren combined to score just nine points on 2-of-13 shooting, and the Tigers committed 20 turnovers.

Ole Miss didn't fare well offensively either, but 20 points from Jarkel Joiner and 19 more from Matthew Murrell led the Rebels to the win.

Murray State is next on the schedule, with Memphis facing the Racers at home Friday. Murray State is off to a 7-1 start. The Tigers then have a pair of tough games with No. 16 Alabama and No. 13 Tennessee.

In other words, changes are a good idea for Hardaway as the team looks to stop this skid amid a tough stretch.

Former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway believes he showed enough before injuries derailed his career to receive consideration as one of the greatest players in history.

Hardaway, who is head coach of the University of Memphis men's team, told Ashley Nicole Moss of Sports Illustrated his play at his peak deserves more respect:

https://twitter.com/AshNicoleMoss/status/1458116930217316352

Hardaway was the third overall pick in the 1993 draft after a standout college career at Memphis. He earned four All-Star selections and was also named to the All-NBA First Team twice across his first five seasons with the Orlando Magic.

However, twice in a span of four seasons, 1997-98 with the Magic and 2000-01 with the Phoenix Suns, he suffered serious knee injuries that forced him to miss most of those respective campaigns.

While there were still occasional flashes of his previous brilliance, he never returned to the NBA's upper echelon on a consistent basis during the latter stages of his playing career.

Hardaway possessed high-end talent—his best statistical season came in 1995-96 when he averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 51.3 percent from the field—but longevity is also a factor when it comes to debating the best players in history.

His resume in that regard isn't quite as strong, and that's probably the main reason he isn't mentioned more frequently when people discuss the top NBA players to ever walk on the floor.

Hardaway noted that while he'd like his playing career to receive a little more attention, his main focus now is proving people wrong as a coach with the Tigers, who opened their 2021-22 season with a win over Tennessee Tech on Tuesday night.