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With an 84-79 loss to Wichita State in overtime, the Memphis basketball team's eight-game win streak came to an end in the most heartbreaking way imaginable. The loss clearly hit head coach Penny Hardaway, who was hard on his team after the fact.
Hardaway said the loss was “tough to watch” in his post-game presser. He was critical of his team's “ill-advised” shot selection, saying his players endured a “learning experience” in the loss.
“I think those are the same shots we’ve won with all year, and I think the guys feel confident in their shot,” Hardaway said after the game, via The Commercial Appeal. “They were kind of ill-advised shots, but they’re shots these guys can make. This is just a learning experience. It’s tough to watch when we start doing that. We started settling and not executing. That’s just a bad thing all around for us.”
Aligning with Hardaway's comments, Memphis shot just 36 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent from deep. The late-game collapse was especially noticeable in overtime, a period in which the Tigers mustered just eight points.
The loss to Wichita State was just Memphis' second in conference play, dropping them to 21-5 and 11-2 in the American Athletic. Despite the result, the Tigers still sit alone at the top of the league with a firm 1.5-game lead on North Texas.
Memphis basketball in contention for best season of Penny Hardaway era
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Despite the recent disappointing result, Memphis is still on track to end the year with one of the best seasons in its basketball program's history. With just five games remaining in the regular season, the Tigers are on pace to finish first in the American Athletic Conference with a potential 25-win record.
Hardaway has realized undeniable success since signing with the team in 2018, winning at least 20 games each year. However, he has never topped 23 wins in the regular season, which he can do down the stretch of 2024-2025. Given their remaining schedule, the Tigers will be favored in most, if not all, of their remaining contests.
Three of Memphis' remaining five games will be against teams in the bottom five of the conference. The Tigers have only two games remaining against teams with winning conference records — UAB and Florida Atlantic — and only two remaining road games.
Regardless of how they end the regular season, Memphis will all but certainly enter the conference tournament as a top seed. Depending on its performance in the tournament — which it will be heavily favored to win — Hardaway's squad could enter March Madness with its highest seed since the John Calipari and Josh Pastner eras.
