Buckley: Josh Pastner and UNLV had their way with Memphis. And the Tigers didn’t seem to care.
UNLV Rebels head coach Josh Pastner looks on against the Memphis Tigers during the second half at FedExForum on Nov. 16, 2025. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Tim Buckley
Tim is a veteran sportswriter who graduated from CBHS in Memphis and the University of Missouri. He previously covered LSU sports in Baton Rouge, and the University of Louisiana football and basketball for The Daily Advertiser/USA TODAY Network in Lafayette, the NBA’s Utah Jazz for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, and West Texas State basketball for the Amarillo Globe News in Texas.
Win or lose, the paycheck is coming.
College basketball players today know it. And in the case of the Memphis Tigers on Sunday many of them seemed to show it.
For evidence one need look no further than a 92-78 loss to UNLV at FedExForum.
Effort?
The Tigers exhibited not nearly enough.
Which begs the question:
In today’s big-bucks era of NIL and revenue sharing, what must one do to motivate guys differently when they know the coin will be in the bank and that if things don’t work out where they are one season it’s on to the next stop, where more money is bound to be waiting?
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