|
Welcome to this week’s Tigers Basketball Insider. Below you’ll find the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Parth Upadhyaya, John Martin and Tim Buckley.
Most people following Memphis this season are more than familiar with the team’s recent Jekyll and Hyde-type transformation.
The No. 15 Tigers (11-2) were trending toward solidifying their status as one of the best teams in college basketball in mid-December with three straight wins over AP Top 25 teams — Texas A&M on the road Dec. 10, Clemson at home Dec. 16 and Virginia at home Dec. 19. Since then, though, they’ve struggled.
Coach Penny Hardaway’s team pulled off home victories against Vanderbilt on Dec. 23 and Austin Peay on Dec. 30 in its two most recent games, but it looked nothing like the group that made several national statements earlier that month in either.
Think I’m being dramatic? All right, let’s look at the computer numbers.
College basketball analytics website Bart Torvik (BartTorvik.com) helps us breakdown Memphis’ season so far in three parts: The eight-game opening stretch in which it went 6-2, the three-game stretch in which it went 3-0 with all three wins coming against AP Top 25 teams and then the two-game stretch in which it grabbed back-to-back ugly wins over mediocre competition.
Here’s what Bart Torvik, which rates Memphis as the No. 57 overall team in the country, tells us.
The Tigers’ computer rankings at different points of the season, with their record in that span in parenthesis:
- Nov. 6 - Dec. 6 (6-2) - No. 77
- Dec. 7 - Dec. 19 (3-0) - No. 10
- Dec. 20 - Present, Jan. 2 (2-0) - No. 188
Those rankings are telling. And they essentially back up what we’ve seen with our own eyes.
Memphis had to figure out a ton of things to open the season. It had brought in 13 new players this past offseason and was without Hardaway for its first three games while the coach served his NCAA-gifted suspension for recruiting violations he committed in 2021.
But the Tigers still picked up a comeback win against Missouri before rattling off two more big wins over Michigan and Arkansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Then, they got blown out by Villanova in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game and fell to Ole Miss on the road before escaping with an overtime road victory over VCU. Those highs and lows perhaps make their No. 77 ranking justified through that part of the season.
What happened next, though, was nothing short of impressive.
Memphis came together seemingly overnight and played to its potential. The Tigers — who have as much talent and experience as anybody — looked like a true Final Four contender in a road win over Texas A&M, a tight win at home over previously undefeated Clemson and in an absolute blowout win at home over Virginia. The computers show that Hardaway’s squad was playing like the No. 10 team in the nation during this span. Makes sense.
But now, we’re here.
Memphis, for likely a variety of reasons, has arguably played its worst basketball of the season against two of the weakest opponents on its schedule. The group needed to pray for Vanderbilt’s buzzer-beating 3-point attempt to rim off just to come away with a two-point home victory over the Commodores before needing a late surge to put away Austin Peay at home on Saturday.
As the Tigers struggled in two tight contests, some fans wondered where the team they’d seen just weeks ago went. It looks like the computers saw an entirely different group, too, which is why Bart Torvik shows that the Tigers have been only the No. 188 team in the country since Dec. 20 (the day after the win over Virginia).
Hardaway said some of his players — namely David Jones, who looked and sounded sick when speaking with reporters Saturday, and Caleb Mills — have been under the weather. He also mentioned that some of his guys have been bothered by “reading the clippings” and seeing certain teammates’ names in headlines but not their own.
And Tigers players themselves have admitted to playing down to their level of competition in their past two games.
Whatever the reason for the recent subpar performances may be, the drop-off is evident. Our eyes see it. Computers do, too.
As Memphis heads into AAC play with a road matchup against Tulsa on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+, 98.9 FM), it’s a problem the Tigers will have to fix if they hope to live up to their vast potential this season.
More from your Insider:
The Tigers first cracked the AP Top 25 this season in the Dec. 18 edition of the poll.
Where did Upadhyaya rank the Tigers after yet another rough showing?
The last day of the calendar year is here, which means it’s time for Martin’s annual tradition of telling you the future regarding the Memphis sports scene.
After back-to-back lackluster performances versus subpar opponents, the Tigers know they need to change their mentality. And quickly.
“We can’t get over the hump to be professional enough to come out and compete,” Memphis Tigers coach says after Saturday’s win over Austin Peay.
Nae’Qwan Tomlin contributed 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the Tigers overcome several struggles offensively.
Despite a fast start, the Tigers would not be able to match the hot shooting of the Golden Hurricane and suffered the 71-62 loss.
Now that Memphis is about to enter American Athletic Conference play, John Martin looks at where these Tigers are headed.
..... |
