Calkins: For Memphis and the NCAA Tournament, it’s been a seven-year glitch
Memphis guard Lester Quinones (11) reacts as Memphis plays Houston late in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinal round of the American Athletic Conference men's tournament Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Ron Jenkins/AP)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
Memphis will be sitting out the NCAA Tournament yet again this year. Here’s a reason for hope (and some reasons to despair).
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Memphis basketball Memphis Tigers Penny Hardaway NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday Geoff CalkinsRelated stories
Calkins: If heart mattered — and free throws didn’t — this team would be headed to the NCAA Tournament
If passion and effort were all that mattered, the Memphis Tigers would be headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. But foul shots matter, too.
Selection Sunday: Tigers miss out on NCAA Tournament
Memphis is just the third team in the past 15 years to finish top three in KenPom.com’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric and not make the NCAA Tournament. Instead, Memphis will participate in the NIT as a No. 1 seed
AAC’s Mike Aresco: Tigers an NCAA Tournament-worthy team
The commissioner argued for the Tigers’ inclusion despite the AAC’s decision not to reschedule their regular-season games against Houston and Wichita State.
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