As the last 20 seconds ticked away at Comerica Center and Memphis guard Conor Glennon dribbled out the clock, the Tigers bench waited anxiously for the final buzzer to release them into chaos. 

When it did, sealing Memphis’ 77-64 NIT title win Sunday over Mississippi State into the record books, the Tigers rushed off the sideline and into feverish embraces. 

Alex Lomax relishes Tigers’ NIT championship with an eye on next season

As the elated players donned gray NIT championship shirts, cut down the nets and gathered for a trophy presentation, there was an underlying sense that although this was perhaps not exactly what they envisioned, it was still pretty damn sweet. 

The championship put a bow on the end of a volatile season, a title that Memphis coach Penny Hardaway hopes is just the beginning of the program’s ascendance. 

“We want to win championships and the NIT is just a start,” he said. “It shows that we turned the corner. We were dark in the beginning, in DeAndre Williams' voice. And what he always says: We were really dark in the beginning and now see a lot of light at the end of the tunnel.” 

It was easy to forget that once-dark period as scenes of celebration spread across social media: Hardaway drenched in water by his players, coaches dancing in the locker room, Boogie Ellis and Alex Lomax proudly wearing cut-down nets around their necks. 

NIT championship box score: Memphis 77, Mississippi St. 64

There was no hiding their reactions, whether it be joy or relief or some other emotional cocktail. 

Guard Lester Quinones relayed how the final buzzer nearly brought the Tigers to tears. 

“It’s just like we did it, man,” he said. “We waking up grinding at 5 a.m. every morning. This is what we’re grinding for. And we finally did it. We had a goal of cutting the nets down in the NCAA Tournament. I do feel like we should have been there, but I feel like this is kind of a message to show them that we deserve to be there.

“And it was just an amazing feeling, just kind of going out there and proving to everybody, like how great of a team this is."

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An emotionally drained Landers Nolley II, recipient of the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award, was candid in his assessment: “If you would’ve told me we were NIT champs at the beginning of the season, I probably would’ve told you you was lying,” he said with a slight smile. “But now that we are, it’s just an amazing feeling.” 

In the dregs of January, it didn’t seem plausible. The Tigers were at best inconsistent, at worst incompatible. 

“We have so much talent that we kind of get in each other’s way,” Hardaway said by way of explanation. 

But Nolley said something shifted on Jan. 28, when Memphis lost to SMU on the road, 67-65 — a game the Tigers were a free throw and a last-second shot away from winning.

“I think that was kind of a clicking point for us,” Nolley said. “It was like we wanted that win so bad that just the next couple of games, we just was going to put our heart into it and let the chips fall where they may.” 

Memphis won its next six games and closed the season with 11 wins in 13 games. In the NIT, its average margin of victory was 10 points. 

So the championship meant more because of how far the Tigers have come, and Sunday’s win over Mississippi State was as much of a group effort as you could wish for. 

Ellis led Memphis in points (23) and assists (five). Nolley scored 10 points on 50% shooting. Quinones had 16 rebounds. D.J. Jeffries blocked five shots. Moussa Cisse and Williams combined for 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. The list goes on and on. 

“Everybody, every single person on this roster, we just all have something to give to this team,” Quinones said. 

Tigers triumphant after demolishing Mississippi State in NIT championship

The Tigers have given the city a trophy and, as Hardaway says, “put Memphis back on the map” by winning a title on national TV. When the team landed back in Memphis on Sunday afternoon, a crowd of blue-and-gray-clad fans was at the airport to welcome the champions home. 

But naturally, questions remain about which players will return, or who might take their talents elsewhere. 

Nolley said the Tigers will have a players-only meeting in the next week or so to make a “family decision” about the future. 

Hardaway said he doesn't try to force players to stay if they want to transfer in search of more playing time. 

“Now, if this group wants to stay together, we’ll be really dangerous, very dangerous, because now we know the system,” he said. “The guys, for the first time this year, they know how I coach. They know what I’m expecting. They know what the culture is and they know what we have to buy into for us to be champions next year on the next level.” 

Sunday’s win cemented a 20-win season for Memphis, the third such under Hardaway and fourth straight. The program is still seeking its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014, but it has unmistakable momentum now. Even in the midst of water-soaked locker room celebrations, the Tigers are still thinking of the future. 

“It’s fuel into the fire for us to just get back to work and turn this one into an NCAA national championship eventually,” Quinones said. 

Hardaway said he will probably reflect more in the coming days on the season as a whole, on the smaller successes and failures woven throughout. 

For now, he wants his players to relish the moment — and specifically, their resilience. 

“They showed kids that you can make it through the adversity,” he said. “A lot of these kids are going through a lot off the court and they bring those problems on the court. And to be with your brother, who’s also going through something, and then to be able to leave them behind and do something special, they’ll never forget this day.”