Martin: The last time Memphis basketball was 1-4? You don’t want to know.
Dug McDaniel led the Memphis Tigers against Wake Forest with 24 points Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Courtesy Memphis Athletics)
John Martin
John Martin is a contributing college sports columnist for The Daily Memphian. Martin is a lifelong Memphian who’s covered the Memphis Tigers’ basketball program for more than a decade. Before joining The Daily Memphian team, he was the Memphis beat writer for The Athletic. Currently, he is the co-host of the Jason and John Show on 92.9 FM ESPN, weekdays at 11 a.m. Martin is a graduate of White Station High School and the University of Memphis.
You could almost start to see the vision of the rest of the season. Sure, it was a really bad loss to UNLV. But Memphis would escape the Bahamas with a 1-1 record, the team is playing hard, and players are settling into roles. But it all came undone. Slowly, then all at once.
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Memphis fights to the end in loss to No. 1 Purdue
Led by point guard Dug McDaniel’s 18 points, six assists and six rebounds, the Tigers went toe to toe with the Boilermakers — and were even ahead with less than six minutes to go — for 35 of the 40 minutes of gametime.
Martin: Memphis takes No. 1 Purdue to the brink. That’s more like it.
CBS Sports analyst Emeka Okafor called the gutty win for Purdue “championship vitamins.” But the truth is that even a close loss like this one — to the top dog in the sport — will make Memphis fans feel a whole lot better.
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