NCAA men’s basketball box score for Thursday’s game between the Memphis Tigers and SMU Mustangs played at FedExForum in Memphis.

In honor of the fifth-year coach being one win away from the milestone, it felt like the right time to rank the five best wins head coach Penny Hardaway had for Memphis Tigers’ basketball.

Has Penny Hardaway met the lofty expectations he set for himself? No. Can he ever accomplish what he set out to accomplish? Probably not, but is he the man to coach Memphis basketball? Absolutely, he is.

Memphis will look to keep its momentum going when it hosts SMU at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at FedExForum.

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During his weekly radio Show on Monday, the Houston coach discussed his Cougars’ home loss to Temple on Sunday. He then unpromptedly spoke about Penny Hardaway and Memphis.

It’s easy to see why Hardaway spoke with such pride after Memphis knocked off Cincinnati on the road on Sunday afternoon to pick up its third consecutive win.

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Box score: Memphis 75, Cincinnati 68

Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams were magnificent in leading the Memphis Tigers to their 100th win under Penny Hardaway. OK, the official record will say this was win No. 99. Either way, it was sweet. 

NCAA men’s basketball box score for the game between the Memphis Tigers and the Cincinnati Bearcats played Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.

DeAndre Williams led the Tigers with 26 points and Kendric Davis added 21 to help Memphis improve to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in conference play.

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Hardaway pivoted to get Memphis back on track. The Tigers’ win over Cincinnati is proof.

Box score: Memphis 75, Cincinnati 68

Memphis’ battle on Sunday, Jan. 22, with its long-time rival presents a key opportunity for the Tigers to pick up a Quadrant 2 victory.

Penny Hardaway was conflicted when addressing reporters after his team’s victory over Wichita State on Thursday night at FedExForum.

Tigers big man dedicates win over Wichita State to Memphis’ former athletic trainer who died this week.

Memphis again fell behind early. This time, though, the Tigers put their foot on the gas when they needed to in order to avoid another dramatic finish

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Box score: Memphis 88, Wichita State 78

NCAA men’s basketball box score for Thursday’s game between the Memphis Tigers and the Wichita State Shockers played at FedExForum in Memphis.

The Daily Memphian’s Parth Upadhyaya and John Martin discussed what has changed with the Memphis Tigers since their solid showing during non-conference play, predict what the team’s postseason fate looks like and more.

While a victory against the Shockers won’t bolster the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament resume, a loss would give the group a blemish that would be hard to overlook come Selection Sunday.

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The Houston High alumna set the U of M’s career 3-point record after previously breaking the single-season record for men’s and women’s basketball as a freshman. 

Memphis will have to try to gut out at least one or two more wins while missing Lomax, Dandridge and Hardaway, but there is a silver lining to the Tigers’ current predicament.

There are limited opportunities left for quality wins on Memphis’ schedule. And if it plays anywhere close to the level at which it played versus Temple, it’ll be difficult to take care of business against even mediocre AAC foes.

Just days after allowing a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation against UCF, the Memphis Tigers found themselves in the same exact predicament against Temple. Luckily, they have Kendric Davis to rely on.

Kendric Davis led Memphis to victory Sunday on a buzzer-beater. The Tigers have picked up a much-needed conference road victory against the Temple Owls.

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Box score: Memphis 61, Temple 59

The NCAA men’s basketball box from the Sunday, Jan. 15 game between the Memphis Tigers and Temple Owls from Philadelphia.

The Tigers hit the road to take on Temple in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. Sunday, just four days after falling to UCF 107-104 in double overtime on Wednesday.