What to watch in Memphis’ game against East Carolina
Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway during the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at FedExForum on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian file)
The Memphis Tigers are back in action after nearly a week off between games.
Despite his team’s 2-0 start in American Athletic Conference play, coach Penny Hardaway vowed to make significant changes to the group’s practice structure after some of the same issues that have plagued it for much of the season — turnovers and rebounding struggles, in particular — did so again in a 68-64 home win over North Texas on Sunday.
The result of those adjustments should be on display when the No. 19 Tigers (12-3, 2-0 AAC) take on East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 11, (1 p.m., ESPN+) at FedExForum.
Despite forecasted severe winter weather conditions that could hit the Memphis area with close to 6 inches of snow, the game between Memphis and ECU is “currently scheduled to proceed as planned,” according to a statement released by the university Thursday evening.
NEW: Memphis’ men’s basketball game against ECU on Saturday (1 p.m.) at FedExForum “is currently scheduled to proceed as planned,” despite forecasted severe winter weather conditions, according to a statement from the university.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) January 9, 2025
All other campus activities/events are canceled… pic.twitter.com/W50IjvBYuP
Memphis, No. 29 in KenPom and No. 32 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, still has one of the best resumes in college basketball — one highlighted by a combined 10 wins in Quadrants 1 and 2.
In order for the Tigers to continue to be on track to accomplish their goal of earning a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, though, simply beating a team like the Pirates (9-7, 1-2 AAC) isn’t enough. They must win in dominant fashion against such opponents to improve their computer numbers.
ECU, No. 179 in KenPom and No. 209 in the NET is coming off of an 80-79 home win over Temple on Wednesday. But coach Mike Schwartz’ squad has lost six of its past eight games — all to teams ranked No. 97 or worse in the NET — and already has four Quad 3 losses and two Quad 4 losses.
Here are three things to watch when Memphis takes on ECU:
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Memphis Tigers Basketball Penny Hardaway PJ Haggerty Tyrese Hunter Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
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