Where Memphis basketball sits in AP Top 25 after wins at Tulane and Rice

Memphis basketball is in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 for the sixth week in a row.

The Tigers (18-4, 8-1 AAC) are up to No. 17 in Monday’s poll thanks to road wins over Tulane and Rice in the last five days. This is their highest spot in the rankings since being No. 16 on Dec. 2. They were No. 19 a week ago.

Memphis soundly defeated the Green Wave 68-56 on Thursday thanks to 3-point barrages from PJ Carter and Colby Rogers. Rogers scored 14 second-half points on 4-of-5 perimeter shooting after missing his five field-goal attempts in the first half. Carter dropped 8 of his 14 points in the second half as well, and finished the game 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Dain Dainja notched his third double-double this season with 19 points (8-for-11 shooting), 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

Sunday afternoon’s tilt in Houston, however, was much scarier. The Tigers narrowly beat Rice 86-83 after nearly blowing an 11-point lead with less than three minutes to play. But Carter, who scored 19 points, sank two game-clinching free throws and swatted Trae Broadnax’s full-court heave as time expired. Houston native PJ Haggerty starred in his return home with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on 11-of-18 shooting. Tyrese Hunter totaled 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals on 63% shooting.

Carter, a 6-foot-4 transfer guard from UTSA, has recorded 47 combined points in his last three games while shooting 57% overall and 55% from the 3-point line. He averaged just 3.8 points in Memphis’ first 19 outings.

“He’s gotten to a comfort zone of where he fits in with this team. And man, he’s an unbelievable weapon,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said Sunday. “He’s doing it on a big level. He’s not afraid of the moment.”

Advanced metrics are still unfavorable towards Hardaway’s club despite its five-game winning streak. The Tigers are currently No. 41 in KenPom, No. 42 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) and No. 48 in Bart Torvik. They dropped two spots respectively in each computer after their win at Rice. Torvik currently projects Memphis to receive a No. 8 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, which vastly contradicts most bracketologies. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, for example, have the Tigers as a 4 and 5-seed respectively in their latest forecasts.

Other human polls are much kinder towards Memphis, though. CBS Sports personality and Grind City Media host Gary Parrish ranks the Tigers No. 13 in his Top 25 and 1, as does CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein in his top 45. NCAA correspondent Andy Katz has them at No. 11 in his Power 37, while Field of 68 host Jeff Goodman slots them at No. 14 in his top 25.

Hardaway, meanwhile, believes in his team more than anyone else.

“Y’all know my faith, man. I believe that we’re the best team in the country,” he said.