Memphis basketball drops in AP Top 25 after loss at Wichita State

Memphis basketball remained in Monday’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll despite suffering a Quad 3 loss at Wichita State in overtime yesterday.

The Tigers did drop to No. 22, though, after being No. 14 a week ago. This is Memphis’ eighth consecutive week in the rankings—its longest stretch since 2019-20.

Penny Hardaway’s club seemed destined for a season sweep of the Shockers after nailing three straight 3-pointers—one from PJ Haggerty and two from PJ Carter—to take a 53-45 lead with 12 minutes to play. But Wichita quickly tied the game with an 8-0 run, and Memphis never led by more than 4 points for the rest of regulation.

The Tigers eventually had both possession and a 71-69 advantage with 34 seconds left, but Dante Harris dropped an inbounds pass from Tyrese Hunter and let the ball roll out of bounds. Hunter then fouled Wichita State forward Ronnie DeGray III, who sank two free throws to re-knot the score at the 18-second mark. Rogers then missed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer that would’ve been the game-winner.

Memphis completely faltered in the extra period, shooting 1-of-8 from the field and 0-of-3 at the 3-point line. A left-wing 3-pointer from Shockers guard Bijan Cortes moved WSU ahead by a point with 90 seconds to play, and Corey Washington’s layup extended that edge to 3 on the following possession. Hunter missed two different 3-pointers that would’ve tied the game, and Wichita sealed the deal with four consecutive free throws.

Advanced metrics already didn’t favor Memphis, which now owns three Quad 3 losses. Yesterday’s decision only further supported their skepticism. The Tigers are down to No. 47 in KenPom, No. 49 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) and No. 53 in Bart Torvik.

Memphis’ chances at a top-4 NCAA Tournament seed faded away with the defeat, and the No. 5 seed that once seemed like a formality is probably out of the question too. Human and computer bracketologies vastly contrasted each other as recently as last week, but they’re seemingly on a similar page now. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm plummeted the Tigers to a No. 7 seed after having them as a 4-seed in last Saturday’s forecast. YAGO Brackets—the Bracket Matrix’s No. 1 bracketology in the last five years—now considers Memphis an 8-seed. Bart Torvik still projects the Tigers as a No. 9 seed like last week.

Memphis also fell in other human polls. CBS Sports personality and Grind City Media host Gary Parrish ranks the Tigers No. 25 in his Top 25 and 1. Jon Rothstein, also of CBS Sports, has Memphis at No. 19 in his top 45. NCAA correspondent Andy Katz slots it at No. 17 in his Power 37. Field of 68 host Jeff Goodman places the Tigers at No. 24 in his top 25.

Memphis (21-5, 11-2 AAC) hosts Florida Atlantic at FedExForum on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU).