Memphis basketball fails to crack AP Top 25 after going 2-1 in Battle 4 Atlantis

Memphis didn’t look like a Top 25 team Friday against Villanova—at least not in the first half—and it subsequently isn’t in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

The Tigers (5-1) are still unranked despite earning two top 60 KenPom wins over Michigan (No. 54) and Arkansas (No. 49) in last week’s Battle 4 Atlantis. Penny Hardaway’s team has now received more AP votes than any other unranked team for the third consecutive week, earning 108 this time around.

Gary Parrish ranks Memphis No. 24 in the CBS Sports Top 25 and 1, Jon Rothstein (also of CBS Sports) has the Tigers No. 25 in his top 45 teams and NCAA correspondent Andy Katz lists Memphis No. 19 in his Power 36 rankings.

Memphis—ranked No. 38 in KenPom—was last ranked No. 24 in last season’s final AP poll.

Memphis’ 79-63 outing against Villanova, which likely cost it a ranking this week, was not pretty. The Tigers lost for the first time this season in a game where they couldn’t get anything done in the first 20 minutes. They shot 4-of-27 from the field and 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half. Memphis also committed 8 turnovers compared to just 2 for the Wildcats and scored 7 of its 16 first half points from the free throw line.

The second half was a better one for the Tigers, who ended up shooting 53% from the field and 46% from deep in the game’s final 20 minutes. Memphis went on a 24-2 in just under five minutes to cut Villanova’s lead to 69-56 with 3:42 to play. The Tigers’ effort, however, wasn’t enough.

Memphis will look to bounce back against Chris Beard’s Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN2).