The Tigers haven’t been themselves since they returned home from last month’s Maui Invitational.
They aren’t playing with as much urgency as they did in their first seven games. They’re no longer the toughest team on a night-to-night basis.
Or as Penny Hardaway puts it.
“We lost the hunger of being the hunter,” he told reporters Thursday. “We lost the energy that we had to show people that we belong…That’s where the team’s mental was since we’ve been back from Hawaii, and now they understand how serious it is.”
Memphis (7-2), which owns three Quad 1 victories this season, started last week as the No. 16 team in college basketball. But it then dropped completely out of the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 after narrowly beating Louisiana Tech and losing a Quad 3 game to Arkansas State inside FedExForum. Memphis is also down to No. 38 in KenPom, No. 43 in Bart Torvik and No. 46 in the NCAA’s NET rankings.
Guard Colby Rogers declared the Tigers are now the hunted instead of the hunters last Wednesday, but Hardaway wholeheartedly disagrees.
“I don’t know how you ever lose being the hunter. Even when you’re the guy, you still gotta be hungry and know that what happened last game can happen,” Hardaway said. “In practice, we don’t shift it. But then as soon as the game starts, I guess you start reading the clippings or seeing what people are saying, and you lose sight of what the bigger goal is. I’m always mindful of what the bigger goal is and not from game-to-game.”
The good news for Memphis is that it has no choice but to hunt for its next four games. The Tigers visit No. 16 Clemson on Saturday (10 a.m., ESPN2) and Virginia next Wednesday before wrapping up their non-conference schedule against No. 25 Mississippi State and No. 19 Ole Miss at home later this month.
Three of those four outings are projected Quad 1 opportunities (Clemson, Mississippi State, Ole Miss). Its trip to Virginia is a Quad 2 game.
“It’s obvious where this team is trying to go, where the support is supporting us to go and how hard we gotta play. So, I think every little thing we do has to be [with] a sense of urgency,” guard Tyrese Hunter said. “Everything lies down on winning and what the obvious goal will be in the end.”
Hardaway knows how crucial this stretch is from multiple standpoints. It can help the Tigers make up for their loss to Arkansas State. Three or four wins also provide Memphis a bit more room for error in the walking landmine that is its American Athletic Conference (AAC) schedule—where all but three games are projected Quad 3 or 4 contests.
Most importantly, though, conquering this two-week gauntlet gives Memphis a chance to achieve the bigger goal Hardaway speaks of—earning a No. 4 seed or higher in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Tigers boast two March Madness appearances under Hardaway thus far, and they didn’t eclipse anything better than a No. 8 seed in either run.
“These next four games are pivotal, to me, for seeding and positioning yourself for the NCAA [Tournament] and not having to win the conference tournament to get into the NCAA,” Hardaway said. “If you just have to win conference, then you’re gonna get an 8 or 9-seed. They’re not respecting our conference. Then you play a pretty good team in the first round, and you play the No. 1 overall seed in the second round.
“We want a 4-seed or higher to put us in position. That’s how most of these teams get to the Sweet 16 every year, [like] Gonzaga. They’re ranked high every year, no matter what team they have. They can win one or two big games, they can just win their conference and they’re gonna have a 2 or 1-seed. Well, that gives you an advantage once it gets to the tournament.”