Penny Hardaway provides injury updates, discusses Tigers’ strive for better defense

Memphis basketball is hoping to make things right this weekend.

The Tigers fell twice to South Florida and Tulane last week, meaning they now have Quad 2 and 3 losses on their resume. Memphis—ranked No. 19 in Monday’s AP Top 25—was previously 7-2 against Quads 1 and 2 with no losses outside of Quad 1. But with its pedigree now significantly damaged, Penny Hardaway’s team has gone from a projected top-5 NCAA Tournament seed to a No. 6 seed by Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and a No. 7 seed by Jerry Palm (CBS).

There are multiple culprits for Memphis’ hardships, but perhaps the biggest one is its defense. KenPom currently ranks the Tigers No. 72 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which would be the lowest mark in Hardaway’s tenure if the season ended today. They were No. 1 in the metric in 2021 and No. 5 in 2020 under the sixth-year coach.

Times have certainly changed, however. The Tigers are flat-out struggling to guard teams right now, especially from behind the 3-point line. Opponents have shot 40.3% from beyond the arc in their last four games. Memphis has also allowed at least 74 points in each contest during that span. But Hardaway hopes its defense can start improving Sunday at UAB (4 p.m., ESPN).

“When we played the non-conference, I just don’t remember this poor decision making defensively, this overhelping, this leaving 3-point shooters [open] just nonchalantly. I just don’t remember any of it,” he said Thursday. “Since conference has started, we’ve fallen off a huge part defensively and what we really believe in and what we do. So I think this week was needed for us to get back to where we need to be.”

Some of the “poor decision making” Hardaway refers to came in the Tigers’ visit to Tulane last Sunday. Memphis led the Green Wave 75-74 with 2:22 left in the second half. But David Jones, the Tigers’ leading scorer, left Tulane’s Sion James wide-open for a 3-pointer after gambling for an inbound pass steal. The Tigers never led again for the rest of the game, and Jones missed a 3-point dagger at the buzzer.

“I like to get steals. I like to gamble, which Penny has been talking to me about—that I gotta start doing a better job with just staying solid on defense,” Jones said. “Sometimes, [Hardaway] will put a gameplan together and then we just kinda go out there and do things on our own…I’m definitely gonna take more pride on the defensive side now.”

Hardaway also provided some injury updates during Thursday’s meeting with reporters. Jaykwon Walton, Nick Jourdain and Nae’Qwan Tomlin all dealt with various ailments during the Tulane game, but Hardaway says all three are good to go this week.

Andy Kennedy’s Blazers rank No. 98 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rating, so the Tigers’ defense has another tough challenge in front of them on Sunday. But Memphis has always peaked later in the season under Hardaway, so perhaps it can begin that plateau against its old rivals in Birmingham.

Hardaway is not just predicting it. He’s also expecting it.

“Now, we’re getting back to what we do. This is Memphis basketball moving forward. I hate it had to be a loss to get there, but we just let a lot of stuff slide when we were winning,” he said. “We’re not in a crisis right now. We’ve lost some leverage—a bunch of leverage. But we still have a team that can make it to the Final Four and play with anybody in the country…[The team needs to mad] because there’s no other way to be. I know I am. I’m always on edge. I know how Memphis is viewed. I know how I’m viewed. I know that every single mistake we make it going to be costly, costly around the country. And they have to know that. Now it’s up to them…The head guys have to show up, not just offensively but defensively. That’s the way it is.”