Memphis basketball is in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 for the ninth straight week.
The Tigers jumped to No. 18 in Monday’s poll, making up ground after losing at Wichita State and subsequently dropping to No. 22 a week prior. This is Memphis’ seventh appearance in the top 20 this season.
Dain Dainja and PJ Haggerty led the charge in Memphis’ second consecutive blowout of Florida Atlantic on Sunday. Dainja, a 6-foot-9 center, torched the Owls with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals on 8-for-13 shooting. He scored 9 of his 11 second-half points in the first four minutes of the period.
Haggerty, Memphis’ leading scorer, missed four of his first five shots, but finished with 22 points (11-of-17 from the field) and 6 rebounds. Dainja and Haggerty scored 25 of Memphis’ 47 points in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers produced an 84-65 final after leading by as many as 27 points, clinching a double-bye in next month’s American Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament in the process.
“They wanna be champions,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said postgame. “They’ve set out on that mission, and they’re not letting anything distract them…These guys are just locked in and together. That’s why they’re so resilient.”
Memphis saw minimal increase to its predictive metrics despite the dominant win. The Tigers are up to No. 46 (from 47) in KenPom, No. 47 (from 48) in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) and No. 52 (from 55) in Bart Torvik.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm projects Memphis to earn a No. 6 seed in his latest NCAA Tournament bracketology. YAGO Brackets—the Bracket Matrix’s No. 1 forecast in the last five years—still has Memphis as an 8-seed. Bart Torvik bumped the Tigers to a No. 8 seed after having them as a 9 last week.
Other human polls still have Memphis in good shape. CBS Sports personality and Grind City Media host Gary Parrish ranks the Tigers No. 24 in his Top 25 and 1. Jon Rothstein, also of CBS Sports, has Memphis at No. 21 in his top 45. NCAA corespondent Andy Katz places it at No. 18 in his Power 37.
The Tigers (22-5, 12-2 AAC) host Rice on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).