Memphis basketball didn’t move up or down in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25.
The Tigers are No. 16 in this week’s poll, staying put from where they were last week. This is their 11th consecutive appearance in the rankings, which ties the 2019-20 team for the longest streak in head coach Penny Hardaway’s tenure.
Memphis (26-5, 16-2 AAC) won five straight games to end the regular season, including last Friday’s 84-68 victory over South Florida that clinched its first-ever outright American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular-season title. The Tigers head to Fort Worth, Texas later this week for the AAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, and begin tourney play against either No. 8 Wichita State or No. 9 USF inside Dickies Arena on Friday (noon, ESPN2 or ESPN+).
A win there would advance them to Saturday’s semifinals, where they could meet No. 4 Tulane, No. 5 Florida Atlantic, No. 12 Rice or No. 13 Charlotte. Memphis won’t have to face 2-seeded North Texas or 3-seeded UAB until next Sunday’s championship, should it qualify.
Hardaway set three long-term goals for his team in the preseason—win the AAC regular-season title, win the conference tournament and advance to the Final Four. The Tigers checked off the first one last week, and get their chance to cross out the second one this week.
“Everything’s 0-0 right now,” Hardaway told reporters last Friday. “It’s time to get another short-term goal put together, go out there as the No. 1 overall seed and represent [Memphis] in a great fashion.”
Memphis, which owns 11 combined wins in Quads 1 and 2, is a lock for the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in Fort Worth. But three Quad 3 losses (vs. Arkansas State, at Temple and at Wichita State) hinder its projected seeding significantly.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi forecasted the Tigers as a No. 8 seed in his latest update on Sunday night. YAGO Brackets—the Bracket Matrix’s No. 1 bracketology in the last five years—still has Memphis as an 8-seed too, while Bart Torvik recently dropped it to a 9. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, however, kept the Tigers as a No. 6 seed in Monday’s update.
Another reason for Memphis’ probable low standing in March Madness is its unfavorable predictive metrics. The Tigers are currently No. 48 in both the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) and KenPom, and No. 59 in Bart Torvik. The latter computer plummeted them by a combined three spots after their last two wins over UTSA and USF.
Other human polls still like Memphis, though. CBS Sports personality and Grind City Media host Gary Parrish ranks the Tigers No. 21 in his Top 25 and 1. Jon Rothstein, also of CBS Sports, has them at No. 20 in his top 45. NCAA correspondent Andy Katz slots them at No. 14 in his Power 37.