- The Field of 68 Daily
- Posts
- Memphis blues
Memphis blues
No. 10 Tigers blow a 20-point lead to USF. Are chemistry issues becoming a problem? Plus, Mark Few wins his 700th game, Green Bay's surprising season, a MAC showdown and 5 teams who could play spoiler.
Tristan Freeman
January 19, 2024
We’ve got something to watch over your lunchbreak (at least on the East Coast) today: An interview with two of the nation’s best big men, Armando Bacot and Hunter Dickinson. And with these two, you know they’ll discuss pretty much anything. Don’t miss it.
Let's get to Thursday’s news.
1. Memphis makes history in loss to South Florida
Memphis entered Thursday on a 10-game win streak, including a 26-point win over Wichita State on Sunday. That performance obscured that seven of those 10 wins were by 6 points or less, meaning the Tigers were good at closing out games, but might get tripped up in AAC play.
That’s exactly what happened on Thursday.
No. 10 Memphis blew a 20-point to USF, losing 74-73 (at home, no less). It’s the biggest collapse by an AP Top 10 team in 15 years.
After the game, coach Penny Hardaway didn’t shy from recent issues, noting that chemistry has been a concern.
"All these guys want the ball ... and it becomes a problem. We've been able to mask it, but it's there."
— Jason Munz (@munzly)
Jan 19, 2024
Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise. Few teams have gone through more roster changes — before the season and during the season — as Memphis.
Starting center Jordan Brown has been “out” for weeks. K-State transfer NaeQwan Tomlin is still adjusting. They lost starting guard Caleb Mills to a season-ending injury after 14 games. Davis Jones (a game-high 25 points in the loss) has played great, and Jahvon Quinerly (15 points), has been a go-to player late in games, giving Hardaway a potent mix of players.
And sometimes it doesn’t always jell.
Memphis (15-3, 4-1 in AAC) remains an NCAA Tournament team, and is still capable of reaching the second weekend. Hardaway’s team have dealt with in-season adjustments in previous seasons. He has time to resolve them this season, too.
By the way, credit to South Florida (10-5, 3-1) and new coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. His team has won 8 of their last 9 games. Former JUCO star Kasean Pryor delivered 21 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, while Selton Miguel had 23 points off the bench.
While Memphis and FAU are the AAC’s top two teams, the Bulls are a darkhorse team to watch in the conference tournament.
2. Colorado shakes up the Pac-12 race
Oregon entered Thursday as the lone Pac-12 team without a league loss. You can probably guess what happened next.