Memphis Basketball is on fire going into conference play. The 11-3 Tigers start conference play off with a blowout win over Florida Atlantic. A week after blowing out a good Ole Miss team in their last non-conference game.
Memphis has the most quad 1 and quad 2 wins in the nation with 9 total, (4-2 quad 1 record and 5-0 quad 2 record). Memphis is projected to finish the season 15-3 in conference play, and 25-6 overall.
PJ Haggerty is the real deal at the point guard position. Along with running mates Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rodgers, and Dain Dainja. The Tigers are shooting the ball 44.3% from beyond the arc. Which is second in the nation while being near the bottom of three pointers attempted.
This team is playing old school basketball, getting in the paint and producing points from the free throw line.
Penny Hardaway said in a recent interview that he feels more comfortable than ever on the sideline in his 7th season as Memphis’ head coach and it shows.
Memphis Basketball only has 3 Non-Conference Losses
In their three losses this season, only one of them felt like a fluke loss, against a good Arkansas State (11-3) team. The other two losses were to big time tournament teams.
They feel to Mississippi State on the road in their last game before Christmas. A Mississippi State team who is 12-1 so far and ranked 17th in the nation.
The other loss coming to Auburn who is top ten in both offensive and defensive efficiency and also 12-1 on the season. Auburn is ranked number 2 in the nation and one of the consensus favorites to win a national title this season.
Where does that leave Memphis?
Memphis is the big fish in the small pond that is the American Athletic Conference. Projected to win the conference, betting odds are around -300 depending on which book you look at.
Of course it is dam near impossible to go undefeated in conference play, in any conference at this level of basketball. However, I think this Memphis team has that kind of potential.
They are projected to lose 4 games by literally 1-2 points according to rotowire, the same website who projected them to lose last night to Florida Atlantic. That game ended 90-62.
It feels like Memphis basketball is on a mission and finally coach Penny Hardaway has finally found his groove. Look for this Tiger team to dominate conference play and enter the NCAA Tournament as a top 4 seed in one of the brackets.
From there, well, anything can happen!
Rowan Donaghey, Sports Reporter and Betting Analyst for Stare Down Sports. You can follow him on the X via @RowanDonaghey
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