In a significant NCAA basketball development, the Memphis Tigers faced a devastating 106-79 loss to SMU, marking their second consecutive loss and sixth in their last nine games. This defeat has dramatically impacted their NCAA tournament aspirations, especially considering they were ranked in the top 10 as recently as January 21. Memphis Head Coach Penny Hardaway expressed his frustration and embarrassment over the team's performance, highlighting issues with team unity and effort. Hardaway described the loss as "very embarrassing" and criticized the team for "Fucking losing like this." This loss places the Tigers in a precarious position, tied for sixth in a three-way tie in the AAC, and casts doubt on their tournament hopes.
Penny on Sunday's game against FAU: "When we played them in the NCAA tournament, they talked so much trash to our team and then they ended up beating us, which makes it even worse. But you've just got to be ready to protect home court."
Penny on upcoming games versus FAU: "When we played them in the NCAA Tournament, they talked so much trash. And then, they ended up beating us, which makes it so much worse."
Penny on criticism he's faced this season: "I knew when I got this job that I was gonna be a target. ... I get a lot of negativity. We win 10 games and lose one, it's gonna be the worst loss in the world."
Penny: "I knew when I got this job that I was going to be a target...I get a lot of negativity. We win 10 in a row and then I lose one, it's going to be the worst loss in the history of the game."
More from Penny on potential lineup changes, in the context of effort and everything said since yesterday's game: "If you see the guys on the floor on Wednesday, those are the guys that are bought in."
Penny says there could be lineup changes coming. "The guys that are going to play now, there has to be a care factor about the city and the school...it's just too embarrassing to play a game like we did yesterday."
Penny on Tigers' rotation: "The guys that are gonna play now, they have to have a care factor for the city and the school. … Right now, we want to go to war." Says he sometimes has to expand rotation when his go-to players aren't rebounding, defending, etc.
Penny says his current players "haven't really taken on that attitude of really playing for the city" of Memphis like his previous teams have. "And that's what we're battling right now."
Penny Hardaway talking on his radio show after yesterday's loss at SMU. "It's not going to always be great. And it's not great right now. But there's still time to turn it around."
After a game in which Memphis — or at least some of its players — appeared to have quit on its season on national TV, Penny Hardaway couldn't hide the truth any longer. "Y'all saw the same game we saw, right?" On a humiliating Sunday for the Tigers: https://t.co/CvobDUZ35N
Memphis basketball is in shambles. The team seems to have officially quit, and head coach Penny Hardaway looks as miserable as ever. He called out his team after their blowout loss to SMU, but even he admitted he doesn't know what's going on. READ: https://t.co/TiUrEUsvDj https://t.co/vl43XdGGbI
Seton Hall’s comeback win over St. John’s bolsters unexpected NCAA Tournament hopes https://t.co/h8NRUL9XS3 https://t.co/HeXukGZgkD
Column: as St. John’s season spirals out of control, Rick Pitino resorts to an old stand-by: blaming everyone in the room with the exception of himself. It’s tired and terrible look, in addition to being inaccurate. He’s had as bad a year as his players. https://t.co/SVew3QdSrl
Rick Pitino is a legendary coach but isn’t acting like one. Complaining his players aren’t tough enough & blaming recruiting rather than his inability to get the most out of them is comical. The hype was insane but now he’s miserable & knew they were in trouble last summer? LOL.
Pitino throwing his players under the bus ... heard that one before. https://t.co/DTqoieUtfs
St. John’s suffered another brutal blow to its NCAA Tournament hopes Sunday, squandering a 19-point lead in an eventual back-breaking loss to Seton Hall. @petersblendorio https://t.co/lNebOfowto
Rick Pitino: “We kind of lost this season with the way we recruited. We recruited the antithesis of the way I coach, with speed, quickness, fundamentals, strength and toughness. We did not to do that. It’s a good group, they try hard, they’re just not very tough.” #sjubb
Pitino: “It’s not the job. You could be at Missouri and recruit slow players. Believe me, it’s not St. John’s. We had to put together a team at the last second. We will never, ever, do that again.” #sjubb
Pitino: “We kind of lost this season with the way we recruited. We recruited the antithesis of the way I coach. It’s a good group, they try hard, but they’re just not very tough.” #sjubb
Great result for Rutgers: Seton Hall came back from 19 points down to win at St. John’s. https://t.co/QckSOcuHg4
St. John's loses again, their 8th loss in 10 games and the Red Storm are officially off the bubble until further notice. Story of St. John's season: Rick Pitino got Covid, and his team never recovered. Sad and true.
That's a soul-crushing loss for St. John's, blowing a 19-point lead & falling by 6 to fellow bubble team Seton Hall. Red Storm scored just 21 points in the 2nd half. They're now 2-8 in their last 10 games and sit ninth in the Big East. Can't afford another regular-season loss.
Now on @njdotcom Seton Hall storms back to stun St. John’s, boosting NCAA Tournament résumé https://t.co/vBNQT5kace @SetonHallMBB
No quit in Seton Hall. Rallied from 18 down to beat St. John’s in an important bubble game.
Penny Hardaway: “Fucking losing like this — this is terrible, man. This is not competing at all. I don’t know what’s going on.” https://t.co/iMILkpjrs6
Penny: "That was a BS game, man. It's frustrating. Very frustrating." I asked what the most frustrating part is: "F(expletive) losing like this. This is terrible, man. This is not competing at all. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s not competing." https://t.co/KOjTdArarF
Penny Hardaway on the postgame radio show: "It's really embarrassing. That's all I can say. Very embarrassing." "We just haven't been a team in a long time...we have not been able to keep everyone happy. When they're not happy, they shut down."
FINAL: SMU 106, Memphis 79 Tigers drop into a three-way tie for sixth in the AAC. Second loss in a row, sixth in their last nine games. Should just about turn the lights out on their NCAA tournament hopes. Memphis was ranked in the top 10 as recently as Jan. 21. Dramatic fall.
Several reasons to be concerned so far, but this is what sticks out to me -- Tigers have only attempted 5 shots, while SMU has attempted *12* Mustangs are 6-12 from the floor and 1-3 from 3-pt range. https://t.co/ql0nnYDkyf