The Memphis basketball team has a chance to do itself a world of good against first-place FAU at FedExForum.
Or perhaps things will continue to snowball on the Tigers.
Memphis (9-10, 4-3 American Conference) will get a shot Jan. 29 (7 p.m. CT, ESPN2) to avenge its Jan. 21 loss to the Owls. But the situation would have to get better quickly, because it has lost each of its past three road games, including Tulsa and Wichita State.
The Tigers are seventh in the league standings, and only the top 10 (of 13) teams advance to the American tournament in March in Birmingham, Alabama. But a win over FAU (14-7, 6-2) would put Memphis right back in the thick of the race for the top two seeds, which receive automatic byes to the tournament semifinals.
Here are three things we’re keeping an eye on ahead of the FAU game.
When has Memphis basketball lost like this in the conference?
Much of what the Tigers have done in January inspires very little confidence for the road ahead.
It’s not necessarily that they’re losing — it’s how they’re losing.
In fact, they already find themselves in very undesirable territory. All three of their losses in conference play are by 11 points or more. They have never (until now) lost three conference games by double digits under coach Penny Hardaway.
The losses to Tulsa and Wichita State were by a combined 32 points. Only once during Hardaway’s tenure has his team lost back-to-back conference games by that much. It happened at North Texas and SMU (Feb. 15 and 18) during the ill-fated 2023-24 season that saw Memphis go from No. 10 in the country to missing the NCAA tournament. The Tigers lost those games by a combined 37 points.
That season and this one are the only two with Hardaway as coach where the Tigers’ American Conference losses have been by at least 32 combined points. In 2021-22, their five league losses were by a combined 21 points.
Dug McDaniel, Sincere Parker injury updates
Senior point guard Dug McDaniel left the Wichita State game early in the second half after colliding with a Shockers screener. He returned, but only briefly before being removed for good.
Hardaway told radio play-by-play broadcaster Dave Woloshin during the postgame interview that he thought McDaniel might have suffered a concussion.
Sincere Parker did not play at all against Wichita State after going down with an ankle injury Jan. 21 against Tulsa.
It’s unclear whether either will be available to play against FAU.
FAU basketball scouting report
Rebounding was a major plot point in the Tigers’ 89-78 road loss to FAU, which out-rebounded them 46-29 overall, and 14-5 on the offensive glass. That precipitated a 19-8 advantage for the Owls in second-chance points.
Also predominant the first go-round was rim protection. The Owls finished the game with nine blocks — seven of them courtesy of Devin Williams, who is tied for second in the nation with 57.
Devin Vanterpool is FAU’s leading scorer (15.9 points per game). Kanaan Carlyle, who dropped a team-high 17 on Memphis, is second with 14.7.
Since beating the Tigers and Wichita State back-to-back at home (both by double digits), things haven’t been quite as clear-cut for the Owls. They beat Temple 79-73 in Philadelphia and Tulane 79-74 at home. Most recently, they lost to South Florida on the road 89-75.
Memphis basketball score prediction vs. FAU
FAU 78, Memphis 75: The flailing Tigers are regressing, and the Owls have five wins away from home.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected], follow him @munzly on X.
