So far, the Maui Invitational has been kind to Penny Hardaway and his Memphis Tigers. They beat the second-ranked Huskies of UConn on Monday afternoon before dominating Michigan State in the Semifinal round on Tuesday to advance to the Maui Championship game, where they await the winner of Auburn and North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 central.

Memphis faced North Carolina in October during the preseason slate. The Tar Heels entered the FedEx Forum in that game and beat the Tigers 84-76. The Tigers showed promise but needed more discipline than they have shown in Maui.

With five minutes remaining on the game clock, Michigan State forced Penny Hardaway to call a timeout to calm down the Tigers as the Spartans cut the Tigers lead to seven. Tyrese Hunter would come out of the timeout, drilling an and-one three-point shot to extend the Tigers lead to 11 with 4:09 on the game clock.

Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty have given Memphis a dynamic scoring duo in Maui over the last two games. Against UConn on Monday afternoon, the two combined for 48 points, with Hunter leading the way with 26 points. With Moussa Cisse and Dain Dainja fouling out midway through the second half, the Tigers needed the combination of Hunter and Haggerty; with the help of Colby Roger, the Tigers had to dig deep into the bag to finish Michigan State to advance to the Maui Championship game.

Once again, Tyrese Hunter led the way in scoring for the Tigers with 23 points. PJ Haggerty finished the Michigan State game with 16 points, while Colby Rogers finished with 10.

It wasn’t pretty at the end with the big men out with foul trouble, but a win is a win, and the Tigers are now playing for the Maui Invitational Championship on Wednesday afternoon. A win on Wednesday afternoon would give the Tigers their first Maui Championship in school history. No matter the outcome on Wednesday, the Tigers have made a statement in Maui that Memphis Basketball is a force to compete for a Final Four bid and even to compete for a National Championship.

Photo Credits – Memphis Basketball on X