Fresh off another disappointing loss on Saturday and travel chaos that turned a three-day trip to the middle of the country into a nightmare that didn’t end until Monday night, Coach Penny Hardaway and his Memphis Tigers return to the friendly confines of the FedEx Forum on Thursday night as they welcome the FAU Owls to a blistery Memphis for a massive matchup. Memphis, at 7th place in the American standings have everything to play for as they look to turn around the season with a massive revenge game over FAU on Thursday night at 7:00 PM. 

Memphis and Florida Atlantic met earlier this month in Boca Raton, where the Owls got the best of the Tigers 89-78. In a game that further exposed the Tigers as not being the top dog in the American. Memphis played FAU tight in the first half, but the Owls took over in the second half, and the Tigers dropped the first of three conference games to this point in the season. Aaron Bradshaw for Memphis had a breakout game in the first meeting, scoring 21 points, while four FAU players scored in double digits. 

Last time out for the Tigers was a complete disaster as they got run out of the gym as the Wichita State Shockers finished off a second straight Memphis loss with a 74-59 victory over the Tigers. From there, the nightmare turned into a trip from hell, as the Tigers were unable to return home for an extra two days and were stuck in Kansas due to a winter storm sweeping across the country over the weekend. 

So, how does Memphis avoid allowing the Witchta State loss turn into a third straight loss on Thursday night as they host FAU? With this team? Who knows. This Memphis team has struggled with finding an identity all season, and when they seemingly put it together, they go off and lose a game they had a lead in, as they did on Saturday afternoon agaisnt Witchta State. In the short term, this team still has a lot of basketball in front of them, and they have the potential to flip the script on the season. A win over FAU on Thursday would be a good start toward changing the season’s narrative. However, this team has not lived up to its potential yet, and it’s been a combination of poor coaching from Penny and the Tigers just not playing good enough basketball to finish games. Winning basketball cures all, but the Tigers have yet to show that promise this season. Again, this team has its back against the wall. If they come out swinging as the apex predator, then Thursday night could be the start of a season turnaround that could be talked about for weeks to come. 

At this point, approaching every game like it’s your last is the name of the game for Coach Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers as they look to change the narrative on the season with a win over FAU on Thursday night. A win over FAU would position Memphis to rattle off a few wins before closing out the last month on a high note. 

Photo Credits- Memphis basketball on X