For a third time this season, Tulane and Memphis would meet, this time with both seasons on the line as the Green Wave and Tigers would open the American Conference Tournament with a massive first-round matchup inside Legacy Arena in Downtown Birmingham, Alabama. These two split the series this season, with the two-game difference decided by just three points, setting the scene for a potential insane first-round matchup between Tulane and Memphis. 

For the Tigers, starting and finishing strong would be the name of the game on Wednesday night, as they have struggled to do so all season, often putting Memphis behind the eight ball. Also, since it was on Sunday in the matchup with Tulane, Wednesday night was a potential season-ending game; with a loss, the Tigers would not play in any postseason without winning the American Tournament Championship. 

With that on the line, Memphis would fall flat early on as Tulane brought the intensity early, taking a 21-15 lead over the Tigers at the under-12 media timeout of the first half. At halftime, it was all Tulane as the Green Wave took a 39-31 lead to the locker room. As weird as the first half was with Memphis starting the game with a technical due to not getting the roster in on time, to a Tulane team that dominated, Memphis holding on by a thread felt like a small victory for Coach Hardaway as they went to the break looking to make the needed adjustments to mount a second-half comeback. 

As the second half rolled around, the Tigers’ lackluster energy gave Tulane a chance to secure an 81-69 victory on Wednesday, as the Green Wave advanced to play Charlotte on Thursday. 

As far as where Memphis goes from here, expectations are that Memphis will retain Coach Penny Hardaway for a ninth season, aiming to succeed and uphold the Memphis basketball standard. However, the argument for getting rid of Coach Hardaway is strong, and honestly, both sides make sense. Coach Hardaway has just one NCAA Tournament win in his eight seasons as Head Coach, two conference tournament championships, and only three NCAA Tournament trips. If the administration gives him another year, the expectation will be that he hires a GM and overhauls his entire staff, and he will likely need to market the changes to the fan base. Fan attednce is down, Memphis report a defict in the budet for basketball this season, and Tigers basketball has never been in a lower state, but if the admin at Memphis trust Penny to turn things around then the fans will have to decide to either buy into the new vision, or sit by and watch how it plays out, either way this offseason has the potential to be the most challenging in the history of the program. 

Memphis finishes the 2025-2026 season with a 13-19 record with a first-round loss in the American Conference Tournament. 

Photo Credits – Memphis basketball on X