Memphis
In their first NCAA tournament appearance under coach Anfernee Hardaway, the Memphis Tigers gave the No. 1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs all they could handle. While Memphis ultimately came up short 82-78, it showed that the Tigers were ready to compete with higher-caliber teams across the nation. That’s proven true early, as Memphis already notched a win against a ranked Auburn team and came up just three points short of toppling a top-10 team (Alabama) just three days later.
Hardaway has had no trouble herding talent to Memphis since taking over, but this team is not a group of one-and-done’s. In fact, the top nine scorers on this team are seniors. Freshman Jonathan Lawson is the only non-senior to score a point for the Tigers this season.
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