The No.5 seed Memphis Tigers could not overcome the No.12 Colorado State Rams in the round of 64. The Tigers were sent home after falling 78-70 to the Rams, who have now won 11-straight games. This loss brings coach Penny Hardaway's tournament record to 1-3 during his time with Memphis.
The Tigers were without guards Tyrese Hunter and Dante Harris. Baraka Okojie started in place of Hunter and finished with zero points, three rebounds, and four assists. While Memphis has been an elite three-point shooting team, however, today, the Tigers shot a detrimental 26.1% from beyond the arc.
Colorado State took advantage of the lack of depth on the Tigers and guard Kyan Evans scored 23 points off of 7-11 shooting, and 6-9 from the perimeter.
Turnovers, which have been a problem for Memphis in almost every game, were another issue for the Tigers. They committed 16 turnovers, but not only is that costly, but the timing of the giveaways were even worse.
Turnovers ruined runs for the Tigers and multiple came after defensive stops in the second half, erasing the defensive effort. Even simple passes were being thrown out of bounds and falling through the Tiger's hands.
The first half was a back-and-forth game, with multiple ties and lead changes. Colby Rogers brought the Tigers within one point with a triple at the 6:21 mark. Rogers finished with 18 points and shot 4-7 from three-point range.
Buckets from Pj Haggerty and Dain Dainja propelled the Tigers to a 36-31 lead going into the locker rooms.
Just 90 seconds into the second half, Rogers made another three to give Memphis a seven-point lead. However, the Rams cut the deficit to one by 17:15.
Colorado State took the lead at the 13:48 mark after Nique Clifford sunk a jumper. The Tigers did not lead for the remainder of the game.
Following a Kyan Evan's triple to put the Rams up 10 with 8:30 remaining, the Tigers could not get back into the game. They struggled offensively, and when they did score, they failed to compliment the bucket with a stop. On some occasions, they simply turned it over.
PJ Haggerty cut the deficit to six with 4:47 to go, but the Rams quickly answered. Just two minutes later, their lead was nine.
Haggerty sunk his first three since March 7 with 24 seconds left to bring the score to 78-70.
The Tigers shot 25-59(42.4%) from the field. They finished with eight assists compared to 16 turnovers. Memphis scored 11 points off the Ram's 10 turnovers.
Pj Haggerty finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Dain Dainja scored 22 and grabbed 12 rebounds alongside three steals and three blocks. This marks the Illinois' transfers third double-double in a row.
Memphis finishes the season with an American championship and 29 wins as the Tigers continue their search for success in March.
