Memphis moved into the AP Top 25 after playing college basketball blue bloods in the Maui Invitational.
The Tigers defeated-then No. 2 and two-time defending national champion Connecticut as well as perennial NCAA Tournament power Michigan State before losing to then-No. 4 Auburn.
No. 16 Memphis (7-1) hosts Arkansas State on Sunday, and head coach Penny Hardaway is looking for his team to play up to its ranking regardless of the name recognition of the opponent.
“If you’re in the rankings, then act like it,” Hardaway said. “Let’s stop reading the text messages about how great we are and let’s buy into what we’re trying to do every single night.”
The Tigers had to battle for 40 minutes before shaking off visiting Louisiana Tech in an 81-71 victory on Wednesday.
“They know that if you start letting your guard down against certain teams that don’t have a big name, that you can actually get beaten, and we can’t afford that,” Hardaway said.
Louisiana Tech had lost just once before facing Memphis, and Hardaway knew the Bulldogs would be strongly motivated to face the only team on its schedule that is ranked.
That game occurred in a tricky spot for the Tigers, who were playing their first game since the trip to Maui and also their first outing in seven days.
“The hangover from Hawaii, to me, still stood in the way even though we knew what the game meant to them,” Hardaway said. “It needed to mean more to us and we still pulled it out. We didn’t play our best and still pulled it out.
“When you have that time off, it does hurt you, especially if you’re not coming out and being aggressive from the beginning. We’re going to get better, but that rust did hurt us.
“We’re not far off.”
Hardaway expects Arkansas State (6-3) to present a similar challenge as a worthy opponent despite not being a big name.
“You’re just happy to get out of these games with Ws,” Hardaway said. “We’re not playing shabby teams. We’re playing teams that can actually beat you.”
Red Wolves coach Bryan Hodgson can relate to what Hardaway is feeling. His team had to withstand a last-second missed jumper in order to hold off winless Jackson State and stay unbeaten at home, 66-64 on Thursday.
“I thought we played with no pace,” Hodgson said. “We were lackadaisical on both sides of the ball. We got away from who we are. We didn’t play with pace on offense. Our shot selection got poor at times. All in all, I thought we were in a bit of a funk. We were fortunate to make one more shot than they did.”
Arkansas State shot just 33.3 percent (21 of 63) from the field. The Red Wolves led by six points at the half and increased the lead to 10 before falling behind 54-53. They surged to a six-point lead and held on.
The Red Wolves are familiar with visiting a ranked team, having lost to then-No. 2 Alabama 88-79 in their first road game of the season.
Taryn Todd is their leading scorer at 13.2 points per game, followed by Kobe Julien (12.4) and Derrian Ford (10.2). Rashaud Marshall pulls down a team-best 7.1 rebounds per game.
Memphis’ top scorer is PJ Haggerty at 22.3 points per game, with Tyrese Hunter (16.6), Colby Rogers (12.6) and Dain Dainja (10.3) also in double figures. Haggerty also has the highest rebounding average (6.1).
–Field Level Media
