Given that No. 18 Memphis has a rich basketball tradition and high expectations nearly every year, it’s hard to believe the Tigers haven’t won a regular-season conference title since 2013.
Memphis will take a big step in that direction on Sunday afternoon if they can complete a season sweep of American Athletic Conference rival UAB in Birmingham, Ala.
The Tigers (23-5, 13-2) have a one-game lead over the Blazers and North Texas with three games remaining. A victory over UAB would give the Tigers a season sweep, and they edged North Texas in January in their only meeting, so they would own head-to-head tie-breakers on both clubs.
And Memphis’ schedule in the last week will feature two lesser opponents in UTSA and South Florida, although seventh-year Tigers coach Penny Hardaway knows better than to take either contest for granted.
“It’s so hard to win any game,” he said. “You could look around the country and see non-ranked teams beating ranked teams this time of year. You’ve got to keep getting your guys up. And we’ve had to be up for every single game.”
Case in point: The Tigers’ 84-72 AAC win Wednesday night over Rice. Seems simple enough, right? Well, except for the part in which the teams were tied at 70 with under four minutes left before Memphis went on a game-ending 14-2 run.
Hardaway wants his team to experience what no Memphis team has enjoyed since Josh Pastner left Conference USA with a runaway league championship as coach in 2013.
“It’s very important to me,” Hardaway said. “If any coach tells you that it’s not, it is. I’ve been in it seven years. I want that feeling.”
If Dain Dainja keeps dominating like he has lately, Hardaway might get that feeling. Dainja went for 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Owls after shredding Florida Atlantic for 22 and 11, respectively, in the previous game.
Dainja also came up big in a 100-77 blowout of UAB on Jan. 26, scoring what then was a season-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds.
The Blazers (19-9, 12-3) have won seven of eight games since then, including an 80-72 decision Thursday night at the same Wichita State outfit that stopped Memphis on Feb. 16 in overtime.
Alejandro Vasquez tied his career high with 29 points on Thursday, while versatile 6-foot-9 post Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists. For the season, Lendeborg paces UAB in scoring (17.6 ppg), rebounding (10.9) and assists (4.3).
Lendeborg came close to the program’s first triple-double in 16 years during a Feb. 23 win over Temple, finishing with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
“It feels like I’ve been chasing a ghost for a long time now,” he said. “I keep getting right there to open the door, but I can’t grab the knob. That’s what it feels like.”
Lendeborg’s all-around excellence has helped the Blazers average 83.4 points per game, 12th-best in Division I.
–Field Level Media
