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As Memphis headed into the new year, coach Penny Hardaway made it clear that the No. 21 Tigers could not coast through the American Athletic Conference.

They could not relax. They were “the hunted,” Hardaway said. Memphis would need to keep its foot on the gas pedal. The Tigers did just that on Thursday, when Memphis dialed up a 28-point win over Florida Atlantic for the program’s largest margin of victory since March 2023.

“Almost a flawless game by our guys’ attention to detail in the game plan,” Hardaway said, “and finishing the game out strong.”

With that first AAC win under their belt, the Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) now turn their attention to visiting North Texas for a conference tilt on Sunday afternoon. The Mean Green could present a unique challenge, as their deliberate style of play has lifted UNT to its best start in two years — despite losing its top six scorers and 90 percent of the team’s points from last season.

“This is a new team,” said second-year North Texas coach Ross Hodge, who returned only Moulaye Sissoko to the starting lineup from last season.

Yet that has not stalled the Mean Green (10-3, 1-0), who have won four straight and seven of their last nine. That includes Tuesday’s 78-75 win over preseason AAC favorite UAB, in which Atin Wright buried a contested, step-back, buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Wright serves as North Texas’ leading man, with 13.5 points per game on 39 percent shooting from 3-point range. Brenen Lorient, at 10.6 ppg, is the only other double-digit scorer, but the Mean Green have not needed big offensive production.

North Texas was ranked No. 5 through Friday in scoring defense (57.9) in Division I, following the program’s trend over the past few seasons (59.0 since 2020). Only Houston has given up fewer points per game over the last five seasons (57.8). That stems from the Mean Green’s slower pace of play. North Texas averages just 61.9 possessions per 40 minutes — the second-lowest total in the nation behind Virginia (61.0).

Still, UNT will have its hands full with the backcourt of Memphis, which features PJ Haggerty (21.9 points per game), Tyrese Hunter (15.4) and Colby Rogers (12.7). Those three have accounted for nearly 63 percent of Memphis’ total points this season.

“Their backcourt is as good as anybody in college basketball,” Hodge said, noting Memphis’ No. 1 strength of schedule, according to ESPN. “They’ve played an incredibly difficult nonleague schedule. It’s going to be a monster challenge. It’ll take a better defensive effort than the one we had (against UAB). Put it like that. It’s going to take 40 minutes of better defense than what we showed (Tuesday).”

Memphis certainly has its sights set on a second AAC championship in three years. It’s the Tigers’ “shared vision,” Hardaway said. They just need to continue to play as hard as they can, he added.

“There’s a lot of people who want to be in our shoes right now,” Hardaway said. “We have a great thing going on with a great team and a great staff, and we have to come and represent ourselves in a great fashion.”

–Field Level Media