Memphis’ Penny Hardaway called his team’s 99-97 overtime triumph over No. 2 UConn on Monday as the best win of his coaching career, but he won’t have much time to enjoy it.
The Tigers will be back in action Tuesday against Michigan State in the Maui Invitational semifinals in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Memphis (5-0) squandered a 13-point lead with four minutes to play against UConn, but regrouped in the extra session. PJ Carter made all six of his free throws in the final 40 seconds of overtime, including four following a technical foul on UConn coach Danny Hurley that broke a 92-92 tie.
“All these games have come down to us just being the toughest team,” Hardaway said. “Man, it’s a great feeling to win this game.”
Memphis recorded its first victory against a top-five team since 2023, when it beat No. 1 Houston in the American Athletic Conference tournament’s championship game.
“We had to be very tough — very tough,” Hardaway said. “I’m super proud of these guys. It does a lot for our program, our city. It does a lot for us. It really does.”
Memphis went 12 of 22 on 3-point attempts against the Huskies. Tyrese Hunter scored 17 of his game-high 26 points after halftime and was 7 of 10 from 3-point range overall. The Tigers are shooting 47.9 percent from behind the 3-point arc through their first five games.
“I think it came down to all the preparation and the work that we put in,” Hunter said. “Trust in our players. I know (they) got the technical foul, send PJ right to the line. We know he’s going to knock ’em down. We see him knock ’em down all the time. We trust him.
“I think we learned that no matter what happens, shake it off and quickly move on. If mistakes happen, learn from it and move on.”
Michigan State (5-1) received a career-high 13 points from freshman Jase Richardson and advanced with a 72-56 victory over Colorado in Monday’s second game.
Richardson was the only Michigan State player who scored in double figures, but the Spartans received 40 points from their non-starters. The Spartans got seven points and eight rebounds from Szymon Zapala, and Frankie Fidler finished with nine points and six rebounds.
The Spartans won despite shooting 2 of 21 from 3-point territory, including missing their first 14 tries. They survived in part because Colorado shot 37 percent from the field overall.
“Is (3-point shooting) a concern? Of course it’s a concern,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us (Tuesday).”
Izzo said Memphis will present a much different challenge than Colorado did.
“Completely different team,” he said. “We’ve played so many different kinds of teams, like Samford was pressing all over the place. Memphis — they have guards who are quicker than God. We’re going to have our hands full there, but we get to play another game in the winner’s bracket.”
–Field Level Media
