Memphis falls to 4-7 following a 5-point loss to Mississippi State

For the second time this season, Memphis has lost three games in a row. The Tigers struggled on the offensive end of the court again and couldn’t put together stops late, falling 71-66 on the road against Mississippi State.

Penny Hardaway had his entire roster available for the first time this season, with both Curtis Givens III and Julius Thedford returning from injuries. Givens missed five games after suffering an injury against Wake Forest in the Bahamas, while Thedford hasn’t played since being injured against New Orleans.

With the two guards returning to the rotation, Hardaway made another change to the starting five, and he started Dug McDaniel, Julius Thedford, Hasan Abdul Hakim, Ashton Hardaway and Thierno Sylla. It’s the ninth different starting lineup in 11 games, and it was one of the more surprising starting lineups Hardaway has used. 

It felt like McDaniel and Abdul Hakim would be constants in any starting five, but the surprise came in seeing both Thedford and Sylla on the court to start the game. 

Thedford is more understandable. He played extremely well before suffering an injury that held him out of three games, but Hardaway hasn’t played Sylla in the last two games and has only played him a combined four minutes in the last four games.

Sylla only played nine minutes, all in the first half, and he recorded two rebounds, two fouls and two turnovers.

It was another slow start for the Tigers, and they started the game 1-for-10 from the field, including nine three-point attempts. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 10-point lead, but they never extended it further in the first half.

Memphis hung around the entire 20 minutes, and as time expired in the first half, Sincere Parker nailed a half-court buzzer beater to cut the lead to four.

Hardaway played 11 different players in the first half, and Ashton Hardaway and Aaron Bradshaw both led the team with six points apiece. Hardaway knocked down two three-pointers and grabbed three rebounds, while Bradshaw went 3-for-7 from the field and added a rebound and assist.

As a team, they shot 34.4 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three-point range, and they recorded 17 points off the bench. Defensively, Memphis held Mississippi State to 40.5 percent from the field and 5-for-16 from deep, and they forced 12 turnovers.

In the second half, Memphis shot the ball better, but they turned the ball over 10 times over the final 20 minutes. On the other side, the Bulldogs turned those turnovers into 13 points off turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field.

Givens did a nice job keeping the Tigers in the game with 13 of his 18 points coming in the second half. He brought a ton of energy on both ends of the floor and reminded fans that he can be a massive piece of the team’s production moving forward.

As a group, Memphis shot 37.1 percent from the field and 29 percent, on 31 attempts from deep, and only three players ended the game in double figures. Givens led the team with 18, while Hardaway and Bradshaw added 11 and 12, respectively. 

The starting five struggled to score the ball, combining for only 28 points, and McDaniel only finished with 8 points on 3-for-13 shooting. Thedford had trouble scoring in his first game back from injury, going 1-for-3 for three points, but he added eight rebounds, an assist and two steals. 

The Tigers also won the rebounding battle, 43-to-35, and they grabbed 17 offensive rebounds that they turned into 22 second-chance points. 

On the other side, Mississippi State shot 44.4 percent from the field and went 6-for-21 from deep, and it only had two players finish in double figures. Jayden Epps led the team with 19 points, including four of the team’s six three-pointers, while Josh Hubbard added 17 points.

Hubbard made some big-time shots late in the second half that helped the Bulldogs pull away, and he recorded three steals. While he made a few shots when it counted, Memphis held the star junior to only 4-for-13 from the field.