Memphis enters the weekend following back-to-back home losses and five consecutive losses with three games remaining before the conference tournament. The Tigers currently sit in eighth place, but they could finish anywhere between fourth and 11th place when the regular season concludes.
The conference tournament begins on March 11 in Birmingham, but only the top 10 teams in conference play will be invited to participate. The top two seeds receive byes until the Semifinals on Saturday, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will have byes until the quarterfinals on Friday.
If the season ended today, Memphis would be the No. 8 seed and would play in the first game of the tournament against Temple. If that happens, Penny Hardaway’s team would be tasked with winning five games in five days to win the conference tournament.
Currently, South Florida holds a 1.5-game lead over Tulsa and Wichita State for the No. 1 seed with three games remaining. The Golden Hurricane and Shockers are tied for second place, and both teams have two games remaining in conference play.
UAB and Charlotte are tied in fourth place in the conference standings, but both teams have only a two-game lead over the Tigers. Memphis could move all the way up to No. 4 in the conference tournament, but it would require Hardaway’s team to be nearly perfect the rest of the way.
Tulane sits in sixth place, while FAU holds a half-game lead for the seventh spot. The Tigers could pass both teams and have an opportunity to beat Tulane in the final game of the regular season.
There is a chance that Memphis could miss the tournament entirely, but the Tigers would have to lose out, and either Rice or ECU would need to win out. Both teams are 5-10 in conference play, and neither has won three straight games all season.