After completing a regular season filled with high expectations and plenty of disappointment, the Tiger basketball team has accepted a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament for the second consecutive year.
Memphis (22-9), losers of five of its last seven, will face North Carolina-Greensboro (20-10) at The Pyramid Thursday night in the first round of the NIT.
If the Tigers win, they are likely to host a second-round game against the UC-Irvine/Brigham Young winner Monday.
“I’m disappointed for the fans because our fans have been there, and they deserve for us to be in the NCAA Tournament so they can follow us,” Tiger head coach John Calipari said Monday.
“If the ball bounces the other way in the Cincinnati game, then we are a No. 1 seed in the Conference (USA) Tournament and a lock for an NCAA bid.”
But instead of bouncing out, Cincinnati guard Steve Logan’s buzzer-beating shot bounced in during the Tigers’ final regular-season game last Sunday, forcing overtime and giving the Bearcats an eventual 80-75 win that would leave Memphis facing a first-round C-USA Tournament battle against Houston Thursday.
That battle would prove deadly for the Tigers’ NCAA Tournament hopes as Houston came away with an 80-74 upset win over the Tigers, who were playing without senior forward Kelly Wise. The All-Conference forward is still suffering from the effects of a strained right knee.
A bright spot for the Tigers, however, will be the opportunity to play more games and to build confidence for next season.
“They respect the game enough to get motivated and we have a lot of young guys that need to play more games,” Calipari said.
“I’ve got to get this team excited about playing in the NIT. Greensboro is juiced about being in the NIT.”
Players to watch from Greensboro include all-conference guard Courtney Eldridge, who is averaging 6.1 assists per contest while forward James Maye averages 14.1 points per game. Senior forward David Schuck is a force both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court, averaging 13.3 points and 5.9 rebounds a game.
Calipari said the Tigers’ NIT success will depend will hinge on fan support.
“We need you at the NIT,” Calipari said. “This team needs to know that you support them.”
Three other C-USA schools join Memphis in the NIT — South Florida, Louisville and Houston.
