Anyone watching could see it.
An ominous cloud parted above the head of Josh Pastner, head University of Memphis men's basketball coach, as the No. 21 ranked Tigers outdueled the No. 5 Oklahoma State University Cowboys 73-68 on Sunday night in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
The win solidified Memphis as the Old Spice Classic champions, but that seemed miniscule. The story was Pastner.
Until Sunday evening, Pastner couldn't notch a win against a top-25 opponent no matter how close he came in 13 tries. Last season, Memphis had Louisville on the ropes leading by double digits, but the Tigers couldn't close them out. Before that, it was Michigan in 2011. It seemed like it wasn't meant to be.
Now, the record shows 1-13, and Pastner's critics have been silenced, at least for a little while.
"All that took on a life of its own," the fifth-year coach said. "It became the eighth wonder of the world. The 48 hours leading up to the game on ESPN, it was all people talked about - that I haven't beaten a top-25 team. Everywhere I went and talked it was like we were 3-27."
He downplayed the significance, calling it "hogwash" and said every win is a good win, but anyone could see it in his smile after the game - even though he smiles after every game. That night was different - both he and his team's smiles were wider and brighter.
The game came just 12 days after the Cowboys ran Memphis off the court in Stillwater, Okla., embarrassing the Tigers on national television. Memphis lost 101-80, and things looked grim for the Tiger faithful.
Pastner tried to control the damage, emphasizing "course correction." The course has never been more correct, as the win moved the U of M up to No. 16 in the latest AP poll.
The Tigers (5-1) entered halftime behind 42-32, and most expected them to fold. They marched out of the locker room and did just the opposite, scoring the first seven points of the half to cut the lead to just three.
With 10:13 remaining in the game, Memphis trailed by two points, when senior Michael Dixon Jr. hit back-to-back jumpers, propelling Memphis ahead 56-52.
From that point forward, the Cowboys (7-1) watched the Tigers answer every Oklahoma State basket with a bucket of their own, until the Cowboys got the ball down three with 11 seconds left after a pair of free throws from senior Joe Jackson.
Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart, a consensus lottery pick in next year's NBA Draft, received the in-bounds pass to a roar from the contingent of Tiger fans who made the trip. Memphis senior Geron Johnson drew the assignment to guard the pre-season All American. Smart made his move to the right, but Johnson, a defensive specialist, swiped the ball away from the Cowboy point guard for Smart's fifth turnover of the night.
Jackson iced the game with two more free throws, after sophomore Shaq Goodwin galloped around the court with unbridled joy.
"It's awesome," freshman forward Austin Nichols said of Goodwin's energy. "It's contagious. I love it when he's acting like that, because that's just his personality, and when he acts like that I tend to sort of act like that."
Goodwin and Nichols led the way for Memphis all tournament long. Goodwin averaged 14 points per game, and Nichols scored 13.3 points per game over the Thanksgiving holiday tournament.
The Old Spice Classic named Goodwin the tournament's most valuable player and Nichols to the all-tournament team.
The American Athletic Conference also rewarded the pair on Monday, naming Goodwin the conference's Player of the Week and Nichols the Rookie of the Week.
"That's and amazing honor," Goodwin said. "And to have Austin get rookie of the week, it just shows how much hard work pays off."
The Memphis offense has trended toward a more inside approach since the beginning of the season. The bigs have been better than expected, and the four senior guards haven't played as well as they hoped.
"We're fortunate we've got guys who can score the ball down there," Pastner said. "What it's done is opened up the play for the guards. That's a big thing. Right now, Shaq's energy is so contagious, and Austin - and our whole team - is feeding off Shaq's energy."
The guards showed up on Sunday night, though. Senior Chris Crawford poured in clutch shot after clutch shot, ending with 16 points, but his biggest contribution came on the defensive end. He slowed down Smart, a player of the year candidate who scored 39 against Memphis on Nov. 19, holding him to only 12 points on 13 shots and five turnovers.
Dixon added 12 points, and Jackson, a 6-foot 1-inch guard, scored 11 points with zero turnovers and eight rebounds.
The Tigers defeated Sienna and LSU, a fringe top-25 according to many experts, en route to their Old Spice Classic championship.
"It was a great tournament for us," Pastner said. "To win those tournaments is a special thing. It's hard to win in a bracketed tournament."
Memphis found itself down in the LSU game, as well, but - similarly to the Oklahoma State game - great crunch-time execution allowed them to pull away at the end.
Pastner said he believes they wouldn't have beaten LSU without losing to Oklahoma State two weeks earlier.
The win marked Memphis' first regular season tournament championship since its win at the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in 2007, and Sunday night's victory was the first win over a top-five team since the Tigers toppled Georgetown in the same season.
The Tigers return to the court on Saturday at the FedExForum against Northwestern State. The game is slated to tip off at noon.
