In a season full of ups and downs, the University of Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team have endured, but they may have finally been dealt a deathblow.
Tigers forward Austin Nichols has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a high ankle sprain and a bone bruise in his right ankle.
The injury is a huge blow to the Tigers as Nichols has without a doubt been the best player for the Blue and Gray this season. The two remaining games and conference tournament will be played without him.
Nichols right ankle injury is his second injury of the ankle this season. He initially injured his ankle on Feb. 7 in a 61-60 loss against Temple. The initial ankle injury healed quicker than anticipated and Nichols was able to return after missing only two games, before reinjuring it in the loss against Tulsa on Saturday.
Memphis will face off with UCONN and Cincinnati, both of which they have beaten this season, to finish the regular season. Then they will turn around and play in the conference tournament. A tournament that the Tigers will most likely have to win if they have any NCAA tournament hopes.
"We can deny anything we want, but when you lose your best player, your franchise, it makes it hard,” Coach Josh Pastner said. “Everyone can say you have other players, but when you lose your best player, it makes things difficult.”
Nichols has been the most consistent offensive player for the Tigers this season. His 13.3 points per game leads the team while he is shooting 49.7 percent from the field in a team leading 29.5 minutes per game. He has gone for double figures in all but six games this season.
The offense runs through Nichols in the high and low post. The Memphis guards rarely go a few possessions without dumping the ball into Nichols. His 24.5 percent usage rate leads the team, while he has an offensive rating of 108.0 throughout this season.
After struggling on defense his freshman year, Nichols has made considerable improvement on that end this season. His 3.4 blocks per game leads the team and is second in the NCAA. In 27 games the sophomore forward has blocked 93 shots, two away from tying former Tiger D.J. Stephen’s single season record of 95, while only committing 50 personal fouls this season.
He has anchored a Blue and Gray defense that has stifled some opponents. Without Nichols improvement the Memphis defense may not be something Pastner could hang his hat on. Junior forward Shaq Goodwin will attempt to replace Nichols on defense, but he has not shown he can play near the Nichols level.
Nichols has been the best player on the team, but his influence extends beyond that. The forward out of Collierville has stepped up as a leader on a team full of players playing their first season of Division I ball.
“Austin is a high character young man,” Pastner said. “He's very unselfish. His teammates love him. When you lose a guy like that, it's not just losing him, it's his character and attitude you lose as well."
