The University of Memphis men’s basketball team is 18-8 and 8-5 in conference play with five regular season games remaining.
The Tigers are on pace to out perform last year’s season (19-15, 8-10 AAC), especially in conference play. But unless they win conference championship, they will likely miss out on the NCAA tournament.
Here is a deeper look at the season — by the numbers.
2 — The number of wins verse teams with as good or better records than the Tigers. The first came in a blowout with against South Carolina who are now ranked No. 21 in the nation by AP. The other was about a month later at Houston. Memphis beat the Cougars 70-67 in overtime. The lack of quality wins for the Tigers could leave them without a bid to the NIT.
3 — The number of top 25 teams that Josh Pastner and Georgia Tech have beaten. At 15-10, the Yellow Jackets are on the bubble of making the NCAA tournament because of their tough schedule and quality wins. Pastner was the coach for Memphis seven seasons before leaving for Georgia Tech.
3 — The number of years it took Tubby Smith to guide Texas Tech to an NCAA tournament bid. Fans always want immediate results, but it usually takes a few years to build a program that will make the Big Dance. It also took Smith three season at his first head coaching job in Tulsa.
34 — The average number of minutes per game by the Tigers top four scorers — Jeremiah Martin, Markel Crawford, Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson. This group has started in every game this season and has been relied on to play more than 30 minutes per game because of the lack of bench production.
515 — The total number of points for Dedric. This is his second straight season with more than 500 points as he climbs up the Memphis all-time scoring list. Dedric is leading the Tigers with 19.8 points per game.
488 — The number of rebounds from the Lawson brothers. Together, they are outrebounding the rest of the team by 79. With a short bench rotation, the Lawson brothers are relied on to carry the team in multiple categories.
.303 — Memphis’ three-point shooting percentage this season. That ranks the Tigers 10 of the 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference. They also rank last in three-point makes per game. Three-point shooting has been problem in loses all season.
.500 — The win percentage for the Tigers away from FedEx Forum. Memphis is 13-3 at home this season, but they are playing .500 away from home 1-1 at neutral sites and 4-4 in true road games. Three of the Tigers five remaining games are on the road, including one at No. 18 Cincinnati.
4 — The number of wins it takes to make the NCAA tournament. The Tigers can surpass all expectations by winning the AAC tournament and making it to the Big Dance, and it just takes four wins to do that.
Tubby Smith roams the sideline during a game. He is looking to gain momentum heading into the conference tournament.
