Tigers, Oklahoma State open play in AdvoCare Invitational

Thursday, November 22

Orlando, Fla.

3 PM

University of Memphis

Oklahoma State

Tickets

Antwann Jones (11) returns home to Orlando to play in AdvoCare Invitational.

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Tigers, Oklahoma State open play in AdvoCare Invitational

Nov 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Memphis/AdvoCare Invitational Notes (vs. Oklahoma State)Oklahoma State/AdvoCare Invitational Notes (vs. Memphis)

Thanksgiving Day matchup in Orlando is a 2013 rematch

By: Phil Stukenborg

ORLANDO, Fla. – The name Penny Hardaway is still Magic in Orlando.

When the University of Memphis basketball team, led by Hardaway, plays Oklahoma State Thanksgiving Day in an opening-round game in the AdvoCare Invitational, there will be familiarity between the city and Tigers' first-year head coach.

Hardaway played six seasons with the Magic beginning in 1993 and was selected to the NBA All-Star team four times during that span. He also was a two-time All-NBA first-team pick and helped direct the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals.

With that as background, Orlando-based media attended the team's practice Wednesday at the HP Fieldhouse. Most of the questions centered on his return to the city in a new role.

"It means a lot coming back because (Orlando) is a second home to me," Hardaway said. "And it's a huge opportunity for us as a team. We are trying to prove we can play on a high level."

Thursday, the attention will turn to the game between the Tigers (2-1) and Oklahoma State (2-1), which is scheduled to tip off at approximately 3 p.m. (CT). It will be the first of three games in the AdvoCare Invitational for the UofM, coming off a gutsy 109-102 double-overtime win at home against Yale last weekend.

In that game, Hardaway said he learned something about his team, which starts freshmen Alex Lomax and Tyler Harris and returnees Jeremiah Martin and Kyvon Davenport. Harris sank three pressure-packed free throws in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime and Davenport and Martin played key roles in the first and second overtime periods.

"These guys are resilient and they are tougher than I gave them credit for," Hardaway said.

Harris scored 22 points against Yale and his heroics earned him recognition as the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week. He said the overall effort in double-overtime served as a "confidence booster" for the team.

"It (brought) us closer together," Harris said. "We know in a war zone we have each other's backs.

Oklahoma State will be led by 6-foot-7 junior forward Cameron McGriff, who is averaging 17 points and 7.7 rebounds through three games.

The Cowboys are under the direction of second-year coach in Mike Boynton, Jr. He went 21-15 in his first season and led Oklahoma State to the NIT quarterfinals.

The Memphis-Oklahoma State game is a rematch of the 2013 AdvoCare Invitational final.

The winner of Thursday's game will play the winner of Villanova-Canisius at 10:30 a.m. (CT) on Friday.

QUICK FACTS

Tigers' senior guard Jeremiah Martin needs only 30 points to become the 52^nd player in the program's history to reach 1,000 points in a career. He also would become the 28^th player from the Memphis area to join the elite group.
Other Memphis-area players who are members of the 1,000-point club include UofM head coach Penny Hardaway and Tigers' Director of Player Personnel Dwight Boyd. Hardaway (1,319 points) is 17^th on the list and Boyd (1,249 points) is 23^rd.
The Tigers are playing a game on Thanksgiving for only the fifth time in school history, although four of those games have occurred in the past seven seasons. The UofM has a 2-2 record on Thanksgiving Day.
In addition to Hardaway, Tigers' assistant coach Mike Miller has an Orlando background. He played three seasons for the Magic from 2000 to 2003 and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2001.
Memphis freshman guard Antwann Jones is from Orlando and played at Oak Ridge High School.