Tigers Return to March With American Title to Defend

Wednesday, March 11

Birmingham, Ala.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

No. 9 Tulane

Tigers Return to March With American Title to Defend

Mar 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The regular season has closed. The standings are set. Now the bracket wipes the slate clean.

Memphis arrives in Birmingham as the No. 8 seed in the American Championship, opening postseason play against No. 9 seed Tulane on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ESPNEWS inside Legacy Arena. It's a quick-turn rematch of Sunday's overtime thriller in New Orleans and the first step in the Tigers' attempt to defend the tournament title they captured one year ago.

Last March, Memphis stormed through the bracket and left with the trophy. This time, the road is longer. The Tigers will need five wins in five days to repeat as champions, starting with a third meeting this season against a Tulane team that knows them well.

Sunday's finale between the teams delivered instant drama.

Memphis escaped New Orleans with a 96-95 overtime win after Quante Berry knocked down the decisive free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining. The victory snapped a seven-game skid for the Tigers and ensured they would be part of the postseason field.

Now the same opponent stands in front of them again, only this time with elimination on the line.

Tulane won the first meeting in Memphis in early February, while the Tigers claimed the most recent chapter. Wednesday becomes the rubber match.

The Tigers will again lean on point guard Dug McDaniel, who has served as Memphis' offensive engine throughout the season. McDaniel played all 45 minutes against Tulane on Sunday and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists while controlling the pace late in the game.

Berry's scoring punch has also arrived at the right time. The combo guard poured in 22 points in the win at Tulane - his second 20-point outing in the last four games - and provided the clutch moment that sealed Memphis' postseason berth.

Memphis' frontcourt showed its potential in the regular-season finale.

Thierno Sylla turned in a season-best performance with 17 points and three blocks, while Aaron Bradshaw added 11 points. Their length presents a matchup challenge against a Tulane lineup that relies more heavily on guard play.

If Memphis can again establish its size advantage in the paint, it could tilt the balance in another tightly contested game.

Containing Tulane guard Rowan Brumbaugh remains priority No. 1 for the Tigers.

Brumbaugh scored a game-high 31 points in Sunday's meeting and sparked Tulane's late rally in regulation. Memphis will look to apply more defensive pressure and limit his opportunities in the backcourt.

With the bracket now set, Memphis turns its attention to the challenge ahead. The postseason offers a fresh start and the Tigers begin their title defense Wednesday night in Birmingham.

A win over the Green Wave would send Memphis into the second round Thursday against No. 5 seed Charlotte. But for now, the Tigers' focus is singular: survive the opening round and extend the season another day.

March has arrived and the defending champions are back in the bracket.

GAME DETAILS
No. 8 Memphis Tigers (13-18) vs. No. 9 Tulane Green Wave (17-14)
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 | 6 p.m.
Legacy Arena (15,000); Birmingham, Ala.
Television: ESPNEWS (Pete Sousa, pxp; Chris Spatola, analyst)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Ken Moody, analyst)

BY THE NUMBERS

4: Memphis is one of four schools to win multiple American Conference Tournament titles (2023, 2025). Another championship would give the Tigers the most tournament titles in league history and make them the lowest-seeded champion ever as a No. 8 seed.
4^th: Memphis can become the fourth team in American Conference history to defeat the same opponent in its regular-season finale and conference tournament opener. Only three programs have previously done it: Temple (vs. UTSA, 2024), Wichita State (vs. South Florida, 2021) and UCF (vs. East Carolina, 2021).
'08-09: Excluding the COVID-affected 2020-21 season, the last time Memphis defeated the same opponent in consecutive games came in the exact same scenario in 2008-09. The Tigers beat Tulane in their regular-season finale before eliminating the Green Wave again in the C-USA Tournament.
15-9: Memphis owns the most wins in American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament history with a 15-9 all-time record. Eleven of those victories have come under head coach Penny Hardaway since 2018-19.
21.6: Dug McDaniel has averaged 21.6 points over his last five games while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. The senior averaged just 7.2 points on 28.3 percent shooting in the five games prior to that stretch.
42.5: Memphis receives 42.5 percent of its scoring from the bench this season - the 7th-highest share in Division I. If it holds, it would be the highest bench scoring percentage by an American Conference team all-time, surpassing UTSA's 41.5 percent mark from 2023-24.
1987-88: Memphis scored a season-high 96 points in its regular-season finale at Tulane. It marked the Tigers' highest scoring output in a regular-season finale since the 1987-88 season (112 vs. Virginia Tech).

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS:
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