Memphis Heads to Tulane with Tournament Spot on the Line

Sunday, March 8

New Orleans, La.

1:00 PM

University of Memphis

Tulane

Memphis Heads to Tulane with Tournament Spot on the Line

Mar 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – There are no scenarios to debate, no standings charts to study and no scoreboard watching required - at least not if Memphis takes care of its own business.

For the Tigers, the equation entering Sunday is simple: win and keep the season alive.

Memphis closes the regular season with a trip to Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse to face the Tulane Green Wave on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+. A victory would lock the Tigers into the 10-team field for next week's American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in Birmingham.

After a seven-game losing streak pushed Memphis (12-18, 7-10 American Conference) to the edge of the postseason picture, the Tigers still control their own fate entering the final weekend.

A win would give Memphis its eighth league victory and eliminate the possibility of being caught by East Carolina in the standings. Lose, and the Tigers would need help, specifically an East Carolina loss at UAB later Sunday.

Following Thursday's 96-89 defeat to league champion South Florida at FedExForum, head coach Penny Hardaway made it clear his team cannot afford to rely on outside results.

Memphis showed flashes of the urgency it will need in the finale. Senior guard Zach Davis delivered his most complete outing in nearly three months against South Florida, finishing with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.

If Davis can build on that effort, it could provide a lift for a Memphis team searching for stability late in the season.

The challenge awaiting the Tigers is a familiar one. Tulane (17-13, 8-9 American) has proven a difficult matchup for Memphis under Hardaway, particularly in New Orleans. The Tigers have just one victory at Devlin Fieldhouse in the last four seasons.

The Green Wave also claimed the first meeting this season. On Feb. 1 at FedExForum, preseason conference player of the year Rowan Brumbaugh drove the length of the floor and scored the go-ahead layup with six seconds remaining to give Tulane a 78-76 win. Memphis never got a shot off on its final possession.

Brumbaugh leads the Green Wave at 18.0 points per game, the American's third-leading scorer.

Tulane enters Sunday on a three-game losing streak, including an 89-60 defeat at Temple earlier this week, but the Green Wave remain firmly in the conference tournament field.

For Memphis, the objective is far more basic.

The Tigers' hopes of salvaging something from a turbulent season come down to one final afternoon in New Orleans. Win, and the season continues. Lose, and Memphis will spend the rest of Sunday watching scoreboards and hoping for help.

At this point, the Tigers would prefer not to leave anything to chance.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (12-18, 7-10 American) at Tulane Green Wave (17-13, 8-9 American)
Sunday, March 8, 2026 | 1 p.m.
Fogelman Arena (4,000); New Orleans, La.
Television: ESPN+ (Jack Benjamin, pxp; Nobal Days, analyst)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Ken Moody, analyst)

BY THE NUMBERS

2: Dug McDaniel is two points away from becoming the seventh active Division I player with 1,500 career points and 500 assists.
9.8: Julius Thedford is averaging 9.8 rebounds per 40 minutes, the second-best mark among American Conference guards. Thedford would be the third Memphis guard this century to have a double-figure average along with D.J. Stephens (11.2 in 2012-13) and Trahson Burrell (10.4 in 2015-16).
11.7: Sincere Parker is averaging 11.7 points per game off the bench, the seventh-highest average in American Conference history. His 16 double-figure scoring games off the bench this season are tied for the 10th-most in a single season in conference history.
29.9: Memphis opponents are shooting just 29.0 percent from three this season, a figure that would mark the lowest allowed by an American Conference team since Houston held teams to 27.9 percent in 2022-23.
31.1%: Since Penny Hardaway took over in 2018-19, Memphis has held opponents to just 31.1 percent from three-point range, the fourth-best mark among Division I programs in that stretch. Only Houston (29.2%), Tennessee (30.9%) and VCU (31.0%) have allowed a lower percentage in that span.
33-1: Over the last three seasons, Memphis is 33-1 (.971) when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer, the seventh-best mark in Division I in that span (minimum 10 games). The loss was against Wake Forest (Nov. 21, 2025) after the Deamon Deacons hit a buzzer beater three-pointer to win 69-68.
35-5: Memphis fell to just 35-5 under Coach Hardaway when the Tigers score 89 points or more, after dropping Thursday's contest with South Florida, 96-89.The Tigers had won 16-straight such games prior to the defeat, the last loss coming against Tulane (90-89, OT) on Feb. 4, 2023.

SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE

Tulane suffered its third consecutive loss on Thursday falling 89-60 on the road at Temple.
The Green Wave have been outscored by 30.3 points over this stretch (89.7 to 59.3) and are only shooting 37.3 percent, compared to 48.9 percent from the opposition.
Tulane is 10-7 at home this season, where its lost five of its last seven. The only wins since Jan. 4 are against Wichita State (Feb. 8) and Rice (Feb. 22).
The Green Wave's offense ranks just 10^th in the American, averaging 71.8 points, while the scoring defense is ninth (75.1). They shoot 42.6 percent from the floor (10^th) and allow their foes to shoot 44.0 percent (8^th).
Despite the three-game skid, Tulane still has one of the league's most dangerous scorers in Rowan Brumbaugh, the preseason American Conference Player of the Year.
Brumbaugh ranks third in the league at 18.0 points per game and is shooting 33.3% from three. He's scored 15+ points in 21-of-30 games this season and his 27 points at Memphis earlier this season is his most since the calendar flipped to February.
Asher Woods (12.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG) and Curtis Williams Jr. (12.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG) are the second and third leading scorers for Tulane.
One of the Green Wave's strengths is getting to the free throw line, where they're 30th in Division I with 18.1 charity stripe makes per outing and second in the American in free throw percentage (75.8).
Brumbaugh sits 18th in the country with 174 made free throws in 218 attempts.
Tulane ranks in the bottom 20 of the country in rebounding (30.9) and is getting outrebounded by 7.8 boards per game.

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