Just three months ago, the Memphis Tigers went toe-to-toe with then-No.8 Oklahoma.
While Memphis lost 85-78, enthusiasm around the program returned, if only for a brief moment.
However, the Tigers failed to build off that performance and have since lost to the three worst teams in the American Athletic Conference (East Carolina, Tulane and South Florida).
The Tigers are currently 15-12, having dropped seven of its last 10 games, and own a putrid 6-8 record in the AAC. Memphis is ranked 153rd in RPI, the Tennessee Volunteers, which are 13-14 this season, are ranked 36 spots ahead of Pastner’s squad.
In addition, Memphis basketball coach Josh Pastner has one notable win this season, a home win against Cincinnati, and the Tigers nearly blew a 15-point halftime lead in that game too.
On Monday, Christian Glazer, a disgruntled Tigers’ fan, created a GoFundMe page to raise the remaining $10.6 million on Pastner’s contract. As of Monday afternoon, Glazer has raised $465. Another sign of how this season has gone completely off the rails.
A rare positive is Pastner has avoided dropping three games in a row for the first time in his coaching career, a feat he’s accomplished three times this season.
And what’s happened after the Tigers have ended three two-game losing streaks? After Memphis defeated UCF 97-86 Jan. 26, they were blown out by then-No.13 SMU and humiliated at FedExForum by UConn.
Following their second loss to UConn this season, Memphis responded with a win against Cincinnati Feb. 6, as mentioned above its best RPI win in 2015-16. They followed the win with road losses to Houston and Tulane.
Pastner’s squad ended its most recent two-game skid with a home win against UCF Wednesday, but then lost against a six-win USF team Saturday.
Nevertheless, the fact Memphis was in this position three times already is not promising. Especially given the fact Memphis hasn’t won back-to-back games since January. And with the conference tournament in a few weeks, the Tigers will probably have to win three games in three days to earn a NCAA Tournament bid. This isn’t exactly a recipe for success.
The losses have had numerous affects on all parties involved. Pastner’s job security dwindles by the day, the players’ effort has been questioned – especially after the loss to USF – and the fans have tuned out this basketball team.
Turnstile numbers have become a prominent topic of late, and that’s not good news for the university. If the Tigers don’t average 6,812 fans per game for its final two home games against No. 21 SMU and Tulsa, on senior night, Memphis will not receive any of the $800,000 annual payment from the Memphis Grizzlies.
While we can argue all day about how loyal Memphis basketball are, the point is you have to keep those fans happy. That’s how you build a successful program. Some may not want to hear this, but the majority of people generally would rather find other things to do than watch a mediocre basketball team. Maybe they’re not loyal fans, but that’s not the real problem with Tiger basketball.
The real problem here is that the past two years Memphis basketball has not won enough games. The Tigers are in real danger of missing the NIT for the second consecutive season. Before last season, the Tigers hadn’t missed the postseason since 2000.
That’s not going to help bring those fans in through FedExForum for the final two home games.
Even positives from this season, like frontcourt duo Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson have had its faults ranging from bonehead plays to month-long shooting slumps. The guard play, which at first seemed improved from last season, has stagnated on offense and defense. This team is well on course to finish with a lower record that last year’s team.
And if that turns out to be the case combined with a failure to win the AAC Tournament, the Pastner era will soon come to a pricy end.
Memphis Tigers’ basketball coach Josh Pastner in action last season. The Tigers are just 33-26 over the past two seasons.
