Memphis star PJ Haggerty's 1-word admission after NCAA Tournament loss
03/21/2025 08:11 PM
Despite the metrics saying otherwise, Memphis basketball enjoyed one of its most impressive seasons in years. The Tigers beat Missouri, UConn, Michigan State, Clemson and Ole Miss, all of whom are NCAA Tournament teams, and proceeded to breeze through the American Athletic Conference. What appeared to be an auspicious postseason quickly turned into an all too familiar bout of Memphis March melancholy.
Tyrese Hunter suffered a left foot injury in the AAC Tournament and was inactive for Friday’s Round of 64 showdown with Colorado State. The pressure fell on PJ Haggerty and the rest of the team to step up, but a sloppy second half gave way to a 78-70 loss. The Tigers allowed 47 points across the final 20 minutes, succumbing to an unforeseen March meteor shower from guard Kyan Evans, and they committed 16 total turnovers. Without Hunter in at point guard, the offense looked disorganized down the stretch.
Beyond that bad luck, though, Penny Hardaway’s squad just did not execute a successful game plan. Haggerty, who shot 7-of-23 from the field and 1-of-8 from 3-point range, perfectly encapsulated Memphis’ latest NCAA Tournament shortcoming. “Heartbroken,” he said, per The Commercial Appeal’s Jonah Dylan.
Memphis must learn from this NCAA Tournament pitfall
Haggerty averaged 21.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from 3-point range. He logged 36.6 minutes a night and earned AAC Player of the Year honors in his first season with Memphis basketball. The TCU and Tulsa transfer had a rough outing versus Colorado State, but his contributions to the program this year were immense.
And that is why “heartbreaking” is the right word to describe this outcome. The regular season success the Tigers achieved will be overshadowed by another early March Madness exit. Moreover, there is no telling how this roster will shape up for the 2025-26 campaign. PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter could conceivably switch schools again, and Dain Dainja– 22 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and four turnovers on Friday– just finished his college career.
Memphis basketball head coach Penny Hardaway might need to retool once again and figure out how to build strong on-court chemistry in a season’s time. Though, perhaps this latest elimination will serve as the motivation he and the program require to break through on the big stage.
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