Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Holds Off Boise State to Advance to March Madness 2nd Round

AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer

The No. 9 seed Memphis Tigers defeated the No. 8 seed Boise State Broncos 64-53 in the first round of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament on Thursday at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

DeAndre Williams’ 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting led the Tigers. Jalen Duren added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. 

Memphis led 38-19 at halftime lead and held Boise State to 31.5 percent shooting for the game.

However, the Tigers went cold in the second half. Boise State’s Abu Kigab, who didn’t score before halftime, took advantage and dropped 20 second-half points.

The Broncos sliced the Memphis lead to 58-53 and had a chance to cut the deficit to one possession after Boise State big man Tyson Degenhart grabbed a defensive rebound off a Duren miss with 55 seconds left.

However, Memphis guard Alex Lomax swiped at the ball, and Duren grabbed possession before making a layup for a 60-53 advantage. Memphis took control from there en route to the 11-point win.

This marked the first time that Memphis head coach and Orlando Magic legend Penny Hardaway led the Tigers in the NCAA tournament. He’s guided Memphis to four straight 20-win seasons during his tenure, which began in 2018.

Boise State made its return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015.

Notable Performances

Memphis F DeAndre Williams: 14 points, 5 rebounds

Memphis C Jalen Duren: 10 points, 11 rebounds

Memphis G Alex Lomax: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Boise State F Abu Kigab: 20 points, 2 steals

Boise State F Mladen Armus: 3 points, 11 rebounds

Boise State F Tyson Degenhart: 8 points, 4 rebounds

What’s Next?

Memphis will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 16 seed Georgia State Panthers.

That second-round game will go down on Saturday in Portland at a to-be-determined time.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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