Penny Hardaway, Memphis High Mississippi Express to Select NIT Championship Sport

Nineteen years prior to now, John Calipari led Memphis to an NIT championship to kick off the strongest length in college historical past.

Penny Hardaway will hope historical past repeats itself.

Boogie Ellis scored 23 capabilities and D.J. Jeffries added 15 capabilities and 5 blocks off the bench, leading Memphis to a 77-64 rob over Mississippi Express to take the 2021 NIT.

Here is the second NIT title in program historical past, joining the 2002 Calipari squad. The Tigers would create the NCAA tournament in six of the following seven seasons, thanks in fragment to the momentum Calipari created with that NIT urge.

Memphis has not reached the NCAA tournament since 2014, a slide many expected to conclude when Hardaway took over sooner than the 2018-19 season. Then again, James Wiseman’s arrival became all straight away ended final season, and the program hasn’t reasonably recruited on the level some expected with Hardaway leading the fold.

These Tigers reinvented themselves midway via the season, going 10-3 in their final 13 games of the weird and wonderful season to narrowly gallop over the tournament. Two of these three losses came in opposition to Houston, a team that reached the Elite Eight over the weekend.

Memphis carried that momentum to North Texas for the NIT, successful three of its four games by double digits. The undoubtedly shut call became a 3-level victory over Boise Express in the Tigers’ second recreation.

Memphis ran out to a 13-0 urge to open the sport in opposition to Ben Howland’s Mississippi Express team on Sunday, though the Tigers weren’t ready to maintain that lead. The Bulldogs had evened the score at 33 by the destroy sooner than Memphis pulled away with a stellar offensive performance in the second half.

Cameron Matthews led the manner with 19 capabilities for Mississippi Express, which became playing in its first NIT final.