MEMPHIS, Tenn. — During their COVID-19 pause, Tigers men's basketball did all they could to stay in shape.
With the facilities closed, players like Moussa Cisse and Boogie Ellis were limited to running laps in the snow before practice resumed February 20.
"Practice was pretty crazy, because we hadn't touched the basketballs or did anything really," Ellis said. "So we got a lot of rust off in those two-to-three days."
In the Tigers first game back against Tulane, Coach Penny Hardaway subbed players at a higher-than-normal rate to help ease his team back into game speed, resulting in a 61-46 victory over the Green Wave.
"We have a lot of confidence," Deandre Williams said postgame. "We have a lot of players that can do a lot of things. We're a tournament team, and that's what we're trying to make happen."
To help claw inside the bubble, Memphis is hoping to re-add at least one of their two high-profile, Quad 1 matchups at Houston and at Wichita State that were postponed during the COVID-19 pause.
"Whoever we they put in front of us, we're just going to play. If that's Houston, that is a huge challenge for us, because I feel like they're the top team in the conference. I feel like we need to go against that just to see where we're at, and I'm looking forward to that. If it's Houston, then we're excited."
If Memphis is unable to bolster their resume or win the conference tournament, there is another way the Tigers could still dance this year.
The NCAA is making a wait list of the first few teams that did not make the NCAA Tournament in the event one of the 68-qualifying teams is forced to drop out due to COVID-19 issues. The wait list team would replace the team dropping out in their place in the bracket, regardless of seeding.