One of the teams that many people thought got over-seeded on Selection Sunday was Memphis basketball. Memphis swept the regular season and tournament titles in the AAC and finished with a 29-5 record, but there were plenty of arguments for Penny Hardaway’s squad to be a seed line or two lower because of some lackluster metrics.
Memphis’ reward for a No. 5 seed is not an enviable one. It will take on Colorado State, one of the hottest teams in the country after winning the Mountain West Tournament, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to the tough matchup, the Tigers may be missing one of their best players.
Starting point guard Tyrese Hunter went down with a foot injury in Memphis’ AAC semifinal against Tulane on Saturday. He did not play in the conference title game and Hardaway said that he is questionable for the clash against Colorado State, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
A questionable status might actually be a sigh of relief for Memphis fans given the visual on Sunday. Hunter sat on the bench during Memphis’ win over UAB to win the AAC Championship with a walking boot on after entering the arena on crutches. That being said, him being questionable to go for a game just five days later is a positive sign.
Hunter suffered the injury in unfortunate fashion. He was backpedaling to go back on defense in the game against Tulane and stepped on his own teammate’s foot, causing the injury. He did not return to that game after the incident.
Hunter is one of this Memphis basketball team’s best players, so its chances of advancing will be severely diminished if he is out. For the season, he is the third-leading scorer on the team with 13.7 points per game and also notches 3.6 assists a night.
Hunter also helps set the table for PJ Haggerty, who is the AAC Player of the Year and one of the best scorers in the nation, filling it up to the tune of 21.8 points per game. Haggerty scored 42 points in the quarterfinals against Wichita State, but he shot just 10-for-35 in the final two games of the tournament where Hunter was either limited or out.
The post Memphis’ Penny Hardaway gives Tyrese Hunter injury update before NCAA Tournament appeared first on ClutchPoints.
