It's time for Memphis basketball to blow things up after most recent disaster

The Tigers must reset things this offseason as the year continues to be an unmitigated disaster

Feb 22, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis basketball Head Coach Penny Hardaway looks on during the first half against the UAB Blazers at FedExForum. / Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

It’s hard to move on from a program legend. All the equity that has been built up over several outstanding seasons as a player could be tossed away after a handful of disappointing years as a head coach, but it feels like it’s necessary in Memphis.

This season has been an unmitigated disaster for the Tigers and head coach Penny Hardaway and it’s not getting better.

Memphis lost on Sunday afternoon at home to UAB, 78-67, for its fourth straight defeat. It was another somber press conference for Hardaway, who got emotional after his team’s loss on Thursday against South Florida.

It didn’t take long for the season to go off the rails for the Tigers, beginning its year 1-4 and later falling to 4-7. After getting above .500 with wins in five of six games beginning conference play, things torpedoed again.

Since January 21, Memphis has dropped seven of ten games and cemented its only path to the NCAA Tournament by winning the AAC Tournament – if you were one of the very few that still held out hope for an at-large bid.

There have been several incidents this season where he has suspended or fined players. Just days before its season opener Hardaway admitted that the team just started to install its offensive and defensive strategies and it has shown throughout the season.

The Tigers were the overwhelming favorite to win the AAC in the league’s preseason poll and currently sit in 8th place, likely to play on the first day of the conference tournament needing to win five games in five days to win the title.

Other programs have said farewell to an iconic figure of its program in recent years like Chris Mullin at St. John’s and Patrick Ewing at Georgetown. The immediate replacements for both schools have not fared well.

The Red Storm fired Mike Anderson after four seasons before striking gold with Rick Pitino and things have gone disastrous for Ed Cooley with the Hoyas.

Memphis is in a much better spot then prior to Penny Hardaway’s arrival spanning four straight seasons of missing the NCAA Tournament under Josh Pastner and Tubby Smith, despite several scandals around the program, but barring a run in the postseason it’ll be missing two of three tournaments in a mid-major conference with a ton of talent on paper.

It’s will not be an easy decision for the decision makers at the school, but it might be a time for a reset of its basketball program.