PORTLAND, Ore. — The 9-seed Memphis Tigers managed to hold off the 8-seed Boise State Broncos, winning their first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament game since 2014 by a score of 64-53.
At the half, Memphis enjoyed a 38-19 lead, but saw that dwindle to just a five point lead in the second half after not hitting a field goal for nearly seven minutes.
The Tigers held on, and managed to clinch their first tournament win in eight years thanks to clutch buckets from Alex Lomax late in the game.
Senior Deandre Williams led the scoring with 14 points, while Landers Nolley III added 12 points.
Freshman Jalen Duren chipped in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Tigers dominated points in the paint, especially in the first half, and out-rebounded the Broncos 39 to 30.
The Tigers entered their first round matchup with renewed expectations after ending the season on a 12-2 run.
After starting the season ranked in the AP Top-25, the Tigers disappointed in their first 17 games, going 9-8 and seemingly not connecting together as a team.
That all changed when Penny Hardaway let out a now-infamous rant in his January 20 postgame press conference following the Tigers' loss to SMU.
The team gelled after that point, winning nine of their next 10 games to close out the regular season, including two wins over nationally-ranked Houston, and making it all the way to the AAC Tournament championship.
The Tigers will face the winner of 1 seed Gonzaga and 16 seed Georgia State Saturday in Portland.
