While Memphis was a lock to make the NCAA Tournament even before tipping off in the 2025 American Men’s Basketball Championship, coach Penny Hardaway and the 16th-ranked Tigers got another trophy on the way to Seattle.
PJ Haggerty (6'5''-PG) scored 23 points and Dain Dainja had another double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds as the Tigers beat UAB 84-72 on Sunday to wrap up the tournament after also winning the league’s regular-season title for the first time.
Memphis (29-5) is in the NCAA Tournament for the 29th time, and the third time the past four seasons with the seventh-year coach who as player for the Tigers was part of the 1992 and 1993 tournaments. They are the No. 5 seed in the West Regional, and play Friday against Colorado State (25-9), which has won 10 in a row, at 2 p.m. ET on TBS.
Haggerty put the Tigers ahead of UAB to stay with his tiebreaking bank shot with 16:10 left. The American player of the year later had a 17-second span when he drove the baseline for another shot off the glass, then had a steal that led to his fastbreak ending with a three-point play.
Yaxel Lendeborg (6'9''-F) had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Blazers (22-12), last year’s American tournament champion who had to win the game that ended less than a half-hour before the Selection Show to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Efrem Johnson (6'4''-G-2003) had 17 points.
Lendeborg’s 23rd double-double matched Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud (7'1''-C-2003) for the most this season, but he was worn out after three double-doubles in as many days.
Dainja had his fifth double-double in eight games. Colby Rogers (6'3''-G-2001) added 15 points for Memphis and Moussa Cisse had 14 rebounds.
It was a battle inside all day between 6-foot-9 standouts, and Lendeborg took a slap to the face from Dainja when trying to make a shot early in the second half. The foul was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul and Lendeborg made both free throws to tie the game at 39-all with 16:54 left.
The Blazers maintained possession and Alejandro Vasquez made a go-ahead layup for their last lead. Dainja then had a tying layup before Haggerty put Memphis ahead.

Courtesy of theamerican.org

AAC Final:
Memphis - UAB 84-72
AAC Semifinals:
Memphis - Tulane 78-77
N.Texas - UAB 56-66
AAC Quarterfinals:
Memphis - Wichita St 83-80
N.Texas - Tulsa 77-59
UAB - ECU 94-77
Tulane - FL Atlantic 83-76
AAC Second Round:
FL Atlantic - Charlotte 64-59
ECU - UTSA 70-65
Temple - Tulsa 71-75
Wichita St - S.Florida 73-68
AAC First Round:
Rice - Charlotte 61-64