It wasn’t pretty, but the Memphis Tigers are off to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Making their first appearance in the tournament since 2014, the Tigers nearly blew a 19-point lead, ultimately fending off the eighth-seeded Boise State Broncos 64-53.
Following a dominating 38-19 first-half performance, Memphis went through a six-minute scoreless stretch in the second, as its nearly insurmountable lead was cut to five with just over a minute remaining.
Tigers point guard Alex Lomax, compromised by an ankle injury suffered in the first half, poked the ball loose from Broncos forward Lukas Milner after a missed layup by Memphis’ Jalen Duren. Duren pounced on the loose ball and laid it back in to extend the Tigers’ lead to seven. Penny Hardaway’s squad would go on to hold off the game Broncos, covering FanDuel Sportsbook’s -3.5 spread.
Memphis will face the winner of top-seeded Gonzaga and No. 16 Georgia State in the round of 32 on Saturday.
You can still wager on Georgia State/Gonzaga as FanDuel Sportsbook has the live lines.
