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The Memphis Tigers won a marquee matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels 87-70 on Saturday. The victory gave the Penny Hardaway-coached squad 10th win of the 2024-25 season to open their games after the holiday break.
During the post-game press conference, the former NBA star revealed to the media that he made his players do unorthodox practice methods on Christmas night that emulated the kind of drills he would do as a player.
"We started off with 17's (sprints), the first day, Christmas night. We ran and ran and ran like the old school coaches used to do us ... it could have been punishment running because I just wasn't going to have anything other than us being in shape, ready to run," Hardaway said. (Timestamp 4:15)
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"It was all about hitting and physicality this week. It was nothing easy. If it was something easy, guys got kicked off the floor and we started over. That was old-school. It was choice words all week for a lot of guys getting ready for this game."
The hard practice session paid off for the Memphis Tigers, winning against a gutsy squad by double digits, with fifth-year guard Colby Rogers leading the way with 28 points, four rebounds and a block.
Star scorer PJ Haggerty pitched in 17 points of his own, along with seven rebounds, six assists and a steal, while big man Moussa Cisse chipped in a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards.
Memphis looked tremendously prepared to take down Ole Miss on Saturday and will have an opportunity to continue that momentum against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday, Jan. 2.
Penny Hardaway shares that he was hardest on Memphis after Bulldogs loss
Before the win against the Rebels, the Tigers suffered a lackluster 79-66 defeat at the hands of the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Dec. 21.
Penny Hardaway shared in the press conference that he was tremendously challenging on his players as he wanted them to learn from the loss.
"I was as hard on them that I've ever been all year. It was a no nonsense locker room and in-court all week. I just wasn't going to have it again because this city supports us," he explained. (1:20)
Now with win No. 10 in the books, Penny Hardaway hopes that his squad can continue to stay motivated as ACC games come up next.
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