Penny Hardaway bears the brunt from fans after Tigers fall apart in OT vs Wichita: "Hasn't come close to winning sh** since he's been at Memphis"

The No. 14 Memphis Tigers, under coach Penny Hardaway, suffered a shock 84-79 overtime loss to the Wichita State Shockers on Sunday evening. It was the Shockers' first win over a ranked opponent since 2021, and it dropped the Tigers to 21-6 for the season ahead of March Madness.

During his postgame news conference, Hardaway praised Wichita State's mentality compared to his own team's during the game.

"Tip your hat to Wichita for doing what they did," Hardaway said. "They came out and fought really hard. Seemed like they wanted the game more than we did, and they got the game."

College basketball fans on X had mixed reactions to the Tigers' upset loss to the Shockers.

Some fans chose to focus on Hardaway's coaching and record over the years.

"Memphis need to go head and move on from Hardaway. He don’t do sh*t over there but lose respectfully," a post read.

"Penny Hardaway is a terrible coach," one fan tweeted.

"100% on Penny Hardaway" another fan tweeted.

"Penny Hardaway hasn’t come close to winning sh*t since he been at Memphis," one fan tweeted.

Penny Hardaway details difficulty of coaching college basketball

Penny Hardaway joined Memphis as coach in March 2018 after his 14-year NBA career, and during an interview with ESPN in January, he detailed the difficulty of coaching college basketball.

"I just thought it was going to be easier because I knew the game," Hardaway said. "I knew the game at a high level ... but what I didn't know is how hard it was going to be to win any game on this level. I was always a preparation guy. I was always an X's and O's guy. I was always a teacher, a developer. But understanding how to win on this level is different."

The Memphis Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament last season after a hot start. They ultimately finished 7-8 after being ranked as high as No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Poll in January. After tallying win No. 150 against South Florida on Friday, Hardaway recapped his coaching journey.

“To have 150 wins six and a half years in—the players that have come, the coaches that have helped me have all been a part of this, man. I’m so thankful,” Hardaway said. “I’ve been faithful to my craft. Even if I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been very faithful, and I worked really hard.”

Hardaway had a storied NBA career that included being an NBA All-Star four times, but in Memphis, he is a legend whose No. 25 jersey was retired in 1994 due to his feats as a player.