“Penny Hardaway just beat Dan Hurley and Tom Izzo”: College hoops fans react as Memphis fly high in Maui Invitational

Fans reacted as Penny Hardaway's Memphis Tigers took down two heavyweights in the Maui Invitational — Dan Hurley's UConn in the first round and Tom Izzo's Michigan State in the semifinals — advancing to the championship game.

College basketball fans were impressed with Memphis's miracle run in Maui and hyped up Hardaway's squad on social media. Here are some of the reactions:

"Penny Hardaway just beat Dan Hurley and Tom Izzo," one tweeted.

"Dan hurley ✅ tom izzo ✅ back to back big time wins for penny. memphis maui champs otw?" another fan wrote, adding a fire and a trophy emoji.

"Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Memphis’ trip to Maui is a success. 2 wins that should hold up in March. Tigers defeat Michigan State," a fan said.

"Well, completely missed on @Memphis_MBB . The Tigers are legit and @AP_Top25 team," one X user added.

Here are some more reactions:

"Memphis Tigers upset No. 2 UConn. Penny Hardaway coaching masterclass. Memphis, let’s freakin go y’all," a fan wrote.

"When Memphis is allowed to play big boy basketball, we compete with any team in the country," another fan tweeted.

The Tigers beat No. 2 UConn 99-97 in overtime on Monday after the scores were tied at 82-82 at the end of regulation.

The next night, Memphis took down the Michigan State Spartans 71-63 to advance to the Maui Invitational championship game, where they face the Aurbun Tigers on Wednesday.

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Penny Hardaway says win over UConn is the biggest of his coaching career

Penny Hardaway, a seventh-year coach at the University of Memphis, guided his unranked Tigers to the final of the 2024 Maui Invitational. They extended their perfect start to the season with six wins after beating UConn and Michigan State in Hawaii.

The 99-97 victory over the defending champion was especially rewarding for Hardaway, who claimed it was the biggest win of his career thus far.

"What an unbelievable opportunity to be able to play the back-to-back national champions and then also win the game. So big for our city, for our school," Penny said postgame.

"I'm actually not taking any of this for granted because I know how hard it is to win and especially beat a team like that," he added. "I’m so excited for our university and the city more so than anything because we need more positivity."

The Memphis Tigers are atop the standings of the American Athletic Conference with a 6-0 record.