"We want to send a message to all the top teams": Penny Hardaway makes a bold statement after blowout win vs UAB

The 24th-ranked Memphis Tigers, coached by NBA legend Penny Hardaway, blew out American Athletic Conference foe UAB 100-77 on Sunday. For Hardaway, a former Memphis player, this is the kind of win he expects from his team as it looks to go far in a March Madness appearance this year.

During the postgame news conference, Hardaway detailed what kind of mindset Memphis (16-4, 6-1 AAC) is taking.

"We want to send a message to all the top teams," Hardaway said (Timestamp: 8:51). "Like I said, I respect the voters voting them (UAB) No. 1 because it makes sense, right?

"They have their full team coming back with the exception of two, three guys, and they deserve that because when you return all those starters and players and you win the AAC Tournament, then you get that nod.

"But we have something that we're goal-oriented that we want, and we want to win the conference. So, to win the conference, you got to beat teams like UAB. And, that drove us today."

With Memphis scorching hot in terms of scoring (62.3%, including 52.9% from 3-point range) on Sunday, the message has surely been sent that the Tigers are a force to be reckoned with against their conference opposition.

Junior guard PJ Haggerty led all scorers with 23 points along with six rebounds, nine assists and three steals while senior Dain Dainja produced 21 of his own.

Penny Hardaway details how his team closes out strong whether it's a big or small lead

The Memphis Tigers won on Sunday by an astounding 33 points, but the game was close for the majority of the first half before they outpaced the UAB Blazers in the second period. During the presser, Penny Hardaway shared how his team deals with keeping their leads afloat no matter how big or small they are.

"We look at every four-minute period as a round," Hardaway said (Timestamp: 11:15). "Every four minutes, there's a timeout. So, I'm preaching every timeout, 'We have to win these four minutes.' And, when a team goes on a run, it's like, 'OK, we gave them that four minutes; we can't let them get the next four minutes.

"So, it's 10 four-minute periods to us, not 20-minute halves."

After protecting homecourt, Hardaway's squad will visit the Tulane Green Wave (11-9, 5-2) on Thursday.