FORT WORTH, Texas — Memphis basketball star Dain Dainja barreled his way toward the basket and put up a shot.

Standing in his way was Tulane’s Percy Daniels, whose defense sent the Tigers’ big man falling to the floor at Dickies Arena.

The shot fell and the referee’s whistle blew. Dainja reclined on the floor, stuck his tongue out and flexed his muscles toward the rafters. He knocked down the subsequent free throw as Daniels (who fouled out on the play) found his seat on the Green Wave bench.

It was that kind of day for Dainja, who — as teammate and fellow All-AAC first-teamer PJ Haggerty did the day before — carried Memphis (28-5) to a 78-77 win Saturday over Tulane (19-14) to advance to the AAC tournament championship.

Dainja finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Haggerty came on strong late, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half, 12 of them coming via free throws (eight in the final 40 seconds).

The 17th-ranked and top-seeded Tigers will face the North Texas vs. UAB winner Sunday (2:15 p.m. CT, ESPN).

"To my guys, I'm super proud of them, because we hit adversity today," Hardaway said after the game. "And we withstood the storm. Dain, unbelievable job all day. Man, what a phenomenal game from him."

As big as Dainja’s performance was, it was a pair of defensive plays by Moussa Cisse and Haggerty that sealed the win. Cisse blocked a Rowan Brumbaugh shot with 26.5 seconds left. Had it gone down, it would’ve given the Green Wave a one-point lead. Then, Haggerty poked the ball loose enough to wrestle possession away from Brumbaugh on the ensuing inbounds play. Haggerty called timeout, then got fouled and hit both free throws to put the Tigers up 74-71 with 16 seconds to play.

Cisse also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks.

The only potential drawback from Saturday's game is that all-conference first-team guard Tyrese Hunter left the game early in the second half with a left foot injury. After spending a while in the locker room, Hunter finished the game on the bench, sporting a walking boot.

Following the game, Hardaway did not have an update on Hunter's status. But he said he would not let the injury cast a pall over the victory.

"It's sweet (the win)," he said. "It's all the way around sweet, man. Because we're going to take advantage of our good play. We feel like we put ourselves in position. Things happen in a game. We don't know what's going with Tyrese, so hopefully it's not for the worse. But I'm happy for these guys, because they've been working so hard for these moments."

Here are three gut reactions from the win over Tulane.

Dain Dainja is Penny Hardaway’s most important player

Haggerty is the superstar. Tyrese Hunter is the tried-and-true leader. Colby Rogers is the X-factor, and Cisse and PJ Carter are the invaluable depth pieces.

But Dainja is the most important Tigers player there is this season.

The unanimous first-team all-conference selection and the AAC’s Newcomer of the Year is the key that unlocks the highest reaches of Memphis’ destiny. Without Dainja — or without him at his most effective — the team is still capable of big things. With him, though, the ceiling can elevate multiple levels.

He was never questionable to play against Tulane, but there were doubts that he would be 100%, considering his right shoulder got “a little banged-up” during Friday’s win over Wichita State .

The way he played in the first half against Tulane fairly definitely quelled those concerns. As he has for much of the past two months, Dainja dominated early on: 13 points, five rebounds, two steals.

Dainja is a safety valve. A one-man slump buster. A run stopper.

Dainja is a game changer.

Does Memphis basketball have a 3-point shooting problem?

Much to even the most ardent Tigers fans’ pleasant surprise, Memphis was one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the country all season.

Having spent most of the past four months slotted somewhere in the top five in the country, things have dipped on that front lately.

In six of their past seven games, including against Tulane, the Tigers have made five or fewer triples. They shot 5-for-23 on Saturday (22%).

Memphis’ shot-making ability was a big part of the team’s success this season.

Health the only thing that can stop these Tigers

First, backup guard Dante Harris sprained his left ankle during the next-to-last game of the regular season.

Then, Dainja’s right shoulder became an issue to monitor.

Now Hunter’s left foot is a problem — potentially a big one, depending on the severity of the injury.

Memphis has the talent to play with anyone in the country. The question is, can it hold up?

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected], follow him @munzly on X, and sign up for the Memphis Basketball Insider text group.