FORT WORTH, Texas — Memphis basketball beat Tulane on Saturday, but there's plenty of uncertainty because of what appears to be a serious injury to starting point guard Tyrese Hunter. Hunter left Memphis' 78-77 AAC semifinal win over Tulane early in the second half and went back to the locker room. He emerged with a walking boot on his left foot and did not return to the game. "We don't know what's going on with Tyrese," coach Penny Hardaway said postgame. "So hopefully it's not for the worst." Hunter has been Memphis' floor general this year and had been a massive part of a team that won the AAC regular-season championship and is poised to go back to the NCAA tournament after missing it last season. Hunter, a senior transfer, had been a starter at both Iowa State and Texas. He has more NCAA tournament experience than anyone else on the Memphis roster. The Tigers eked past the Green Wave on Saturday thanks to double-doubles from Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse and last-minute heroics from PJ Haggerty, who scored 10 points in the game's final 1:03 and created a critical turnover to help the Tigers seal the win. And they did it without Hunter for the final minutes. "Our team is built one through 13 to be ready to play and be ready for war," Hardaway said. "So when one guy goes down, the next guy's going to step up."
Where Memphis goes without Tyrese Hunter
Hunter came in to Saturday's game averaging 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season. His impact goes well beyond those stats — he has been Memphis' floor general and has come up with critical shots down the stretch, from wins against UConn and Michigan State in the Maui Invitational to Friday's AAC quarterfinal win over Wichita State. The Tigers were already shorthanded at guard because Dante Harris suffered an ankle injury on March 4 and has not played since. Freshman guard Jared Harris has played sparingly, but he could be called into action if Hardaway runs out of options. Hardaway can also shift some lineups around and lean more on Haggerty as a primary ballhandler. That could mean more minutes for PJ Carter, too. Carter scored nine points in 23 minutes on Saturday. Another obvious candidate for more minutes is guard Baraka Okojie, who played 17 minutes against Tulane and has impressed at times this season with his defense. He scored two points on Friday. Assuming Hunter — who left the court on Saturday on crutches — can't play Sunday, Carter or Okojie would be the two clear options to replace him in the starting lineup. Neither has started a game this season. "Obviously, the concern is foul trouble," Hardaway said. "If you get into foul trouble, who do you go to? But at the end of the day, we have other guys that can substitute in and play the point guard. We're well-equipped. Dain can bring the ball up the floor and run the offense through the five-out. We'll make the adjustments, and the guys that are on the bench are going to be ready to play."
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