Memphis basketball is a champion on the best day yet in the Penny Hardaway era | Giannotto

FORT WORTH, Texas — Damaria Franklin threw the ball into the air, the confetti fell from the rafters, and the Memphis basketball players danced on stage to "Whoop That Trick."

Second-seeded Memphis (26-8) had taken out the best team in the country, beating No. 1 Houston, 75-65, in the American Athletic Conference Tournament championship game on Sunday. The Tigers are headed back to March Madness for the second year in a row, thanks to the greatest day yet in the Penny Hardaway era.

The college basketball world at large will tell you that these conference tournaments don't matter anymore, that winning this title won't do anything for the Tigers' seed in the NCAA Tournament. That may well be accurate for other programs, however misguided it is to completely discount a game as intense as the one that played out at Dickies Arena.

That, though, is not the case for these Tigers. Not after the odyssey that led this program to hire Hardaway five years ago, and the topsy-turvy journey that ensued during the five years since.

Hardaway has overcome NCAA investigations and five-star recruits that didn't pan out as planned and locker room turmoil and, sure, some mistakes of his own doing. But he came out on the other end with a roster that's as lovable as any this school has produced in years, a roster with two stars capable of dragging Memphis to places it hasn't been in too long and a supporting cast that doesn't mind doing the dirty work in the background.

This was undeniable proof for all those doubters who said Hardaway can only recruit and can't coach.

It was obvious basically from the moment the ball was tipped how badly Memphis wanted this title.

Yes, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson elected not to use AAC player of the year Marcus Sasser after he suffered a groin injury in Saturday’s semifinals. But, as Hardaway pointed out during his halftime interview with ESPN, Memphis didn’t have star player Kendric Davis when it lost at Houston last month.

“It is what it is,” he declared, and what this initially turned into was an exhibition of how dangerous these Tigers have become.

DeAndre Williams came out like a man possessed and soon Davis was equally effective, eventually breaking the conference tournament scoring record. They were two Houston natives willing Memphis past their hometown team, and their teammates followed suit.

Chandler Lawson was out-working bigger Houston players for rebounds and Lomax was a whirling dervish on defense once more, the most active he has looked since returning from his own groin injury.

This was an entire program rising to the occasion, and a team serving notice to the college basketball world of the damage it’s capable of inflicting in the NCAA Tournament.

Then came the sequence when Sampson had to look away.

Davis pulled up for the first 3-pointer, the hand of Houston’s Emanuel Sharp in his face, and drained it. Then out of nowhere came Alex Lomax, a steal that happened so fast Davis had to double back from halfcourt.

But Davis was open this time, and as he released the ball Sampson couldn’t watch anymore.

At that moment, when that second 3-pointer in 11 seconds splashed through the net, Houston (31-3) faced its largest deficit of the season.

At that moment, Davis screamed like never before and Lomax skipped around the court with glee.

At that moment, the giddy and glorious ending seemed preordained.

But championships are never easy to win, especially ones 10 years in the making.

That’s how long it had been since Memphis won a conference tournament title. That’s how long, at times, the second half felt as the Tigers tried to hold when Houston came roaring back.

Memphis scored just nine points in the opening nine minutes after halftime, going 8:11 without a field goal at one point. The lead dwindled to five points as the tempo slowed and Houston’s trademark toughness and defense thwarted the Tigers’ momentum.

But then this team full of seniors, this team Hardaway put together because he wanted a group that could come together for moments just like this one, showed it would not be denied.

Lomax started knifing inside Houston's defense, and then came up with that stabilizing steal, the one he punctuated with an and-1 layup and a demonstration of how much manhood he has stuffed inside that 6-foot frame of his. Yes, that injured groin is feeling better these days.

Williams then rose up and snatched an offensive rebound from three Houston players and suddenly the Memphis lead was back to 15.

Suddenly, there was a celebration in sight again. Memphis was a champion again.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis is a champion after the best day yet in the Penny Hardaway era