Memphis basketball vs. Murray State: Scouting report and score prediction

"The time is now."

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway made many statements Monday on his weekly radio show. But that one carries as much weight as any of them.

The Tigers (5-3) are in trouble. They've lost three games in a row — all on the road – and, by all accounts, the locker room is fractured. Following last week's loss at Ole Miss, Hardaway painted a picture of a "tug-of-war inside our locker room for who's the man." The next day, he posted a plea for prayers for his team on Instagram.

Then, on Monday, Hardaway illustrated the importance of unity as Memphis gets set to take on Murray State (7 p.m. Friday, ESPN+) before welcoming No. 9 Alabama to FedExForum (8 p.m. Dec. 14) and facing No. 14 Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville (11 a.m. Dec. 18).

"We have to take care of our own business," Hardaway said. "We still have two games left that we can win that can carry us into our conference (play). But, we're locked in and focused on Murray State right now. We're not gonna overlook them. We've had some things going on and we really need to come together. As the leader, I'm ready to rock and roll."

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Here is what else you need to know about the Tigers' matchup versus Murray State:

Penny Hardaway: No plans to shorten rotation

One of the hallmarks of Hardaway's tenure, now in its fourth season, has been his affinity for shuffling players in and out of games in relatively rapid succession. Last time out, he used nine players before the first media timeout. All 11 players who got playing time against Ole Miss were inserted into the game before it was eight minutes old.

Despite conventional wisdom and Hardaway's own words — "You can’t play 12 to 14 guys. It just can’t happen if you’re trying to give your core group a chance to go out there and be dominant," he said after an exhibition — he doesn't seem willing to change.

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On Monday, Hardaway detailed the rationale behind his frenetic substitution patterns in recent games.

“I mean, you’re trying to search now for the guys that have the right heart, that want to go out there and play together and play for one another and not have any agendas and just do it for the name on the front (of the jersey),” he said.

Even if all that is behind them now, the shuffle will continue. Hardaway admitted he's gotten away from his bread-and-butter defensive approach. He plans to get back to it but doing so requires increased substitution.

“Well, honestly, nobody can play the entire game,” he said. “And the way we want to play, we’re gonna get back to that smash-mouth, pressing and getting after people like I’ve done before. We didn’t press the last three games. That’s not me. I’ve gotta get back to being me. And when you press that hard, you play that hard, you’ve gotta sub, you know what I mean?

"Our strength is really in our numbers."

Hardaway on Tigers' refusal to stop freelancing

Despite only one team in the country having more turnovers per game than the Tigers (19.1), they can play without coughing it up at such a high rate. In its win over Virginia Tech, Memphis committed 14 turnovers. In the loss to Georgia, only 11.

In the games immediately following those two, the Tigers had 22 and 20 turnovers, respectively.

Why?

“Guys took more chances instead of just running the offense,” Hardaway said. “Guys just breaking the offense to do individual things. You just have to continue to move the ball from side to side and do the right thing. We’ve been faltering in that. But we have a full week of practice to continue to drill it into the guys’ heads. ‘Just make the hockey assist. You don’t have to make every play.’”

If Memphis is going to improve its turnover rate, it won't be easy Friday. Murray State ranks 83rd in the nation in turnovers forced per game (15.5).

Murray State scouting report

The Racers (7-1) have won four straight after losing their only game of the season to East Tennessee State on a neutral court.

Murray State has an explosive offense, ranked 23rd in the country with 83.4 points per game. Memphis has played only one other team (Saint Louis) so far this season ranked in the top 50 in scoring offense. The Tigers held the Billikens to 74 points in a 90-74 win on Nov. 16.

The Racers are led by juniors KJ Williams (18 ppg) and Tevin Brown (17.9 ppg). Williams, a 6-foot-10 Cleveland, Mississippi, native, also leads the team in rebounding (7.3). Earlier this season, Williams passed Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant on the school's all-time scoring list.

Score prediction

Memphis 72, Murray State 66: It's still not going to be pretty. But, the Tigers won't lose.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball vs. Murray State: Scouting report and score prediction