Penny Hardaway Saves His Job With Shocking Upset Over No. 18 Iowa State

Penny Hardaway walked into the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on a night that felt heavier than a season opener should.

The Memphis head coach had heard the noise.

His seat was warm.

Maybe hot. Another slow start in a program that has struggled to turn talent into consistent results, and the questions would only get louder.

Then the Tigers tipped off against No. 18 Iowa State, and something shifted.

Memphis left the court with an 80-76 victory, an early-season upset that gave Hardaway something he desperately needed: a statement.

Jayden Reid made sure of it.

The 5-foot-11 guard scored 26 points, including Memphis' final 11 in a tense closing stretch that could have gone either way.

Iowa State erased a seven-point deficit late in the second half and tied the game at 69 with 3:02 remaining.

That is where seasons start to crack.

Reid scored the next four points to regain the lead.

After the Cyclones pulled within two, Reid answered with a layup that made it 75-71 with 1:10 left.

Iowa State's Jaquan Johnson made two free throws to cut the margin back to two.

Reid responded again, burying a three-pointer with 38 seconds remaining to give Memphis a 78-73 advantage.

His two free throws with 20 seconds left completed the Tigers' scoring.

He finished six of 11 from the field, two of two from three-point range and made 12 of 14 free throws.

That variety matters.

A guard who can create points without depending entirely on jump shots gives an offense more ways to survive difficult stretches.

Drawing fouls pressures the opposing rotation, slows the game and produces opportunities that do not require another contested field goal.

It also comes with a responsibility: convert the free throws.

Reid did that well enough to make his aggression productive.

But he did not do it alone.

Luke Almodovar supplied 18 points and eight rebounds, including a buzzer-beating dunk at the end of the first half that sent Memphis into the locker room with a 40-39 lead.

The play began after Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey, a three-time All-Big 12 guard, put the Cyclones up 39-38 with a tip-in on an out-of-bounds play that started with 0.4 seconds on the shot clock.

Hardaway called a timeout.

He drew up a play that Almodovar ran "to perfection" — a left-handed jam over Iowa State center Blake Buchanan as the buzzer sounded, sending a hush over the thousands of Cyclones fans in the building.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh," Hardaway said as he smiled, leaned back in his chair and shook his head during his postgame press conference.

"First, it was the tip by Lipsey with 0.4 (seconds) that pissed us off. Then, to call a timeout, then draw the play up, then Luke ran it to perfection, then Corneilous (Williams) wedged the guy out."

"For (Almodovar) to dunk it over both of them . . . it's amazing. He's about the city. He's a tough kid."

Almodovar described a "hectic" scene in the locker room at halftime.

"I mean, it was good for us to have that type of play going into halftime for momentum purposes," he said.

"I mean, we came in here knowing we were going to win, so that sort of moment kind of pushed us through to start the second half."

Rihards Vavers added 15 points and five rebounds.

After missing his first three three-point attempts of the game, he made three of four after halftime.

Tylik Weeks contributed eight points and four assists before fouling out with a minute left.

Corneilous Williams supplied six points and eight rebounds off the bench, including six offensive rebounds.

His production helped Memphis navigate its first game without starting center Nemanja Popović.

On Monday, Memphis announced that the NCAA had denied Popović's appeal of a six-game withholding period stemming from his previous international competition.

He retains two seasons of eligibility but must miss five more games after the opener.

Maxim Logue started at center in his place.

Memphis made nine of 20 attempts from three-point range, compared to Iowa State's four of 20.

The Tigers converted 25 of 33 free throws and finished with a 38-36 rebounding advantage.

The victory improved Hardaway to 9-0 in season openers.

"We're built for it because we prepared for it," Hardaway said during his postgame press conference.

Hardaway specifically pointed to Reid's effort to improve defensively.

"To his credit, he's been working every single day to be better defensively," Hardaway said.

But there was another moment that did not show up on any highlight film.