1981–82 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1981–82 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball
Metro Conference tournament champions Metro Conference regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen (vacated)
Conference	Metro Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	23–4 (24-5 unadjusted) (10–2 Metro)
Head coach	Dana Kirk (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Larry Finch (2nd season) Lee Fowler
Home arena	Mid-South Coliseum
Seasons← 1980–81 1982–83 →

1981–82 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Memphis State †	10	–	2	.833	23	–	4	.852
No. 20 Louisville	8	–	4	.667	23	–	10	.697
Tulane	8	–	4	.667	19	–	9	.679
Virginia Tech	7	–	5	.583	20	–	11	.645
Cincinnati	4	–	8	.333	15	–	12	.556
Florida State	4	–	8	.333	11	–	17	.393
Saint Louis	1	–	11	.083	6	–	21	.222

† 1982 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll *Memphis State vacated NCAA Tournament games due to NCAA sanctions. Disputed record (24–5)

The 1981–82 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Metro Conference during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

The Tigers won Metro Conference regular season and conference tournament titles to receive an automatic bid to the 1982 NCAA tournament. As No. 2 seed in the East region, Memphis State beat No. 7 seed Wake Forest to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first of three straight seasons. The Villanova Wildcats defeated Memphis State, 70–66, in the regional semifinal. The Tigers finished with a 24–5 record (10–2 Metro), though the NCAA tournament results would later be vacated.

Roster

1981–82 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	11	Ricky McCoy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Memphis, Tennessee
F	22	Bobby Parks	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Grand Junction, Tennessee
F	24	Keith Lee	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	West Memphis, Arkansas
G	32	Phillip Haynes	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Memphis, Tennessee
F	45	Willie Becton	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Memphis, Tennessee

Head coach

Dana Kirk

Assistant coach(es)

Larry Finch (Memphis)
Lee Fowler (Vanderbilt)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 1, 1981*		at East Tennessee State	L 62–67	0–1	Memorial Center Johnson City, Tennessee
Dec 5, 1981*		West Alabama	W 60–40	1–1	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 7, 1981*		at Mississippi State	L 47–48	1–2	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
Dec 12, 1981*		Indiana State	W 101–89	2–2	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 19, 1981*		No. 15 Southwestern Louisiana	W 82–70	3–2	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 22, 1981*		Brown	W 106–96	4–2	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 29, 1981*		Ole Miss	W 61–55	5–2	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1982*		Marquette	W 77–70	13–3	Mid-South Coliseum (11,200) Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 20, 1982*	No. 12	at Penn State	W 52–46	19–3	Rec Hall University Park, Pennsylvania
Feb 22, 1982	No. 10	at Louisville	L 61–65	19–4 (8–2)	Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 25, 1982	No. 10	Tulane	W 64–62	20–4 (9–2)	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 27, 1982	No. 10	Saint Louis	W 94–72	21–4 (10–2)	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Metro Conference tournament
Mar 5, 1982*	No. 13	Virginia Tech Semifinals	W 71–70	22–4	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 6, 1982*	No. 13	Louisville Championship game	W 73–62	23–4	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1982*	(2 E) No. 9	vs. (7 E) No. 18 Wake Forest Second round	W 56–55	24–4	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 19, 1982*	(2 E) No. 9	vs. (3 E) Villanova East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 66–70	24–5	Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	14	12	10	13	9
Coaches	Not released		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	18	13	13	11	9

References

sports-reference.com 1981-82 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
"1981-82 Memphis Tigers Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
"Georgetown, N. Carolina Gain; Memphis State Tops Wake Forest". The New York Times. March 14, 1982. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
"2019–20 Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
*ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 892–893. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

v t e Memphis Tigers men's basketball
Venues	Various locations (1920–1929) Memorial Fieldhouse (1929–1966) Mid-South Coliseum (1966–1991) Pyramid Arena (1991–2004) FedExForum (2004–present)
Rivalries	Cincinnati Louisville UAB
Culture & lore	Pouncer Newby's TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1942–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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