HARTFORD, Conn. – The Memphis basketball team’s NCAA tournament chances disintegrated beneath the force of a hammer dunk.
UConn freshman guard James Bouknight sprinted ahead on a fast break on Sunday afternoon, corralled a laser pass from Christian Vital and imprinted Memphis freshman Precious Achiuwa on a poster. Bouknight drew a foul to add insult to infamy.
The moment rose above a rock fight of questionable aesthetics, as the dunk boosted UConn’s lead to five points with just over three minutes remaining and allowed the Huskies to grind out a 64-61 victory. The loss ostracized Memphis to the remote fringes of the NCAA tournament conversation, many hemispheres from a season that began with bold talk by Penny Hardaway about winning a national championship.