Memphis men’s basketball season ends with AAC tournament loss to Tulane after late surge

A season kept alive in New Orleans ended three days later in Birmingham

The University of Memphis men’s basketball team closed its 2025–26 season with a loss to Tulane in the first round of the American Conference Championship at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The defeat ended a year in which Memphis entered the postseason as the No. 8 seed and finished with a 13–18 overall record, including 8–10 in league play.

The tournament meeting followed a dramatic regular-season finale between the same teams. On March 8 in New Orleans, Memphis won 96–95 in overtime, a result that secured the Tigers a place in the conference’s 10-team tournament field. That win also snapped a seven-game losing streak and came after Memphis trailed 40–31 at halftime before rallying to force extra time.

How the Tulane matchup defined Memphis’ closing stretch

Memphis and Tulane faced each other twice in a five-week span to end the regular season, splitting those games before meeting again in the conference tournament. Tulane won at FedExForum on Feb. 1, 78–76, and Memphis responded with the overtime victory at Tulane on March 8.

The rubber match arrived quickly. With the season on the line, Memphis fell to Tulane in Birmingham, concluding the Tigers’ schedule in the tournament’s opening round. The loss marked the end of Memphis’ attempt to extend its season beyond the conference championship week.

Postseason context: seeding, tiebreakers and the tournament structure

The American Conference men’s tournament ran March 11–15, 2026, at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, the first time the event was scheduled to be held at that site. Memphis entered as the No. 8 seed, positioned just ahead of Tulane and Temple through the conference’s tiebreak procedures.

• Memphis finished 8–10 in conference play and 13–18 overall.
• Memphis’ March 8 overtime win at Tulane clinched its berth in the league’s 10-team tournament field.
• The Tigers and Green Wave met again in the opening round three days later, with Tulane eliminating Memphis.

Memphis’ final week illustrated a season-long pattern: a late rally that extended the year briefly, followed by a quick postseason exit.

Historically, Memphis has held a significant edge in the series, and the March 8 overtime win in New Orleans stood as the narrowest-margin victory between the programs in the recorded matchup history. Still, Tulane’s tournament win ultimately determined how Memphis’ season would be remembered: a late push into the bracket that ended on the first day the Tigers took the floor in Birmingham.