# 1981–82 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

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.

## 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 $^{OT}$ | 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

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 |