COLUMBUS, Ohio − Kendric Davis bebopped through the tunnel and onto an NCAA tournament court for the first time in his life Thursday, full of swagger, nothing timid about him.

He put an arm around Memphis basketball teammate and backcourt running mate Alex Lomax, looked around Nationwide Arena, took a deep breath, then got to work. For the first time in his illustrious career − already the all-time leading scorer in American Athletic Conference history with a chance to soon become the single-season record holder for points in Tigers history − the electric, All-American point guard finally gets the chance to strut his stuff on the biggest stage the sport has to offer.

It could have dawned on him as Memphis gradually drifted away from the bubble in recent weeks. It could have sunk in when he and his teammates beat then-No. 1 Houston last week to claim the program's first AAC championship and an automatic berth. It could have hit him when the Tigers landed in Columbus, Ohio, for March Madness on Wednesday. But it wasn't until Davis was sitting in front of a room full of reporters, before going through a half-hour open practice, that he could officially accept that his dream had been realized.

"Right now, I'm like, I'm looking at the name tag, like, I'm here," the Tigers' leading scorer said.

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Davis and the 8-seed Tigers (26-8) will try to advance to the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. They will have to get past 9-seed FAU (31-3) to do that. The Owls are the regular-season and tournament champions out of Conference USA, and they are tied for the most wins in the country. Tip-off is set for 8:20 p.m., Friday on TNT.

FAU is relatively young compared to Memphis, which ranks 11th in the nation in average amount of Division I experience. The Owls are 144th in the same category. But there is a big difference between regular-season experience and NCAA Tournament experience. Davis is one of several Tigers with none of the latter to their names. Fifth-year senior guards Elijah McCadden and Damaria Franklin, who transferred in from Georgia Southern and Illinois-Chicago respectively, have never been to the Big Dance. Neither has senior Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, a center who has seen his playing time decrease since big man Malcolm Dandridge returned from an ankle injury. Freshman Johnathan Lawson was on the roster last season but did not play since he redshirted.

Many of those Tigers, unlike Davis, were still waiting for the moment to hit them that they had finally achieved a lifelong dream.

“I’m still waiting on the AAC championship win to sink in,” said Franklin, who has become a key rotation piece (averaging 18.9 minutes over his last nine games) since hitting the game-winning layup against UCF on Feb. 16.

McCadden, the team's third-leading active scorer (7.6 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.1 rpg), has been a calming presence among a group of players with big, outgoing personalities. You may never have known by looking at him Thursday − or talking to him − that he was preparing for one of the biggest moments of his life.

“It’s kinda like we’re just getting ready for practice,” he said while sitting between Franklin and Chandler Lawson in the team’s locker room. “I mean, it’s definitely a different experience, the whole setup. But, to me, right now, it kinda just feels like an away game, to be honest. I’m just trying to focus on the game.

“Ready to get the game going so we can get a win.”

As the final moments of Furman's upset over Virginia and Maryland's win over West Virginia played out on the jumbotron above the court, Davis spent more than 30 minutes working through the paces of his normal workout − as routine as it could have been with media members and some fans mingling about and the Memphis pep band accompanying the exhibition. As things wound down, Davis and DeAndre Williams enjoyed a playful round of 1-on-1. Then, Davis took two final shots (both 3-pointers, one on each goal) and closed things out by posing for a photo next to the March Madness logo at mid-court.

Now, for Davis and the Tigers, playtime is over.

"I just want to thank my brothers and the fan base, but also realize we're not done yet," he said. "I know it's win or go home."

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: March Madness first-timers know it's 'win or go home'