NCAA Basketball: 5 ideal conference realignment scenarios to consider

By Tim Edmonds | Jun 14, 2020

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 10: The Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Saint Mary's Gaels 84-66 to win the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 10, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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MEMPHIS, TN – MARCH 05: Penny Hardaway, head coach of the Memphis Tigers talks with lester Quinones #11 of the Memphis Tigers (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)”n /

NCAA Basketball realignment scenario – Memphis to the SEC

The first major shift comes with a few caveats. Obviously, corresponding moves would have to be made to make this happen, but Memphis in the SEC as a basketball-only member would be phenomenal for many reasons.

The Tigers have proven to be a program on the rise in college basketball with head coach Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway at the helm. After a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) appearance in his first season in 2018, he parlayed that success into the #1 recruiting class in the nation going into last season headlined by #1 recruit, forward James Wiseman.

Despite losing Wiseman after just three regular-season games due to recruiting violations, they still recorded 21 victories last season and were firmly in the conversation for a bid to the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the SEC, the Tigers would instantly become contenders and challengers to the University of Kentucky for the conference’s top spot. Knocking off a pair of SEC teams in non-conference play (Tennessee, Ole Miss) last year, Hardaway’s team has proven they can hang with the best in the SEC in only his second year in charge and can going forward.

Overall, it would be wise for the SEC to consider adding this budding program to its already deep group of national contenders. With Hardaway’s ability to recruit the country’s best and the teams continued improvement, a few years down the road he could bring the conference their first NCAA title since 2012.

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