Memphis Basketball Schedule Breakdown
Oct. 24 – Lemoyne-Owen (DII) [Exhibition]
Oct. 31 – Lane College (DII) [Exhibition]
Nov. 9 – Tennessee Tech
Nov. 13 – North Carolina Central
Nov. 16 – Saint Louis
Nov. 19 – Western Kentucky
Nov. 24 – Virginia Tech (NIT Season Tip-Off)
Nov. 26 – Iowa State or Xavier (NIT Season Tip-Off)
Dec. 1 – Georgia
Dec. 4 – Ole Miss
Dec. 10 – Murray State
Dec. 14 – Alabama
Dec. 18 – Tennessee
Dec. 21 – Alabama State
Dec. 29-Mar. 6 – AAC Conference Play
Memphis Basketball has a pretty respectable non-conference schedule to lead into AAC play. Around December, things really start heating up and they play a couple of top-25 teams. Some of these non-conference games will likely be among Memphis’ most competitive contests.
The end of November will present the first stretch of challenges for Memphis. On Nov. 16, they will match up with a sneaky dangerous Saint Louis team before meeting Western Kentucky on Nov. 19. Neither of these teams projects to be better than the Tigers, but they aren’t games that Hardaway and Co. can overlook.
Memphis then enters the four-team NIT Season Tip-Off. Their first-round matchup will be against Virginia Tech, which will be their toughest game of the season so far. The Hokies are projected to be a top-five team in the ACC. If Memphis defeats Virginia Tech, they will likely face Xavier (I’m pretty confident Iowa State won’t win that game).
The Tigers close out the non-conference schedule with four SEC opponents in six games. Facing Alabama and Tennessee within a week of each other should be an excellent testing ground for Memphis to prove their legitimacy.