NCAA Basketball: Buy or Sell preseason top 25 teams of 2021-22 after a month

12. Memphis Tigers

When top-5 center prospect Jalen Duren and five-star wing and talked about generational prospect Emoni Bates joined the team late this offseason, Memphis went from unranked to a potential top-10 team and Final Four threat. But maybe they were better off being unranked because that’s where they are after a month into the season.

Things have been miserable for the Tigers so far, including bad losses to Georgia, Iowa State, and Murray State. It’s been a complete mess roster-wise, as both Bates and Duren have underperformed dramatically compared to expectations, while the veteran returning players have struggled to find their role in the offense. Point guards Tyler Harris and Alex Lomaz went from forgotten guys to not big pieces in the rotation, with head coach Penny Hardaway publically acknowledging that the locker room doesn’t have good chemistry.

Yet as everyone has cast them aside, Memphis managed to pull off a big upset at home against Alabama on Tuesday night, as Bates spent most of the second half on the bench. Players such as Landers Nolley and Deandre Williams played big roles in the win but will that remain going forward? There’s also a really good chance that the Tigers are at their best when Bates plays a minimal role, which has big consequences for everyone.

The win against Alabama showed that this team has some fight when desperate but let’s see what they do when everyone isn’t looking at them on primetime. If they lose to Tennessee this weekend, then this was likely a one-off. I’ll need to see a lot more from this team before I believe that they can be a Final Four threat since they need to get back into the NCAA Tournament picture first.

Sell