Memphis Basketball: Breaking down 2023-24 non-conference schedule
Regular Season Games
In-season tournaments and challenges are not included in this category.
November 6 vs. Jackson State
Memphis’ first game isn’t particularly daunting. Mo Williams did his best to turn around Jackson State in his first season and follow in the rebuilding footsteps of football counterpart Deion Sanders. Williams succeeded, guiding the Tigers to a SWAC regular season title despite a losing record overall. With a lot of returnees, the Tigers could be positioned to win the SWAC again, but they still shouldn’t pose a big challenge at Memphis, as long as those Tigers can contain former Ole Miss starting point guard Daeshun Ruffin.
November 10 at Missouri
Four days after a relatively easy-looking home opener, Memphis steps up the competition drastically by traveling to take on Mizzou. Dennis Gates validated his hiring and then some during his first season with the Tigers (so many Tigers in these games!), taking his team to the Top 25 and an NCAA Tournament berth, where they were upset by Princeton in the Second Round. Mizzou lost a lot in the offseason, none bigger than Kobe Brown, but return Nick Honor and brought in Caleb Grill and Connor Vanover from the portal. They will likely hang around the bubble all year and will be tough at home, where they lost just three times in 2022-23.
November 17 vs. Alabama State
The first non-Tigers on the schedule, the Alabama State Hornets found themselves on the opposite end of the SWAC last year as Jackson State, going 8-23 overall and 6-12 in conference play. These teams played at FedEx Forum last year, with Memphis winning by 22. Alabama State benefits from the return of Isaiah Range after the guard flirted with transferring and the Hornets should be better, but not “take down Memphis in Memphis” better.
December 2 at Ole Miss
Ole Miss was awful last season. Then, the Rebels flew gasoline on its fire by bringing in Chris Beard as head coach after he was fired from Texas under ugly allegations. But Beard is proven on the court and got to work straightaway in the transfer portal, bringing in Jamarion Sharp, Moussa Cisse, and Allen Flanigan to add to returnees Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield. The Rebels could improve dramatically.
December 6 at VCU
Out goes Mike Rhodes, in comes Ryan Odom. Out goes Ace Baldwin Jr., who followed his coach to Penn State, and in come Sean Bairstow and Max Shulga, who followed their coach to Virginia Commonwealth. It’s an offseason of big change for the Rams and they might not have themselves quite together by this point of the season. This program will be competitive – it always is – but they lost nearly 90 percent of their minutes from a year ago. It might need to time grow.
December 10 at Texas A&M
Last year was a big one for Buzz Williams’ team, which finished second in the SEC. They managed to land a No. 7 seed for the NCAA Tournament, only to get wrecked by Penn State. They may be able to win the SEC in 2023-24, returning virtually their entire rotation from a year ago: Wade Taylor IV, Julius Marble, Tyrece Radford, Henry Coleman III. They lost at Memphis last year by a measly four points – there’s a good chance they’ll return the favor in College Station this winter.
December 16 vs. Clemson
Clemson enters the season with Brad Brownell on the hot seat – just as he’s’ seemingly been on for a decade. The Tigers were very close to making the NCAA Tournament last year, but ultimately ended up atop the NIT bracket, where they made a hasty exit. Losing Hunter Tyson is tough, but returning PJ Hall and Chase Hunter is huge. And while Joseph Girard III showed warts at times at Syracuse, he’s a reliable floor general. Clemson should be a bubble team again this year, making this an intriguing battle of Tigers.
December 19 vs. Virginia
The Cavaliers are not in the same place they’ve been in recent years. They’re trying to find the next core after virtually all of the players from the team’s most successful era have moved on. Tony Bennett isn’t one to be doubted, however, and reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year Reece Beekman will make life difficult for Memphis’ best scorers.
December 23 vs. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt opened its season last year against the Tigers, playing them close to a nine-point loss. It ended up being a decent year for the Commodores, who made it to the NIT and advanced to the quarterfinals. Entering Year 5, pressure is on for Jerry Stackhouse to turn two straight NIT trips into his first NCAA Tournament berth. The departures of Jordan Wright and SEC Defensive Player of the Year Liam Robbins hurt, though reeling Tyrin Lawrence back from the transfer portal was huge. Still, it’s hard to envision Vandy breaking through this season.
December 30 vs. Austin Peay
After that gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, Memphis gets to end 2022 with a home contest against Austin Peay. The proud Governors program has been a mess in recent years, ditching coach Nate James after just two seasons in the offseason. Last year’s most notable moment was a brawl. The new coach is Corey Gipson, who went 22-11 in his lone season at Northwestern State. The Governors lost almost everything from a year ago, perhaps to its benefit, as scorer Demarcus Sharp followed his coach to Austin Peay. A transfer addition who may not make an impact on the court is Hansel Enmanuel, who has gone viral for playing with one arm.