Memphis Basketball: Breaking down 2023-24 non-conference schedule

Other Contests

Memphis only has one special contest of note during non-conference play – largely a result of playing in the AAC – but it’s a doozy.

November 22-24: Battle 4 Atlantis (in Nassau, Bahamas)

Every year, eight teams go down to the Bahamas to play in a glorified ballroom. It’s annually one of the best college basketball events of the non-conference season.

Tennessee won the most recent iteration of the tournament, whose biggest winners are Baylor and Villanova with two titles apiece. Memphis participated in 2012, losing its first two games before salvaging seventh place. They would’ve participated in 2020, but that event didn’t take place.

(In a fun twist, the Memphis women will also be competing in their respective Battle 4 Atlantis this November.)

Memphis’ first game in the tournament will be against the Michigan Wolverines, giving Hardaway a chance to go up against another playing legend, Juwan Howard. The Wolverines disappointed last year and then saw a major exodus, including Jett Howard, Hunter Dickinson, and Caleb Love. This may be Howard’s least talented team in his five years in Ann Arbor.

From there, Memphis’ next opponent could either be Arkansas or Stanford. While both lost plenty from a year ago, the Cardinal seem content to be a mediocre major conference program, while Eric Musselman is turning the Razorbacks into a regular juggernaut. If a win is imperative, Stanford is the better matchup.

The programs Memphis could brush up against in its last day in the Bahamas are North Carolina, Texas Tech, Villanova, and Northern Iowa. The latter presents itself as the easiest opponent, but the Tar Heels and Wildcats are both fascinating, coming off disappointing seasons and looking to get back into high gear quickly under their still new-ish coaches.

The Memphis Tigers’ challenging non-conference schedule starts against Jackson State on November 6.