After big wins over Iowa State and VCU, Memphis Basketball took on another talented team in Vanderbilt on Tuesday night. It was a close game for most of the first half, with the Tigers only trailing by five midway through. However, the American squad suffered a complete letdown in the final 20 minutes, falling 105-81 to go to 2-1 on the season.
There’s no shame in losing to a top-25 team on the road. But there were definitely more warning signs than positives on the night overall. Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways from the loss on the Tigers side.
1. First true game they missed Popovic
What made the earlier wins for Memphis so surprising is that they did it without
Nemanja Popovic, their star international center who’s suspended for the first six games. But Vanderbilt and its high-major size took advantage, with the Tigers getting little production from the likes of Maxim Louge and Cornelious Williams. The good news is that Popovic will be available after next week to complete the already good roster.
2. Luke Almodovar’s scary injury moment
Scary scene here now.
— Jason Munz (@munzly) November 11, 2026
Luke Almodovar lands on his head after a dunk.
Trainer and Penny Hardaway with him now.
He's sitting up on his own.
Up on his own power.
Seems incredibly fortunate, but he's headed back to the locker room.
The leading scorer for Memphis was Almodovar, who went for 21 points on 7/14 FG shooting. But he nearly suffered a serious injury, falling on his head during a play and reportedly being unconscious for a bit. Thankfully, he recovered soon after and returned to the bench and shouldn't have any long-term issues after that scary moment.
3. Impact from Brandin Cummings off the bench
Cummings was a double-digit scorer at Pittsburgh last season and projected to be a key part of the rotation at Memphis. However, he went scoreless in the first two games, playing nine minutes total. On Tuesday, Cummings played 23 minutes off the bench, scoring nine points total to give them some production. We’ll see if that translates into more playing time going forward as he could be another capable scorer in the rotation.
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