Missouri at Memphis: 2024-25 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Missouri and Memphis are both looking to bounce back from past rough seasons. Who will start off the 2024-25 campaign 1-0?

TV Schedule: Monday, November 04, 8:00 pm ET (ESPN+)

Location: FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee 

Monday signifies the beginning of a new college basketball season and offers Missouri a chance to start the year off with a win. When these two programs played last year Memphis walked away with the win. Can Missouri get its revenge on the road?

Memphis is one of the favorites to win the AAC this season, while Missouri has been picked by many to finish in the bottom half of the SEC. Both teams went under huge roster overhauls this offseason, Memphis welcomed eight transfers and Missouri added five of its own. With that amount of roster turnover, it’s difficult to project exactly what each program will be this season. But what we can do is take a look at some of the preseason games to get a better idea of what to expect in this matchup. 

Memphis has two games under its belt this offseason, both being played against two of the top teams in the country. The first was a game against North Carolina and the second against Alabama. While Memphis lost both games, what it did gain was solid early season experience against elite power conference teams. Memphis was led in scoring in both games by PJ Haggerty. Haggerty scored 24 points against UNC and 32 against Alabama. 

Under Penny Hardaway, Memphis (80.5 ppg last season) has been one of the top-scoring teams in college basketball. And on the back of PJ Haggerty, Memphis looks poised to have a high-scoring offense again this season. But during the two preseason games, Memphis was vulnerable from deep. After going 5-23 against UNC, Memphis went 1-14 versus Alabama. But Memphis did have success on the boards, grabbing 51 rebounds against Alabama. 

Missouri on the other hand has only one preseason game to work off of. Mizzou took down Lincoln University last weekend and was led in scoring by Mark Mitchell with 22 points in his first game as a Tiger. Caleb Grill added plenty of scoring as well, making four threes in the first half. As well as Missouri looked offensively against Lincoln, it’s hard to read too much into a 45-point win over a Division II school. 

Missouri has a great shot in this matchup and it’s pretty clear what it needs to do against Memphis to start the season off with a win. Mizzou needs to take care of the ball. Memphis likes to pressure the ball and force turnovers and Mizzou can’t afford to give Memphis any extra scoring opportunities with how shaky the defense has been the past few years. Make Memphis beat you from deep. Memphis shot 16 percent from three in its two preseason games, a number that should slow down its offense most nights. And finally, Missouri needs to make shots consistently. Last year one of the things that hurt Missouri the most was long-scoring droughts. Missouri loaded up on scorers this offseason, but it’s hard to imagine Missouri taking down many opponents if it can’t score the ball with some sort of regularity. 

Starting the season on the road is always tough, but Missouri’s roster has enough talent and experience to compete with nearly any team in the country. It all comes down to how well everyone plays together. This is a perfect game for Missouri to show it has improved, and that last year was a fluke.