The Memphis men’s basketball team opens up the season at home against Missouri on Monday, November 4.
Memphis looks to bounce back this season after a disappointing year. They went 22-10 and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the country but collapsed down the stretch, before losing in the first round of the AAC tournament and missing the NCAA Tournament.
The Missouri Tigers are also coming off of a disappointing season but theirs was much worse. They went just 8-24 overall and went an abysmal 0-18 in conference play.
Memphis has a completely new team this season. The only returning players are Nicholas Jourdain and Noah Stansbury. The starting lineup is projected to be Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty at guards, Colby Rogers and Nicholas Jourdain at forwards, and Dain Dainja at center.
Memphis’s main goal this season is to play more as a team both on the offensive and defensive ends. They lost both of their exhibition games, but they were against two great teams. They lost against No. 9 North Carolina by 8 and No. 2 Alabama by 8.
Another focus for Memphis this season will be three-point shooting. Last year it was inconsistent at best and hurt the Tigers down the stretch. They shot a combined 2 for 22 from three in the two exhibition games.
Memphis won at Missouri last season 70-55, but both teams are completely different from a season ago.
Missouri brought in Iowa transfer point guard Tony Perkins, Duke transfer forward Mark Mitchell, and Iowa State transfer guard Caleb Grill.
KenPom has Missouri as the No. 52 team in the country in its preseason rankings, while the Memphis Tigers are slotted at No. 42.
The game will be at 7 pm on November 4th at the FedExForum in Memphis. It will be available to watch on ESPN +.
