Men’s Basketball Travels for Exhibition Friday at Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Taking the floor for the first time in 2026-27, the Memphis men’s basketball program heads to Mississippi State for a 7 p.m. exhibition at Humphrey Coliseum.
J&J discussed the exhibition and the Jacksonville State scrimmage from the Tigers with Hitmen Hoops on Thursday's (10/22) 92.9 FM ESPN Show:
It will be the first of two exhibition games for Memphis, both on the road. The Tigers will head to Fayetteville to face No. 14 Arkansas at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Memphis and Mississippi State have the potential to play each other in the regular season as both are participating in the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas. The Tigers will play Penn State, and the Bulldogs face Wake Forest on Nov. 25 with the winners and losers playing each other on Nov. 27.
Former teammates will square off against each other Friday as Memphis fifth-year forward Rihards Vavers and Mississippi State center ND Okafor both played for Washington State last season. Vavers was second on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game, while Okafor was third on the team with 11.0 points per outing.
Vavers is one of 13 newcomers on Memphis which includes nine Division I transfers. Memphis has three freshmen on the roster including Parker Pounds, Cello Jackson Jr. and Fred Smith Jr.
Memphis returned two student-athletes including one starter in junior Julius Thedford. The team’s leading rebounder, Thedford averaged 8.4 points and 5.0 rebs per game, while senior William Whorton comes back after playing in 19 contests and starting in four.
Memphis was predicted to finish second in the American Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll and received four of 13 first-place votes. The Tigers received 131 points, only behind Wichita State’s 140 points and nine first-place votes.
Senior Jayden Reid was named to the Preseason All-Conference First-Team after transferring from Northwestern where he averaged 10.1 points per game. He spent the prior two years in the American Conference at South Florida and averaged 12.6 points and 3.6 assists per game as a sophomore after being named to the 2023-24 American All-Freshman Team.
Senior Tylik Weeks was tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference Second-Team. He transferred from Southern Miss where he led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring last season with 19.7 points per game. The Sun Belt All-Conference First-Team selection scored in double figures in 32 of 34 games and scored at least 30 points four times.
Mississippi State finished 13-19 overall and 5-13 in the SEC last season and were predicted to finish 15th in the SEC Preseason Poll. Senior Josh Hubbard was named to the Preseason All-Conference First-Team after averaging 22.1 points per game last year.
The season opener is Monday, Nov. 2 against No. 18 Iowa State at 6 p.m. in a neutral site game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The home opener is Saturday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. against VCU at FedExForum.
NOTES- Penny Hardaway will enter his ninth season at the helm and is one of 50 head coaches to be coaching at his alma mater this season. He carries a 175-87 record and has made five postseason appearances including three NCAA Tournaments and won the NIT in 2020-21. Hardaway was the 2025 Coach of the Year as the team won both the American Conference Regular Season and Conference Tournament titles that season.
- Hardaway sits third all-time in program history in wins with 175. Larry Finch was 220-130 in 11 seasons from 1986-97, and John Calipari was 214-67 in nine seasons from 2000-09. Finch coached Hardaway during Hardaway’s two seasons in 1991-93.
- The Tigers non-conference schedule boasts an average opponent NET of 96.7, based on the final 2025-26 rankings, and adds to Hardaway’s long-standing philosophy of playing elite opponents. The schedule includes games against four ranked teams and three receiving votes in the 2026-27 AP Preseason Top-25.
- The Tigers are 21-10 against Power 4 opponents under Hardaway.
- On Oct. 13, for the first time in Memphis Madness history, the men’s and women’s basketball teams held its preseason celebration at one of its most iconic destination - the Memphis Zoo. The event, sponsored by Campbell Clinic, brought 3,594 fans to the zoo as both the men’s and women’s players and staffs were introduced to the public.
- The Tigers will enter their 106th season of basketball and 14th in the American Conference.
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