Tigers Announce Loaded Non-Conference Schedule
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The reigning American Athletic Conference champion Memphis men’s basketball and head coach Penny Hardaway announced Wednesday a complete and loaded non-conference schedule for the 2023-24 regular season, featuring December home games with Clemson, Virginia and Vanderbilt and three road contests against SEC opponents.
With the inclusion of Michigan in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas, and a second-round date with either Arkansas or Stanford, Memphis is scheduled to play at least eight Power Five matchups in the 13-game non-conference slate.
Memphis will get a pair of tuneup exhibition games with Lane College (Oct. 29) and LeMoyne-Owen (Nov. 2) before officially kicking off the regular season in FedExForum with Jackson State (Nov. 6).
The Tigers’ home schedule is loaded in the month of December with three consecutive Power Five matchups. On Dec. 16, it’s an all-Tiger showdown in the Forum as Memphis and Clemson meet for the first time ever on the hardwood.
The Tigers will then welcome Virginia and Vanderbilt on Dec. 19 and Dec. 23 heading into the Christmas break. It will be the first-ever trip to Memphis for the Cavaliers and the first visit from the Commodores since 2005.
Memphis will close out its non-conference portion hosting Austin Peay (Dec. 30).
The American Athletic Conference schedule will be announced at a later date. The Tigers will play home-and-home series with Final Four participant Florida Atlantic, Tulane, UAB, SMU and Wichita State while also hosting Charlotte, Rice, South Florida and UTSA for one game each inside FedExForum.
Memphis will also travel to East Carolina, North Texas, Temple and Tulsa for a single showdown.
The non-conference schedule includes seven games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament. Along with Memphis, Missouri, VCU, Texas A&M and Virginia also appeared in last season's NCAA Tournament.
Clemson, Michigan and Vanderbilt participated in the NIT.
A second-round matchup with Arkansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis would mean Memphis would face eight teams that earned postseason berths in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT last season.
The Battle 4 Atlantis, which runs Nov. 22-24, also includes North Carolina, Texas Tech, Villanova and Northern Iowa.
Game times will be announced at a later date for all games.
2023-24 Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule (‘22-23 NCAA NET Ranking)
Oct. 29 – Lane College (exh.)
Nov. 2 – LeMoyne-Owen (exh.)
Nov. 6 – Jackson State (308)
Nov. 10 – at Missouri (47)
Nov. 17 – Alabama State (346)
Nov. 22 – vs. Michigan (57) (Battle 4 Atlantis; Nassau, Bahamas)
Nov. 23 – vs. Arkansas (20) or Stanford (96) (Battle 4 Atlantis; Nassau, Bahamas)
Nov. 24 – vs. North Carolina (44) or Texas Tech (62) or Villanova (71) or Northern Iowa (218) (Battle 4 Atlantis; Nassau, Bahamas)
Dec. 2 – at Ole Miss (129)
Dec. 6 – at VCU (54)
Dec. 10 – at Texas A&M (28)
Dec. 16 – Clemson (67)
Dec. 19 – Virginia (29)
Dec. 23 – Vanderbilt (81)
Dec. 30 – Austin Peay (325)
The Tigers finished the 2022-23 season with a 26-9 record and the program's second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. In five seasons at the helm, Hardaway has amassed an 110-52 record, five-straight 20-win seasons, the 2023 AAC Tournament championship and the 2021 National Invitation Tournament championship in addition to the back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
In his tenure, Hardaway has mentored three first-round NBA Draft picks and four overall, three AAC Freshmen of the Year, seven all-conference selections and five all-freshman honorees.
