The most important games for Penny Hardaway’s Tigers

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Memphis basketball’s path to a third straight NCAA tournament could be a wild, challenging ride.

Penny Hardaway’s Tigers will be tested early and often, as it navigates a daunting nonconference schedule that could feature as many as nine games against Power Five opponents. But things could get a little tricky after that.

The 2023-24 season will be the AAC’s first without national power Houston, as well as Cincinnati and UCF. The Cougars finished last season ranked first in the NCAA’s all-important NET rankings, while the Bearcats and Knights were both in the top 70.

The expanded AAC, which released its conference schedule Friday, has added six new programs ahead of the upcoming season. But few of them (if any) measure up to what Houston or Cincinnati consistently brought to the table. Sure, FAU is coming off a Cinderella run to the Final Four and returns pretty much all the key ingredients that got it there. And, yes, FAU, North Texas and UAB each finished top-40 in the NET (13th, 30th and 39th, respectively). The only other AAC teams that could claim that last season are Houston and Memphis (22nd).

But Charlotte (98th), Rice (188th) and UTSA (284th) could make an already lopsided league even more top-heavy. Which makes the Tigers’ nonconference success vitally important.

Here are the most important games on Memphis’ schedule this season.

Missouri (Nov. 10)

Mizzou took its fanbase on a ride this offseason. The Tigers, at one point, were considered the favorite to snag former North Carolina guard Caleb Love after he decommitted from Michigan. That didn’t work out, as he landed at Arizona. Dennis Gates and Co. were also thought to be a lock to land Jamarion Sharp, the nation’s No. 1 shot-blocker for Rick Stansbury at WKU last season. No dice, as he’s now at Ole Miss.

That was after Mizzou (25-10 last season and a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament) lost its top three scorers and five of its top six rebounders. So the Tigers aren’t loaded, but they’re a nice test early in the season…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/memphis-basketball-schedule-most-important-163937035.html

Author : The Commercial Appeal

Publish date : 2023-09-22 16:39:37

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