Luke Almodovar during three-point shooting contest at Zoo Hoops
Memphis is just a week away from its first exhibition game of the season ahead of the 2026-27 season. With the season right around the corner, it’s time to look at where the Tigers’ non-conference opponents rank in various preseason rankings.
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Bart Torvik, EvanMiya and KenPom are three analytical websites that rank all 365 teams in college basketball, and all three have released their preseason rankings for the upcoming season. Bart Torvik and EvanMiya released their rankings nearly a month ago, while KenPom released his preseason rankings last week.
The Tigers rank No. 85 on KenPom, No. 111 on Bart Torvik and No. 95 on EvanMiya, and they will need to finish significantly higher if they want to be in conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. While the preseason rankings aren’t high, Penny Hardaway has put together a non-conference schedule that will be challenging but would put them in a great spot if they have success.
Hardaway will learn more about his team over the next few weeks in their exhibition games. In addition to the two exhibition games, Memphis will play a secret scrimmage against Jacksonville State on Oct. 18, according to the Commercial Appeal’s Jason Munz.
Hardaway only returned two players from last season’s team that finished 13-19 and 8-10 in conference play. He added 13 new players during the offseason, including nine transfers, three high school signees and an international signee.
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The Tigers were picked to finish second in the American by the coaches at American media days, and two players appeared on the preseason All-Conference teams. Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid was named to the first team, while Southern Miss transfer Tylik Weeks appeared on the second team.
Both players will be viewed as leaders for the Tigers, and both are locks for the starting lineup. It’s unclear who will make up the other three spots, and it will be interesting to see if there is any clarity during the exhibition games.
Hardaway will have a lot of options, and it appears he has more shooting on this year’s team than he had last season. Some of that shooting was on display during the Zoo Hoops event earlier this week, and shooting guard Luke Almodovar made 15 three pointers in a minute during the championship round of the three-point shooting contest.
Similar to previous seasons, most of the Tigers’ at-large hops will rest on what they can do in non-conference play, but KenPom doesn’t predict a strong start for Memphis. KenPom predicts an 0-4 start and a 3-8 start before the later part of December.
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Hardaway’s team will start the season on November 2 in South Dakota against Iowa State.
Mississippi State (Exhibition)
KenPom: No. 69
Bart Trovik: No. 62
EvanMiya: No. 75
Arkansas (Exhibition)
KenPom: No. 20
Bart Trovik: No. 22
EvanMiya: No. 21
Iowa State
KenPom: No. 6
Bart Trovik: No. 9
EvanMiya: No. 8
VCU
KenPom: No. 55
Bart Trovik: No. 57
EvanMiya: No. 45
Vanderbilt
KenPom: No. 13
Bart Trovik: No. 23
EvanMiya: No. 32
Louisville
KenPom: No. 17
Bart Trovik: No. 8
EvanMiya: No. 15
Evansville
KenPom: No. 260
Bart Trovik: No. 283
EvanMiya: No. 303
Penn State
KenPom: No. 87
Bart Trovik: No. 97
EvanMiya: No. 101
Dayton
KenPom: No. 63
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Bart Trovik: No. 72
EvanMiya: No. 70
Jackson State
KenPom: No. 327
Bart Trovik: No. 318
EvanMiya: No. 280
Baylor
KenPom: No. 35
Bart Trovik: No. 45
EvanMiya: No. 28
Grand Canyon
KenPom: No. 44
Bart Trovik: No. 42
EvanMiya: No. 43
Texas
KenPom: No. 10
Bart Trovik: No. 19
EvanMiya: No. 17
Little Rock
KenPom: No. 210
Bart Trovik: No. 253
EvanMiya: No. 233
Utah State
KenPom: No. 51
Bart Trovik: No. 59
EvanMiya: No. 53
