Less than a week from the official start of the 2024-2025 highly anticipated Memphis Basketball season against the Missouri Tigers. This season, Memphis enters with two high-level learning experiences after preseason games against National Championship contending teams in North Carolina and Alabama. These experiences, unlike the previous seasons of playing Lane College and Christian Brothers, have showcased the potential of the team under Coach Penny Hardaway’s guidance. With all the excitement surrounding the 2024-2025 season, the two games against Alabama and North Carolina have instilled hope in the fans, demonstrating the talent and potential of the team to take Memphis Basketball back to the Final Four.

Sure, losing two games in the preseason is less than ideal for the Memphis fan base, but many positives are coming from within the program for the battle-tested Tigers. Only a few programs in college basketball play two National Championship contending teams in the season and before the regular season begins. Before November begins, the Tigers are battle-tested; playing North Carolina and Alabama forced Coach Penny Hardaway to prepare his team for the NCAA Tournament in the preseason; in two preseason games, Memphis improved from North Carolina to Alabama, showcasing the upside potential for Memphis to be a competitor for a Final Four once March rolls around for Coach Hardaway.

Coming into the season, Coach Penny Hardaway had put together a class of transfers that rivals that of the blue bloods of the world. With an unlimited NIL budget thanks to the generous donation from FedEx, the 2024-2025 has potential to return the Tigers back to the Sweet-16 and beyond for the first time since the departure Coach John Calipari. In order to do so though, Memphis will need a vast improvement in defensive rebounding, limiting second-chance points for the opponets. Last season, Memphis ranked 339th in defensive rebounding in college basketball, one of the worst in the history of the program. In the two preseason games against North Carolina and Alabama, Memphis allowed thirty second chance points allowing for a deficit to deep to overcome.

Scoring won’t be an issue for the Tigers as PJ Haggerty is the man with the talent to carry the Tigers each night out. In the two preseason games, Haggerty’s impressive performance, combined with the double-digit scoring outings from Tyrese Hunter, Colby Rogers, and Nick Jourdain, has given Coach Hardaway vital scoring to rely on as the season progresses. This scoring potential instills confidence and optimism in the team’s ability to perform well in the upcoming season.

Overall, the preseason with an excellent learning opportunity for Coach Hardaway and his Memphis Tigers. In the long run, playing North Carolina, and Alabama will allow for the Tigers to have Championship level playing experience to build off for a difficult non-conference slate before deep diving into the American Athletic Conference.

Memphis will open the regular season at home as they welcome the Missouri Tigers to the FedEx Forum on Monday night for a 7:00 PM tip-off on ESPN Plus.

( Photo Credits – Memphis Basketball on X)