Report: Memphis to face Texas Tech in Miami
The Memphis men’s basketball team will reportedly have a marquee neutral site game as part of its non-conference schedule during coach Penny Hardaway’s first season.
The Tigers will face Texas Tech on Dec. 1 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, according to a Friday morning tweet from CBS Sports college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein.
The game is scheduled to be one of four played as part of the event, Rothstein added. Miami will face Yale, St. John’s will take on Georgia Tech and North Carolina State will play Vanderbilt.
Memphis has not made any official announcement about the neutral site game. Athletic director Tom Bowen did not immediately return a message seeking confirmation of the report.
In an odd twist, the matchup between Memphis and Texas Tech pits the two teams Tubby Smith most recently coached against one another. Smith left Texas Tech following the 2015-16 season to coach the Tigers before his firing from Memphis in March.
Former Memphis coach Josh Pastner will also be in Miami that day as he is currently the head coach at Georgia Tech.
Texas Tech is coming off its most successful season in program history after making a run to the Elite Eight for the first time under coach Chris Beard. The Red Raiders finished with a 27-10 record, but lost five of their six leading scorers from a year ago this offseason.
This is likely the final non conference game against a high major opponent that Memphis will add to its 201819 schedule. The Tigers were already slated to face LSU on the road on Nov. 13, host Tennessee on Dec. 15 and participate in the Advocare Invititational in Orlando over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Defending national champion Villanova, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma State, UAB, Charleston and Canisius are the other teams included in the Advocare Invitational field.
In addition, Bowen previously confirmed that Memphis is in the process of extending its home-and-home series with UAB and will play the Blazers at FedExForum during the 2018-19 season. The Tigers also have home games scheduled against South Dakota State and Tennessee Tech.
Rothstein reported previously that Memphis will host Yale and a source within the Tigers’ men’s basketball program said Tennessee State will play the Tigers at FedExForum next season as well. But there were not yet executed contracts available for those two opponents as of last month.
NCAA rules stipulate that teams are permitted to play up to 29 regular-season games, or 27 regular-season games plus no more than four games in an exempt tournament. The American Athletic Conference schedule features 18 league games, which means Memphis can play up to 13 non-conference games.
In Hardaway’s first season at Memphis, the Tigers return their top four leading scorers from last year’s 21-13 campaign. They will also add a sixmember recruiting class that includes top-150 recruits Tyler Harris, Alex Lomax and Antwann Jones as well as former Kansas State big man Isaiah Maurice.