What to watch in Memphis’ Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic doubleheader
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, left, and Tigers coach Alex Simmons, right. (LM Otero, Ryan Beatty/AP Photo file, The Daily Memphian file)
IRVING, TEXAS — Memphis is ringing in the 2024-25 college basketball preseason with a bang.
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the Tigers’ men’s team will host No. 9 North Carolina (6 p.m., ESPNU) and the Tigers’ women’s team will host South Carolina (8:30 p.m., ESPN+) as part of the first Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic charity exhibition doubleheader.
All proceeds will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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Though neither game will count toward the teams’ records or matter when it comes to postseason resumes, both Memphis coach Penny Hardaway and Tiger women’s coach Alex Simmons are expected to approach their respective matchups the same way they would any other.
“I wanna play really hard and well, for real,” Hardaway said Sunday, Oct. 13, during Day 1 of the two-day American Athletic Conference Media Days in Irving, Texas. “I mean, I know that’s absurd because it’s still early. But I did have my team since June. So, my first year having (almost) the entire team on the court June 1 was amazing. And I think we’re ready to play against someone else.”
Hardaway’s team will also travel to Huntsville, Alabama, to take on preseason No. 2 Alabama on Oct. 28 (7 p.m., ESPN+) in the Rocket City Classic preseason charity exhibition game before the Tigers open their season Nov. 4 against Missouri at home.
Simmons’ Tigers do not have a second exhibition game on their schedule ahead of their Nov. 4 season opener against Mississippi Valley State at Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
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Here are three things to watch in each of Tuesday’s matchups:
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Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
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