The Tigers are 6-0 all-time against Mississippi Valley State, with this matchup being the sixth of seven played in Memphis. 

“This certainly isn’t the most anticipated season of the Penny Hardaway era. But it’s the most pivotal. What lies ahead for Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers? It all begins tonight.”

Neither Memphis nor Missouri is the same team as it was when the two met one season ago.

Here’s how The Daily Memphian envisions the Tigers’ 2024-25 season playing out.

“As far as Penny Hardaway, I can honestly say this: I couldn’t be prouder of his willingness to try to adapt and understand what he does well and where we can help him,” Ed Scott said.

There are a few key factors that will determine the type of season the Tigers have in what is a crucial campaign for the program.

Why is a one-loss Tigers football team not drawing more fans to games? Frank Bonner II, Parth Upadhyaya and John Martin discuss.

The Tigers will now have to apply the lessons they learned from a pair of tough preseason exhibition games as they get set to officially open the 2024-25 season against Missouri on Monday at FedExForum.

“We’ve gotta practice harder,” Dain Dainja said after Memphis’ preseason charity exhibition loss to No. 2 Alabama on Monday. 

Memphis is officially through its two-game exhibition season, which concluded with a 96-88 loss to No. 2 Alabama in Huntsville.

So, what have we learned about this team?

The Tigers fell 96-88 to the Crimson Tide after trailing by as many as 21 points and never once leading.

A little less than two weeks after a preseason exhibition loss to top-10 UNC, the Tigers have one final dress rehearsal — and yet another tough test — before they tip off the 2024-25 season next month.

Memphis Tigers basketball coach Penny Hardaway addressed forward Tyreek Smith’s return and presented an injury report prior to the Tigers’ preseason game against Alabama.

Upadhyaya, Bonner and Martin break down Memphis basketball’s Tyreek Smith saga, look ahead to the preseason charity exhibition against No. 2 Alabama and discuss the possibility of Memphis football reaching the AAC title game.

“Being a kid from Memphis and obviously playing there, doing what I do now on the training and coaching side, I’ve essentially sat in every (type of) seat one can sit in at FedExForum,” Draper said. “My friends say it’s the Infinity Gauntlet.”

This is the new world of college basketball. It’s a free-for-all. And if coaches are to flourish in this climate, they have to figure out a way to navigate and master it.

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Tyreek Smith’s return comes two days after reports surfaced that he had left the program in search of other opportunities.

Related story: 

Tyreek Smith’s mentor: Promises made to Smith haven’t yet ‘been fulfilled’

Hellion “Boog” Knight, a mentor to Tyreek Smith, attempted to clear the air about Smith’s situation with the Tigers.

The defense is leading the way for the Memphis football team this season, and basketball fans got a preseason peak into what Penny Hardaway’s team will look like this year. 

The “Little General” was one of 11 inductees into the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Updated Tigers basketball schedule with more game times and TV information. 

All 18 of Memphis’ women’s AAC games will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

“There’s a reason that we play games like this,” Memphis coach Alex Simmons said. “No. 1, to get better. No. 2, to see what it feels like to play at a level that literally nobody in the country plays at.”

“I know where we are,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said after the Tigers’ 84-76 loss to No. 9 UNC. “I know where we’re gonna be. I’m not trying to be the best team in October. I’ve learned my lesson on that going into my seventh year.”

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Memphis loses steam in second half to fall to No. 9 UNC in preseason exhibition

“Could not be any better,” said Richard Shadyac Jr., the president and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness arm of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “And next year, we’ll take it to the next level.”