Bluff City Collective will primarily focus its efforts on the Memphis men’s basketball program.

The AAC will have turned from an 11-team conference as recent as 2022 into a 14-team conference that only has seven of the original 11 still in the league next year. Now, the conference is losing the only commissioner it has ever known.

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Mike Aresco retiring as AAC commissioner

Aresco became the fourth commissioner of the Big East Conference in 2012, and oversaw the reconstitution of that organization into the American Athletic Conference a year later. He announced his retirement Thursday, Dec. 7.

The Tigers’ win may prove to be a catalyst for Coach Penny Hardaway to take the steps he needs to take to turn this into a fruitful season.

The Tigers hung with the Columbia University through three quarters, but the Lions’ explosive fourth-quarter offense proved to be too much.

The Tigers ended up getting the 85-80 overtime victory over the Rams. But it certainly wasn’t pretty.

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Memphis center Jordan Brown not available against VCU

Box score: Memphis 85, VCU 80 (OT)

The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team defeated the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams at Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia.

Coach Penny Hardaway is making some changes for Wednesday night’s game against Virginia Commonwealth .

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Memphis center Jordan Brown not available against VCU

What to look for in Memphis’ road game against VCU

Brown was expected to be a key piece of the 2023-24 Tigers after transferring to the program this past offseason, but he’s struggled so far this season.

Wednesday’s matchup with VCU is one that’s crucial for a Tigers team whose next three games are all against teams ranked in the top 30 of KenPom (Texas A&M, Clemson and Virginia). 

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Rick Stansbury on Memphis basketball attendance: ‘I’ve been disappointed’

Tigers Basketball Insider: Memphis’ NCAA NET rankings, what it means

“If you get in there, buy a ticket and cheer for them, then you have an opportunity to have an opinion,” the Tigers assistant coach said. “If you don’t, you don’t have an opportunity to have one.”

Some Memphis fans may have been surprised when they saw where Memphis landed in the first NCAA NET Rankings of the 2023-24 season, released Monday.

Host Greg Gaston, senior writer Tim Buckley and beat writers Frank Bonner II and Parth Upadhyaya all had plenty to say on the latest edition of The Daily Memphian Tigers Podcast with Greg Gaston.

How did Upadhyaya shuffle teams around in his Associated Press poll voting after a week of chaos in college basketball?

Good teams suffer head-scratching losses all the time. But the concern surrounding the Tigers is more about how they lost Saturday than the loss itself.

Malcolm Dandridge and the Tigers landed the first blow, but Moussa Cisse and the Rebels enjoyed the last laugh.

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Watch Malcolm Dandridge’s vicious dunk vs. Ole Miss

Following Saturday’s win at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, the University of Memphis women’s basketball team moves to 3-5 overall.

The Tigers allowed the Rebels to hang around just enough. They eventually paid the price.

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Watch Malcolm Dandridge’s vicious dunk vs. Ole Miss

Box score: Ole Miss 80, Memphis 77

The NCAA men’s basketball box score for Saturday’s game between the Memphis Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels played in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Tigers center’s dunk rocks Oxford and the internet.

The Tigers will look to rebound from the 16-point loss they took to now-No. 18 Villanova last week in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Veteran criminal defense attorney Randy Grossman said Williams’ other eight felony charges were dismissed but that a decision about whether the 4-star guard can play would be “completely up to the school.”

Greg Gaston, Tim Buckley and Parth Upadhyaya look back at Battle 4 Atlantis and share thoughts on Memphis not being ranked in the AP Top 25 in the latest episode of the Tigers Podcast with Greg Gaston.

Through six games so far, here’s how bracketologists and computers view the Tigers’ body of work.

Despite going 2-1 in last week’s Battle 4 Atlantis, the Tigers are still unranked. 

Related story:

Tigers beat writer Parth Upadhyaya’s newest AP Top 25 ballot