What to watch as Memphis renews its rivalry with Louisville
Memphis Tigers guard Dug McDaniel (1) drives against the New Orleans Privateers during the first half at FedExForum on Dec. 3, 2025. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)
This one should mean more to the Memphis Tigers than most other games on their schedule.
When the Tigers (4-4) play No. 11 Louisville on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ESPN) at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, they’ll get their first crack in nearly eight years at one of their biggest rivals and have an opportunity to pick up their first Quadrant 1 win of the season.
Memphis and Louisville have met 90 times since their first matchup in January 1949, but they haven’t done so since a coach Tubby Smith-led Tigers team lost to a Cardinals squad led by acting head coach David Padgett 81-72 on Dec. 16, 2017, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
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Memphis Tigers Memphis Tigers Basketball Louisville Cardinals Penny Hardaway Pat Kelsey 2025-26 college basketball season Subscriber OnlyThank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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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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