ESPN predicts Memphis basketball’s floor and ceiling

On Tuesday, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf predicted the floor and ceiling for 13 mid-major programs, including the Tigers. Medcalf predicts a floor of 15 wins and a ceiling of 19 wins for Penny Hardaway’s team.

Like previous years, it’s hard to predict what Memphis will look like this season after Hardaway replaced 13 players from last year’s team. The Tigers added nine players from the transfer portal, three high school recruits and an international addition.

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The only players returning from the 2025-26 team is guard Julius Thedford, who averaged 8.4 points and five rebounds, and forward William Whorton, who averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds.

Hardaway also added four new member to his coaching staff. Tony Madlock returns as the associate head coach, while Trevor DeLoach, Sean Mock and Steve Wright were added as assistant coaches.

Medical predicts the Tigers’ ceiling is finishing third in the American conference with a floor of sixth. It appears that the ESPN reporter believes Memphis will have success in conference play, but the team will struggle in its non-conference slate.

The Tigers will play seven Power Four opponents during the regular season, and two more in exhibition games at Arkansas and at Mississippi State. They will also play four teams that were also listed by Medcalf.

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Grand Canyon, Wichita State, Utah State and VCU were all listed in the story, and the story predicts no fewer than 22 wins as a floor for any of those four teams.

The story also puts an explanation for each team, and Memphis’ is sobering. Medcalf calls the Tigers “an afterthought in the collegiate landscape,” and posed the question if this team could make Memphis basketball relevant again.”

Tylik Weeks and Jayden Reid are listed as two of the top players for Hardaway’s team.

Weeks transferred in after spending spending his junior season at Southern Miss. He averaged 19.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 34 games for the Golden Eagles.

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Weeks spent two years at…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/espn-predicts-memphis-basketball-floor-041143278.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-23 04:11:00

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