2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team will represent the University of Memphis in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This is the 100th season of Tiger basketball, the third under head coach Penny Hardaway, and the eighth as members of the American Athletic Conference. They play their home games at the FedEx Forum.

2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2020–21 record	12–6 (8–3 AAC)
Head coach	Penny Hardaway (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Tony Madlock Jermaine Johnson Cody Toppert
Home arena	FedExForum

2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Houston	10	–	2		.833			16	–	2		.889
Wichita State	7	–	2		.778			11	–	4		.733
Memphis	8	–	3		.727			12	–	6		.667
SMU	6	–	4		.600			10	–	4		.714
Tulsa	6	–	6		.500			9	–	8		.529
South Florida	3	–	3		.500			7	–	5		.583
Cincinnati	3	–	4		.429			5	–	7		.417
Temple	3	–	7		.300			4	–	7		.364
UCF	3	–	8		.273			5	–	9		.357
East Carolina	2	–	7		.222			8	–	7		.533
Tulane	2	–	7		.222			7	–	7		.500
† 2021 AAC Tournament winner As of February 7, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in sixth place. They entered as the No. 6 seed in the AAC Tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Tyler Harris	1	G	5'9	150	Sophomore	Memphis, TN	Transferred to Iowa State[1]
Ryan Boyce	12	F	6'6	185	RS Freshman	Memphis, TN	Transferred to Georgia State (mid-season)[2]
Isaiah Maurice	14	F	6'10	224	Senior	Durham, NC	Graduated
James Wiseman	32	C	7'1	240	Freshman	Nashville, TN	Left team (mid-season)[3]
Precious Achiuwa	55	F	6'9	225	Freshman	Port Harcourt, Nigeria	Declared for NBA Draft; selected 20th overall by the Miami Heat[4]

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Ahmad Rand	F	6'8"	180	Junior	Lincolnton, GA	Junior college transferred from USC Salkehatchie.[5]
Landers Nolley II	F	6'7"	225	RS Sophomore	Atlanta, GA	Transferred from Virginia Tech. Nolley was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[6][7]
DeAndre Williams	F	6'9"	190	Junior	Houston, TX	Transferred from Evansville. Williams was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on December 16th. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[8][9]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Moussa Cissé C	Conakry, Guinea	Lausanne Collegiate School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	07/15/20 [10]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Memphis 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Memphis Tigers Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

Memphis will also add Preferred Walk-on Conor Glennon a 5'10" PG from Brother Rice High School in Chicago.[11]

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Josh Minott SF	Boca Raton, Florida	Saint Andrew's School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	08/08/20 [12]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 79
John Camden SF	Wolfeboro, New Hampshire	Brewster Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	09/30/20 [13]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Jordan Nesbitt SF	Saint Louis, Missouri	St Louis Christian Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	10/01/20 [14]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 83
Sam Ayomide C	Malvern, Pennsylvania	The Phelps School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	10/13/20 [15]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 3  247Sports: 3  ESPN: 3
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Memphis 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020. "2021 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020. "2021 Memphis Tigers Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.

2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Arterio Morris CG	Dallas, Texas	Kimball High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	07/21/20 [16]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 87
Amarr Knox PG	Memphis, Tennessee	Bartlett High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	01/01/21 [17]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 7
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Memphis 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021. "2022 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021. "2022 Memphis Tigers Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[18]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Houston	99 (2)
2	Memphis	90 (2)
3	SMU	80
4	Cincinnati	77
5	South Florida	61
6	Tulsa	50
7	Wichita State	44
8	UCF	37
9	East Carolina	34
10	Temple	18
11	Tulane	15

Preseason Awards

• Preseason Rookie of the Year - Moussa Cisse
• All-AAC Second Team - Landers Nolley, D.J. Jeffries

Roster

2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
}} Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 D. J. Jeffries 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Olive Branch HS Olive Branch, Mississippi G 1 Jayden Hardaway 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So IMG Academy Memphis, Tennessee G 2 Alex Lomax 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr East HS Memphis, Tennessee G 3 Landers Nolley II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Virginia Tech Fairburn, Georgia F 4 Isaiah Stokes (S) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So Florida Memphis, Tennessee G 5 Boogie Ellis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Mission Bay HS San Diego, California G 10 Damion Baugh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Tennessee Prep Academy Nashville, Tennessee G 11 Lester Quiñones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So IMG Academy Brentwood, New York F 12 DeAndre Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Evansville Houston, Texas F 15 Lance Thomas (T) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Louisville Norcross, Georgia F 20 Ahmad Rand 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr USC Salkehatchie Lincolnton, Georgia C 23 Malcolm Dandridge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So East HS Memphis, Tennessee C 30 Conor Glennon (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Brother Rice HS Chicago, Illinois C 32 Moussa Cissé 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Lausanne Collegiate School Conakry, Guinea	Head coach Penny Hardaway (Memphis) Assistant coach(es) Tony Madlock (Memphis) Cody Toppert (Cornell) Jermaine Johnson (Texas–Arlington) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on (T) Transferred Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 8, 2020

• Nov 19, 2020 - Prior to the start of season, Isaiah Stokes was suspended for the year.[19]

• Jan 22, 2021 - Lance Thomas entered the transfer portal.[20]

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.

• The game scheduled against Ole Miss was cancelled after Ole Miss paused all basketball activities through Dec. 7th due to COVID-19 contact tracing.[21]

• The games @ Temple scheduled for Jan 2nd was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Temple program.[22]

• The game @ UCF originally scheduled for Jan 5th was moved to Feb 1st due to COVID-19 issues.[23]

• The game vs. SMU originally scheduled for Jan 14th was moved to Jan 26th due to COVID-19 issues in the SMU program.[24]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Saint Mary's Crossover Classic quarterfinals	W 73–56	1–0	24 – Ellis	9 – Jeffries	3 – Lomax	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 26, 2020* 11:00 a.m., ESPN		vs. Western Kentucky Crossover Classic semifinals	L 69–75	1–1	25 – Nolley II	10 – Jeffries	4 – Nolley II	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 27, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. VCU Crossover Classic third place game	L 59–70	1–2	17 – Jeffries	5 – Jeffries	5 – Baugh	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
December 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arkansas State	W 83–54	2–2	23 – Nolley II	10 – Tied	6 – Tied	FedExForum (2,829) Memphis, TN
December 5, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Arkansas	W 85–68	3–2	23 – Nolley II	10 – Cisse	5 – Bauh	FedExForum (2,564) Memphis, TN
December 8, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mississippi Valley State	W 94–57	4–2	21 – Jeffries	13 – Cisse	11 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,478) Memphis, TN
December 12, 2020* 4:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Auburn Holiday Hoopsgiving	L 71–74	4–3	16 – Jeffries	14 – Cisse	5 – Nolley II	State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA
December 16, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		Tulane	W 80–74	5–3 (1–0)	20 – Quiñones	11 – Jeffries	3 – Jeffries	FedExForum (100) Memphis, TN
December 21, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		Tulsa	L 49–56	5–4 (1–1)	13 – Williams	9 – Williams	3 – Tied	FedExForum  Memphis, TN
December 29, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		South Florida	W 58–57	6–4 (2–1)	13 – Quiñones	4 – Cisse	4 – Jeffries	FedExForum (133) Memphis, TN
January 2, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPNU		at Temple	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[25]					Liacouras Center  Philadelphia, PA
January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulsa	L 57–58	6–5 (2–2)	13 – Nolley II	10 – Dandridge	4 – Williams	Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK
January 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Wichita State	W 72–52	7–5 (3–2)	16 – Nolley II	10 – Tied	6 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,118) Memphis, TN
January 24, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		at East Carolina	W 80–53	8–5 (4–2)	15 – Cisse	9 – Cisse	5 – Lomax	Williams Arena (55) Greenville, NC
January 26, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		SMU	W 76–72	9–5 (5–2)	14 – Lomax	10 – Cisse	5 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,157) Memphis, TN
January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at SMU	L 65–67	9–6 (5–3)	19 – Nolley II	11 – Williams	8 – Lomax	Moody Coliseum (1,698) University Park, TX
February 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UCF	W 96–69	10–6 (6–3)	20 – Nolley II	7 – Jeffries	6 – Quiñones	FedExForum (2,106) Memphis, TN
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UCF	W 75–61	11–6 (7–3)	18 – Nolley II	10 – Nolley II	6 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,284) Memphis, TN
February 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN		East Carolina	W 66–59	12–6 (8–3)	12 – Tied	8 – Williams	9 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,371) Memphis, TN
February 11, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU		Cincinnati rivalry						FedExForum  Memphis, TN
February 14, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN		at Houston						Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Wichita State						Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Temple						FedExForum  Memphis, TN
February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulane						Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
February 28, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN		at Cincinnati rivalry						Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, OH
March 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		at South Florida						Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
March 7, 2021 11:00 a.m., CBS		Houston						FedExForum  Memphis, TN
AAC Tournament
March 11–14, 2021 TBD		vs.						Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	RV																			Not released
Coaches	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

1. Peterson, Randy (25 Apr 2020). "Iowa State men's basketball lands Memphis transfer Tyler Harris". desmoinesregister.com. Des Moines Register. Retrieved 30 Apr 2020.
2. Moore, Ben (2019-12-22). "Memphis Guard Ryan Boyce to Transfer to GSU". 247sports.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
3. ESPN News Services (2019-12-19). "James Wiseman leaves Memphis, to enter NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
4. Giviony, Jonathan. "Memphis star, AAC Player of the Year Precious Achiuwa to enter NBA draft". espn.com. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
5. "Tigers Add JUCO Standout Ahmad Rand". gotigersgo.com. University of Memphis Athletics. 16 Apr 2020. Retrieved 20 Apr 2020.
6. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (20 Apr 2020). "Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolley has committed to Memphis, per his Twitter page" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 Apr 2020 – via Twitter.
7. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (27 Aug 2020). "Source: Memphis' Landers Nolley has received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible for the 20-21 season. Transfer from Virginia Tech" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. Lindskog, Chad (15 May 2020). "DeAndre Williams transfers from Evansville to Memphis". courierpress.com. Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
9. Bieler, Des (17 Dec 2020). "NCAA grants blanket waiver to transfer athletes, most of whom can play right away". washingtonpost.com. Washington Post]. Retrieved 22 Dec 2020.
10. Givony, Jonathan (15 Jul 2020). "No. 24-rated prospect Moussa Cisse commits to Memphis basketball". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 15 Jul 2020.
11. Disabato, Pat. "Disabato: Brother Rice point guard Conor Glennon bets on himself by accepting preferred walk-on offer from Memphis". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 25 Jun 2020.
12. Munz, Jason (8 Aug 2020). "4-star prospect Josh Minott commits to Memphis". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 8 Aug 2020.
13. Munz, Jason (30 Sep 2020). "John Camden commits to Memphis. Will there be others for Penny Hardaway and Co. this week?". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 1 Oct 2020.
14. Munz, Jason (1 Oct 2020). "Jordan Nesbitt, a 4-star 'bucket-getter' gives verbal pledge to Penny Hardaway's Memphis basketball team". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 1 Oct 2020.
15. Munz, Jason (13 Oct 2020). "Sam Ayomide Onu, 7-foot center, commits to Memphis basketball over Kansas, Seton Hall". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 23 Nov 2020.
16. Munz, Jason (21 Jul 2020). "Arterio Morris, a top 25 Class of 2022 prospect, commits to Memphis basketball". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 23 Jul 2020.
17. Munz, Jason (1 Jan 2021). "Memphis scores commitment from Amarr Knox, Bartlett's 2022 point guard". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 6 Jan 2021.
18. "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
19. Munz, Jason (19 Nov 2020). "Memphis forward Isaiah Stokes suspended one year; Tigers still playing in Crossover Classic". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 23 Nov 2020.
20. @VerbalCommits (January 22, 2021). "Memphis F Lance Thomas (RS JR) has entered the transfer portal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
21. Munz, Jason (24 Nov 2020). "Penny Hardaway: Memphis basketball is working to add a game after Ole Miss cancellation". commercialappeal.com. Commercial Appeal. Retrieved 13 Dec 2020.
22. "Pair of Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. 31 Dec 2020.
23. "Memphis-UCF Men's Basketball Game Rescheduled for Feb. 1". theamerican.org. 7 Jan 2021.
24. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". theamerican.org. 14 Jan 2021.
25. "Pair of Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. 31 Dec 2020.