The 2021–22 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach Penny Hardaway. The team played their home games at FedExForum as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in AAC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated UCF and SMU to advance to the championship game of the AAC tournament where they lost to Houston. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West Region, where they defeated Boise State in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Gonzaga.
Previous season The Tigers finished the 2020–21 season 20–8, 11–4 in AAC play, finishing in third place. They entered as the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, where they would lose to No. 2 seed Houston in the semifinals. They were selected as a No. 1 seed in the NIT. The Tigers would go on to win the tournament, their second overall, and first since 2002.
Offseason On June 11, 2021, speculation emerged that Penny Hardaway was a candidate for multiple head coaching jobs in the NBA including his former team, the Orlando Magic. On June 28, reports emerged that Hardaway had in fact interviewed and emerged as a top candidate for the vacant head coaching job. Two days later, via Instagram, Hardaway confirmed he was not leaving the University of Memphis, and reports emerged that Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown had accepted an offer to be his assistant.
Departing players Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes D. J. Jeffries 0 F 6'7" 215 Olive Branch, MS Transferred to Mississippi State Isaiah Stokes 4 F 6'8" 250 Memphis, TN Dismissed from team Boogie Ellis 5 G 6'3" 180 San Diego, CA Transferred to USC Damion Baugh 10 G 6'3" 185 Nashville, TN Transferred to TCU Jordan Nesbitt 14 G 6'6" 185 St. Louis, MO Transferred to Saint Louis Lance Thomas 15 F 6'9" 224 Norcross, GA Transferred to South Alabama (mid-season) Ahmad Rand 20 F 6'8" 180 Lincolnton, GA Transferred to Oregon State (mid-season) Moussa Cissé 32 C 6'10" 220 Conakry, Guinea Transferred to Oklahoma State
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Earl Timberlake 0 G 6'6" 220 Washington, D.C. Transferred from Miami (Florida). Timberlake will have four years of remaining eligibility. Chandler Lawson 4 F 6'7" 215 Memphis, TN Transferred from Oregon. Lawson will have three years of remaining eligibility. Tyler Harris 14 G 5'9" 148 Memphis, TN Walk–on; transferred from Iowa State. Harris will have two years of remaining eligibility.
2021 recruiting class
Preseason
AAC preseason media poll
On October 13, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards
Coaches Poll 1 Houston 98 (8) 2 Memphis 92 (3) 3 SMU 77 4 Wichita State 76 5 UCF 66 6 Cincinnati 52 7 Tulsa 43 8 Temple 37 T-9 South Florida 25 T-9 Tulane 25 11 East Carolina 14
Preseason Awards AAC Preseason Rookie of the Year - Jalen Duren AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team - Jalen Duren AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team - Landers Nolley II AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team - Emoni Bates AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team - DeAndre Williams
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| AAC regular season
!colspan=12 style=| AAC Tournament
!colspan=12 style=|NCAA tournament
Source
Awards and honors
American Athletic Conference honors
All-AAC Awards Freshman of the Year: Jalen Duren
All-AAC First Team Jalen Duren
All-AAC Second Team DeAndre Williams
All-AAC Freshman Team Jalen Duren Josh Minott
Source
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.
References