Memphis walks into one of the first big road tests of its season Tuesday night, carrying a national ranking by votes and the kind of early momentum that turns heads fast. The Tigers, listed as the top team receiving votes with 97, take on No. 22 Vanderbilt at 6:15 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium in an in-state matchup that comes just two games into the year.
The start has been sharp. Memphis is 2-0 after knocking off No.
18 Iowa State and (RV) VCU, a stretch that gave the Tigers one of the strongest opening weeks in the country. Senior Jayden Reid has been the engine behind it all, earning American Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 29.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.
His outing against VCU was the headline performance: a career-high 32 points, plus the two free throws with five seconds left that pushed Memphis ahead for good in an 89-88 win.
Reid has been efficient, too. Through those two games, he’s 17-of-32 (.531) from the field, 5-of-11 (.455) from three and 19-of-23 (.826) at the line. He also crossed a major career milestone, moving past 1,000 points at the Division I level and sitting at 1,013.
Memphis has also been one of the best shooting teams in the American early on, leading the league in three-point percentage at .452. Senior Rihards Vavers has been a big part of that, ranking second on the team with 16.0 points per game while hitting 7-of-12 (.583) from deep.
Vanderbilt has opened just as cleanly, though in a different style. The Commodores are 2-0 after rolling past Bellarmine 93-47 and Wake Forest 74-51, holding opponents to 49.0 points per game.
Tyler Tanner, a preseason All-American and Naismith Player of the Year Watch List selection, leads the way at 18.5 points per game. Ace Glass III is right behind him at 14.0 points per game, and that matchup carries a little extra familiarity for Vavers, who played with Glass at Washington State last year.
Tuesday’s game will be on SEC Network Plus, and it can also be heard free on 98.9 The Roar with Dave Woloshin and Ken Moody on the call.
Memphis is trying to reach 3-0 for the fourth time under Penny Hardaway, and this is the fifth time his team has started 2-0. The Tigers have also been a tough out in these early-season spots under Hardaway, improving to 9-0 in season openers and home openers after the wins over Iowa State and VCU. Memphis has won 25 straight home openers.
The Tigers have also handled Power 4 opponents well under Hardaway, going 22-10. That run now includes a stretch of upcoming games against Vanderbilt, Louisville, Penn State, Baylor, Texas and either Mississippi State or Wake Forest.
There’s a little history attached to this one, too. Memphis has taken four of the last five meetings with Vanderbilt, though the Commodores won last year’s matchup 77-70. Under Hardaway, the Tigers are 2-1 against Vanderbilt, and he went 2-0 against the Commodores as a player in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
The opening week also brought a few other notable numbers. Memphis has made 25 free throws in back-to-back games and is shooting .704 (50-71) as a team at the stripe, with Luke Almodovar leading the way at 7-of-8 (.875). Almodovar is averaging 12.5 points per game and is 4-of-9 (.444) from long range.
His performance against Iowa State stood out in a big way. Memphis’ win over the Cyclones was the highest ranked opponent the program has ever beaten on opening day, and Reid led the way with 26 points while Almodovar added 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Almodovar also delivered the night’s flashiest moment, finishing with a posterizing dunk at the buzzer to end the first half and land SportsCenter No. 1 Top Play.
One more roster note matters heading into Tuesday: senior Nemanja Popovic has been cleared by the NCAA for two years of eligibility, but he must serve a six-game withholding period to start the 2026-27 season because of previous international competition. This will be the third of those six games. Popovic started at center in Memphis’ exhibition games against Mississippi State and Arkansas, averaging 14.0 points while shooting 11-of-16 (.688) from the field.
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Memphis Faces Early Road Test As Tigers Try To Stay Unbeaten
Memphis gets an early chance to see where it stands when it heads to Nashville on Nov. 10 to face Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym. The Tigers are 2-0 after a recent win over VCU, and this one brings a different kind of test, with a road setting and a quick turnaround from the opening stretch of the season.
Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m., and the game will be available nationally on SEC Network+ streaming. For a Memphis team trying to keep its unbeaten start intact, this is the sort of November matchup that can reveal a lot before the schedule really starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Women Are Off To A Start Tigers Fans Havent Seen In Years
Memphis has opened the season with a kind of steadiness the program has not shown in years, and Sundays 62-48 win over Little Rock was another sign this start is real. The Tigers are 3-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season, and they have done it by leaning on defense, depth and a balanced scoring approach rather than any one player carrying the load. Tamya Smith, Tierney Kelsey, Ainaya Williams and Daejah Richmond all chipped in as Memphis controlled the paint and got useful production from the bench.
What stands out most is how little room the Tigers have given opponents to settle in. Little Rock shot just 28.1 percent, a number that reflects the kind of pressure Memphis has brought early in the year, and the Tigers also won the battle for bench points and interior scoring. For a team trying to build on a rare fast start, the next question is whether this mix of toughness and balance can keep holding up once the schedule gets a little less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]
Memphis Has A Jayden Reid Problem Fans Should Be Watching
Memphis opened the 2026-27 season with a pair of statement wins over favored opponents in Iowa State and VCU, and Jayden Reid was right in the middle of both. He was named American Conference Player of the Week after averaging 29 points, four assists and two and a half steals, and he also reached 1,000 career points along the way, giving the Tigers an early star turn to build around.
Still, the first two games have also shown why the Tigers need more than just Reid carrying the load. Memphis has leaned heavily on him offensively, and the defense has had its own issues to sort through, all while key contributor Nemanja Popovi remains unavailable because of NCAA restrictions. The wins buy the Tigers time, but they also leave an obvious question hanging over the start of the season: how long can this level of dependence hold up? [Read more 🡒]