Memphis basketball’s 2026-27 nonconference slate is loaded with heavyweight matchups, and it gives Penny Hardaway’s team a clear early-season stress test.
The Tigers unveiled the full schedule Aug. 10, and it comes with as many as seven games against power conference opponents plus at least six games against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season. Memphis will also play four games against teams currently in the top 25 of Bart Torvik’s preseason projections: No.
8 Louisville, No. 13 Texas, No.
19 Iowa State and No. 25 Vanderbilt.
The opening stretch is as demanding as anything on the calendar. Memphis starts the regular season against Iowa State on Nov. 2 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Cyclones have won 25 or more games in each of the past three seasons under T.J. Otzelberger.
From there, the Tigers return home for VCU on Nov. 7, then head to Vanderbilt on Nov. 10 before welcoming Louisville on Nov. 15. That meeting with the Cardinals stands out for another reason, too: it will be the first time Louisville has played at FedExForum since March 1, 2014.
Memphis also has a home game against Evansville on Nov. 22, then heads into Battle 4 Atlantis. The Tigers open that event against Wake Forest on Nov. 25, followed by either Mississippi State or Penn State on Nov.
- The trip wraps up with Dayton on Nov. 29 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, as part of the Atlantic 10-American Conference Showcase.
The schedule keeps rolling into December with a mix of home games and tough road tests. Memphis hosts Jackson State on Dec. 2, a game that had not been announced previously, then travels to Baylor on Dec.
- Grand Canyon visits on Dec. 11, followed by a road game at Texas on Dec. 16 and a home date with Little Rock on Dec.
Penny Hardaway’s preseason setup already includes exhibition road games at Mississippi State on Oct. 23 and Arkansas on Oct. 29, and the program is also expected to add a third exhibition at FedExForum.
Complete tip-off times and television details will be announced later.
Hardaway said in July, “I love my schedule, because in the (nonconference), we play a really good schedule," Hardaway said in July. "We don't lose sight of conference (play), because conference is still tough enough, because you're always everybody's best game.
But I'm really proud of the schedule. Every year, we try do the best that we can and try to play the P4's, and try to put ourselves in position.”
Memphis basketball schedule 2026-27
Oct. 23: at Mississippi State (exhibition)
Oct. 29: at Arkansas (exhibition)
Nov. 2: vs. Iowa State (Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Nov. 7: host VCU
Nov. 10: at Vanderbilt
Nov. 15: host Louisville
Nov. 22: host Evansville
Nov. 25: vs. Wake Forest at Battle 4 Atlantis (Bahamas)
Nov. 27: vs. Mississippi State/Penn State at Battle 4 Atlantis (Bahamas)
Nov. 29: vs. Dayton (Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio - part of the Atlantic 10-American Conference Showcase)
Dec. 2: host Jackson State
Dec. 5: at Baylor
Dec. 11: host Grand Canyon
Dec. 16: at Texas
Dec. 22: host Little Rock
Feb. 20, 2027: host Utah State