Memphis will get a high-profile neutral-site date with Dayton on Nov. 29, but the bigger detail is where it’s being played: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
The Tigers’ game against the Flyers is part of the Atlantic 10/American Conference Showcase, and the site announcement came on Aug. 6 after the matchup had already been confirmed in March. The doubleheader will also include Saint Louis and USF. It had originally been slated for the United Center in Chicago.
For Penny Hardaway’s program, Columbus carries a little extra weight. Memphis is headed back to Nationwide Arena for the first time since March 10, 2023, when its NCAA Tournament run ended in stunning fashion against FAU.
The Tigers led 65-64 with 6.7 seconds left before a scramble for a loose ball turned into a jump ball, giving FAU possession with 6.3 seconds remaining. Nick Boyd then buried the go-ahead shot with 2.8 seconds to play, and the Owls kept rolling from there all the way to the Final Four.
The Dayton game will be the 20th meeting between the programs. Dayton leads the series 12-8, though Memphis won the latest matchup, a first-round NIT game on March 20, 2021, in Denton, Texas. The Tigers went on to win that tournament.
Memphis’ 2026-27 schedule includes 14 nonconference games, with two still to be announced, along with 18 American Conference games. The Tigers open with a neutral-site game against Iowa State on Nov. 2 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The rest of the nonconference slate already has a clear shape. Memphis plays exhibition games at Mississippi State on Oct. 23 and at Arkansas on Oct. 29, then hosts VCU on Nov. 7, travels to Vanderbilt on Nov. 10, hosts Louisville on Nov. 15 and Evansville on Nov. 22, and heads to the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas from Nov.
25-27. After Dayton, the Tigers go to Baylor on Dec. 5, host Grand Canyon on Dec. 11, visit Texas on Dec. 16 and then host Utah State on Feb.
20, 2027.
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