Tiger Basketball Podcast

Penny Hardaway is not leaving anything to chance. Hence the pursuit of 24-year-old Serbian center Nemanja Popović, which yielded a commitment from the All-Polish Basketball League first-team selection.  All that's left for he and the Tigers is the formal signing. While we await clearance of that final hurdle, Jason Munz and Jonah Dylan dive into what Popović's addition might mean for Memphi...

There is a high degree of surface-level significance to University of Memphis athletics' plan to fully fund revenue sharing in 2026-27.  There are also what feels like a proverbial metric ton of layers to the news that are at least equally significant. Some might argue even more significant.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, Jason Munz and Jonah Dylan recap the ann...

The start of Memphis basketball's 2026-27 season is still more than five months away. But coach Penny Hardaway already has everything he needs to start making lineup decisions and rotation choices.  Hardaway likely won't officially settle on anything for a long while. After all, summer workouts don't even begin for another two weeks. But, on this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast...

Does Memphis basketball have enough money to compete in today's day and age?  That issue is unequivocally at the forefront of the Tigers' offseason, as coach Penny Hardaway works to retool his roster in hopes of rebounding from a dreadful 13-19 season.  On this episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, Jason Munz and Jonah Dylan unpack that topic and highlight some of Memphis athletic dir...

Intrigue always accompanies the Memphis basketball offseason under coach Penny Hardaway.  It hasn't even been a month since the Tigers' 2025-26 season mercifully ended, and the amount of notable developments we're still sorting through and processing is already substantial.  And, undoubtedly, there is still much more to come.  With that in mind, Jason Munz and Jonah Dylan recently c...

Despair and desolation.  If Penny Hardaway and Memphis basketball are to eradicate the feeling of misery that has enveloped the program, a lot has to happen between now and Nov. 2.  Perhaps nothing is more important than getting the roster right. So, how does Hardaway do that? Where did he go wrong in 2025-26? Which players (if any) should he bring back? What are the Tigers' biggest need...

The Memphis Tigers won the American Conference Tournament last season.  Will they repeat? They'll have to win five games in five days and eliminate four teams more well rested than them to do it. But isn't that the very essence of March Madness?  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, Jonah Dylan and Jason Munz pore over the reasons why you should feel optimistic about M...

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway, as his team has lost six straight games, has not blamed injuries. He has not cited a lack of resources. He has not hinted at behind-the-scenes drama. Hardaway has, in large part, avoided making excuses.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, Jonah Dylan and Jason Munz surmise some potential reasoning behind that.  Also, Dylan and...

Memphis basketball still has four games left in what's been a dreadful regular season.  The Tigers have lost four in a row, and there are no objective signs that things will get better before the book on this particular group is finally closed.  For those reasons, the number of uncomfortable conversations swirling around Memphis and its coach Penny Hardaway continues to rise. On this wee...

Who knew the first Memphis basketball-Utah State meeting in history would yield some legitimate theatrics, while also highlighting a broader conversation about the role metrics play in March Madness?  While that is unclear, that's sort of what's happened since the Tigers and Aggies met on Feb. 14.  Also in the past week: Memphis suspended two players indefinitely, then dismissed one and...

The American Conference race is as wide open as its been in recent memory.  Only one game separates the current top six teams in the standings (as of Feb. 10). Memphis is one of those six teams. And, believe it or not, the Tigers (12-11, 7-4 in league play) are as hot as any of them. Penny Hardaway's team has won back-to-back games (tied for the longest active win streak in The American) and...

Coming off back-to-back home wins, and having won five of its last six games, Penny Hardaway recently declared his Memphis basketball team has finally turned a corner.  Can we trust him? Is it safe to even entertain the thought that the Tigers may, in fact, be "back" after they responded to a disappointing loss at FAU by beating Temple and UTSA in wildly different fashions?  On this week...

Memphis basketball was knocked off its perch, tied atop the American Conference standings, in deflating fashion Jan. 11. That's when the Tigers were beaten handily by FAU, sending some fans' emotions into a tailspin. Not necessarily because the team lost one game. But largely because the same issues that plagued the team in ugly losses to UNLV and Louisville reared their head again.  On this...

The Tigers are 2-0 in American Conference play, which is good enough for a first-place tie with Tulane and Temple.  It's an encouraging start for Penny Hardaway's team, especially considering how shaky some other teams' starts were. But how much does the next nine weeks matter in the grand scheme of things for the Tigers, all things considered?  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basket...

Memphis football has officially ushered in the Charles Huff era. The Tigers' new football coach was introduced Dec. 10, when he made clear, "it's time to win a championship." Anything less is a goal unreached.  On this special football edition of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, Jonah Dylan and Jason Munz put a bow Ryan Silverfield's somewhat complicated tenure as Memphis head coach and set the...

The Memphis Tigers, nine games into the season, are still searching for a signature win.  Maybe they'll get it against No. 12 Vanderbilt on Dec. 17. If so, it could prove that the issues from the monster loss at No. 11 Louisville are correctable.  Will Penny Hardaway's team bounce back and get that marquee victory it needs in a bad way?  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketbal...

The storied Memphis-Louisville basketball rivalry resumes Dec. 13, 2025, after an eight-year hiatus.  And, for that, we are thankful. In fact, we should never again be left to wonder when the next time the Tigers and Cardinals will play. They should square off regularly no matter what.  In this case, the upcoming meeting at the KFC Yum! Center is the first of a six-game series that will...

Penny Hardaway and his Memphis basketball Tigers are gearing up for an important stretch of games, starting with New Orleans on Dec. 3.  It continues with Baylor, then Louisville, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. And how the team fares might have major March Madness at-large candidacy implications.  With that in mind, will the recent debut of forward Hasan Abdul Hakim turn out to be a k...

There's only one way to absorb a 1-4 start that includes a four-game losing streak. Recovering from such a thing won't be easy. It may even be impossible. But the Memphis basketball team can dig itself out of the hole it's in.  So says Tiger basketball beat writer Jason Munz. On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, he and Tiger football beat writer Jonah Dylan (who is not conv...

Memphis basketball has made a name for itself in recent years as a significant threat in non-conference play.  From 2021 to 2024, Penny Hardaway's Tigers are 31-8 outside American Conference play in the regular season. That stretch includes wins over UConn, Clemson, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri, Texas A&M, Auburn, Vanderbilt and more.  But, after starting th...

Two games into the regular season, Memphis basketball fans seem to be either heartened by the Tigers' play or resigned to a ho-hum existence that may or may not result in a March Madness appearance.  There isn't much in-between.  Penny Hardaway has his team off to a 1-1 start with a home win over San Francisco and a road loss to Ole Miss.  Where do we stand? On this week's episode o...

The Memphis basketball team lost to Arkansas and Auburn by more than 20 points apiece in a pair of lopsided exhibition games. Are those results harbingers of dark days ahead for the Tigers, who open the regular season against San Francisco (2 p.m., Nov. 8, ESPN+)? Or, are they merely a mirage?  The answer is simple: We don't know.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast,...

Any discussion about preseason exhibition college basketball should feature a healthy dose of nuance.  The Memphis basketball team's 99-75 loss to Arkansas is no exception.  The result is the result, but it's far from the most important thing. If nothing else, it did nothing to put a damper on the Tigers' confidence level about this season. The opposite, in fact.  "I like what we go...

For the first time in more than 20 years, Memphis basketball will host the Arkansas Razorbacks.  Sure, it's an exhibition game (part of the second annual Hoops For St. Jude Tip Off Classic). It won't count toward either program's record. It won't help either team in the standings. It won't do anything for their March Madness outlook.  But John Calipari returning to face the Tigers (the t...

We, here at The Commercial Appeal, recognize it can be difficult to keep up with the vast amount of roster turnover Memphis basketball undergoes each season.  But especially this season. All 15 players on Penny Hardaway's 2025-26 roster were members of someone else's roster last season. Top to bottom: they're all brand new to the Tigers.  Well, almost. After all, Hardaway has welcomed As...