Tiger Basketball Podcast

Penny Hardaway has gotten the Memphis basketball team to the round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament.  The Tigers defeated Boise State Thursday at the Moda Center to score the program's first Big Dance victory in eight years.  On this special edition of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto break down how Memphis beat the Broncos, highlight Hardaway...

Memphis, the 9 seed, and Boise State, the 8 seed.  The Tigers and Broncos are, on paper, at least, as evenly matched as they come. But, should the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee have put two of the hottest teams in the country against one another in the first round?  In this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto delve int...

Memphis polished off a white-hot stretch to end the season by pounding Houston.  Now, the Tigers head to the AAC Tournament, hoping to carry that momentum with them.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto recap the scene inside FedExForum during last week's beatdown of Houston, put into perspective how far Memphis has...

Jalen Duren or Landers Nolley II?  Coaching or free throw shooting?  Rallying from behind or winning big?  The Memphis basketball team's turnaround – winning eight of its last nine games – has been chock full of impressive moments and big-time performances. On this week's Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto dissect...

There's a lot riding on the next two weeks for the Memphis basketball team.  It begins Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2) when the Tigers welcome Temple to FedExForum.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto examine what went wrong in Memphis' loss at SMU, preview the upcoming game against the Owls and take a look at where the Ti...

Down the stretch they come.  Having won six straight – and with five games left in the regular season – the Memphis basketball team has put itself in a position where each game seems to be more important than the one before it. That may not be any truer than Sunday's matchup with SMU (2 p.m., ESPN).  A win over the Mustangs would do a lot for the Tigers. L...

The Memphis basketball team will take momentum built from a four-game winning streak into No. 6 Houston on Saturday (2:30 p.m., ABC).  The Tigers aren't an NCAA Tournament team just yet. But the game against the Cougars marks an opportunity for them to prove they are. Which is impressive considering the damage Memphis did to its resumè earlier this season.  On this week's episode...

The Memphis basketball team could make the trip to Cincinnati this week healthier than it has been in more than two months.  Several Tigers (Landers Nolley II, Jalen Duren, Jayden Hardaway and DeAndre Williams) have each missed an extended amount of time in recent weeks due to various injuries. They might all be back for Thursday's game (7 p.m., ESPN2).  If that's the case, it will certa...

Last time out, the Memphis basketball team beat Tulsa – the last-place team in the AAC – on the road by two points.  But it feels like more than that. It feels like the Tigers might have saved their season from total catastrophe.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto break down Memphis'...

Dull moments are few and far between for the Memphis basketball program these days.  Coach Penny Hardaway, on the heels of back-to-back road losses to UCF and ECU, announced assistant coach Rasheed Wallace (a former NBA All-Star) has transitioned to a "consultant's role" and will work remotely the remainder of the season.  The news was delivered just a day before the Tigers are due to ho...

If you're looking for dull moments in the 2021-22 Memphis basketball season up to this point, we wish you luck.  Penny Hardaway and his Tigers, despite winning for the third time in four games Tuesday, left FedExForum in a foul mood after another chapter in what has been a rollercoaster couple of months.  On this episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz a...

Memphis picked itself up off the mat Tuesday and delivered a resounding 92-78 win over eighth-ranked Alabama (No. 6 in this week's Associated Press poll).  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto relive some of the highlights, as well as some of the under-the-radar moments, from the win over the Crimson Tide. They also answer...

The Tigers are a team on the brink of a full-fledged crisis.  Can they recover?  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto examine the problems Memphis has faced during its three-game losing streak and discuss whether the team can get things turned around in time. 

There are no second chances when it comes to first impressions. To this point, the Memphis basketball team has played exclusively at home and exclusively on ESPN+. That changes this week as the Tigers travel to Brooklyn, N.Y., where they will face Virginia Tech on Wednesday in a game that will be broadcast to a national audience (ESPN2). And there’s a chance Memphis will be back on ESPN2 on...

The first three games of the Memphis basketball season have revealed plenty about these Tigers.  Want a weekly breakdown of all things Grizzlies, Tigers and 901 FC? Consider subscribing to our Memphis Sports newsletter. Most notably, despite all of the team's flaws, Penny Hardaway and Co. are still very good. We've also learned, however, that with a little work, a few adjustments in certain a...

Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren were as advertised and the Memphis basketball team's veteran core gave the Tigers all the stability it needed to come away winners in the season opener.  How it all came together and where they still have work to do are the primary topics of this week's edition of the Tiger Basketball Podcast. Co-hosts Mark Giannotto and Jason Munz break down the lineup combination...

The trajectory of the upcoming Memphis basketball season will hinge on myriad variables.  How it utilizes veteran guard Alex Lomax might be at the top of the list.  On this episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto debate the topic, while also evaluating the role of star freshman Emoni Bates. Munz and Giannotto also survey the big pictur...

Memphis did what it was supposed to do last week against LeMoyne-Owen.  Better yet, for the most part, it looked like most people hoped it would look. The Tigers played confidently and were in sync more often than not, despite missing several key pieces, including Emoni Bates and last year's leading scorer, Landers Nolley II.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat...

The Memphis basketball team achieved its highest preseason Associated Press Top 25 ranking in a decade this week.  Thirty-four of the AP's 63 voters had the 12th-ranked Tigers inside their top 10. The team even showed up on one ballot at No. 2 in the country, according to collegepolltracker.com. But seven voters did not include Memphis anywhere in their top 25.  On this week's episode of...

We know more today about the Memphis basketball program's pending NCAA infractions case than we did last week. That's because Independent Accountability Resolutions Process officials released a timeline of the case's procedural events on Monday.  But, for every question it answered, it raised many more.  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and c...

It's one thing to see it on paper, but it's something else entirely to observe it up close and personal.  If anything was made clear by watching the Memphis basketball team practice last week, it's how deep the Tigers' roster will be this season. Even without veteran guard Alex Lomax and high-profile transfer Earl Timberlake on the floor during the Memphis Rebounders Club's Happy Hour Hoops e...

The Memphis basketball team won a postseason tournament championship (the NIT) in March. It won an offseason championship – in a manner of speaking – by signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and adding Hall of Famer Larry Brown and former NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace to the coaching staff.  Will the Tigers make it three in a row with a national championship n...

 Football is the driver behind any and all conference realignment.  Always has been and always will be.  But, obviously, its effects aren't limited to football. So, as the American Athletic Conference appears set to lose Houston, Cincinnati and UCF to the Big 12, where does that leave the league from a basketball perspective?  On this week's episode of the Memphis Basketball Po...

The Memphis basketball offseason has been one wild ride.  And, one way or the other, the season to come is sure to follow suit.  On the long-awaited return of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, The Commercial Appeal's Tiger basketball beat writer Jason Munz and sports columnist Mark Giannotto revisit the highlights of the past five months – the No. 1 recruiting class, the start of...

The Memphis basketball program sailed into the offseason on the strength of its recent NIT championship run.  The Tigers ran the table at the postseason tournament, beating Dayton, Boise State, Colorado State and Mississippi State to win the crown for the second time (2002).  On this week's episode of the Tiger Basketball Podcast, beat writer Jason Munz and columnist Mark Giannotto...