Memphis Tigers (25-9, 10-6)
Projected starting five:
So. G Joe Jackson
So. G Will Barton
Fr. F Adonis Thomas
Sr. F Wesley Witherspoon
So. F Tarik Black
Important departures:
Will Coleman: 7 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Additions:
Top 10-ranked SF Adonis Thomas
Juco C Stan Simpson
% returning scoring and rebounding:
Scoring: 88.3 percent
Rebounding: 85.5 percent
Schedule highlights
Key nonconference game: Michigan, Nov. 21
Key conference stretch: at Marshall Feb. 25, vs. UCF Feb. 28 and at Tulsa March 3
Outlook:
Memphis didn’t quite live up to the hype last season. Early on, the team played disjointed, as should be expected from a freshmen-laden team. During conference play, Memphis proved that it could beat the best teams in C-USA. Unfortunately, they also proved that they could lose to the worst teams in C-USA.
Once the C-USA tournament rolled around, Memphis finally seemed to click. It’s no coincidence that the team looked much better once Joe Jackson started playing under control. Jackson ended up earning the tournament MVP award, and Memphis won the tournament, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They lost their NCAA tournament game by one point to an Arizona team that made the Elite Eight. Expect Memphis to dominate C-USA this season and put together a deeper run in the Big Dance.
