The 2021–22 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

in the

2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2021 and concluded on March 13, 2022. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 15 and concluded on April 4 with the c ...

. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway played colle ...

. The team played their home games at

FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NCAA Division I Memphis Tigers men's ba ...

as members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in AAC Play to finish in 3rd place. They defeated UCF and SMU to advance to the championship game of the AAC tournament where they lost to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West Region, where they defeated

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to Gonzaga.

Previous season

The

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

finished the 2020–21 season 20–8, 11–4 in AAC play, finishing in third place. They entered as the No. 3 seed in the AAC tournament, where they would lose to No. 2 seed

in the semifinals. They were selected as a No. 1 seed in the NIT. The Tigers would go on to win the tournament, their second overall, and first since

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Offseason

On June 11, 2021, speculation emerged that Penny Hardaway was a candidate for multiple head coaching jobs in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

including his former team, the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. On June 28, reports emerged that Hardaway had in fact interviewed and emerged as a top candidate for the vacant head coaching job. Two days later, via Instagram, Hardaway confirmed he was not leaving the University of Memphis, and reports emerged that

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach Larry Brown had accepted an offer to be his assistant.

Departing players

Incoming transfers

2021 recruiting class

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 13, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards

Preseason Awards

* AAC Preseason Rookie of the Year -

Jalen Duren Jalen Montez Duren ( ; born November 18, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. A center, he stands and wei ...

* AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team - Jalen Duren * AAC Preseason All-Conference First Team -

Landers Nolley II Landers Sanchez Nolley II (born March 5, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Homenetmen Beirut of the Lebanese Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies, the Memphis Tigers men's basketba ...

* AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team -

Emoni Bates Emoni James-Wayne Bates ( ; born January 28, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. He pl ...

* AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team - DeAndre Williams

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, AAC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament Source

Awards and honors

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Awards

* Freshman of the Year:

All-AAC First Team

*Jalen Duren

All-AAC Second Team

* DeAndre Williams

All-AAC Freshman Team

*Jalen Duren * Josh Minott Source

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

Memphis Tigers men's basketball seasons

2020s in Memphis, Tennessee