The conference portion of the Memphis basketball 2025-26 schedule became a little clearer on July 23.
The rebranded American Conference announced its schedule pairings for the 13 teams in the league. Each team will play 18 conference games − six home-and-home, three home-only and three away-only. Dates and tip-off times for the Tigers’ conference games will be announced later, although the Tigers’ American opener is set for Dec. 30.
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Memphis’ conference slate didn’t do much to help its March Madness resumé last season. The Tigers ranked No. 5 in non-conference strength of schedule and 160th in conference strength of schedule in 2024-25. But the American will give its defending champion and the only team to make the NCAA tournament as many quality opportunities as it can in 2025-26.
Five of the six American teams Penny Hardaway and his Tigers will play twice finished in the top 150 of the NCAA’s NET rankings − North Texas (No. 65), UAB (No. 106), FAU (No. 111), Wichita State (No. 134) and Tulane (No. 145).
Memphis will also face South Florida, which was No. 189 in the NET last season but CBS Sports’ preseason pick to win the ACC tournament, at home and on the road.
Charlotte, Temple and UTSA are the Tigers’ three home-only opponents, while East Carolina, Rice and Tulsa are their three away-only matchups.
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Memphis’ non-conference schedule has not yet been finalized, but most of it is already in place − and, like last season, it sets up to be among the strongest in the nation:
Home games: San Francisco (Nov. 8), UNLV (Nov. 16), New Orleans (TBA), Baylor (Dec. 6) and Vanderbilt (Dec. 17).
Away games: Ole Miss (TBA), Louisville (Dec. 13), Mississippi State (Dec. 20) and Utah State (Feb. 14, 2026).
Neutral-site games: Purdue (Nov. 20) and either Texas Tech or Wake Forest (Nov. 21) at the Baha Mar Hoops Challenge.
Hardaway’s Tigers have one non-conference opening that has not yet been announced.
Memphis women’s basketball American scheduling pairings
The Memphis women’s basketball program also announced its American scheduling pairings July 23.
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Alex Simmons’ Tigers − who finished 10th in the league standings in 2024-25 − will meet each of these teams twice (at home and on the road): UAB, Charlotte, East Carolina, UTSA, Tulane and Wichita State. Their home-only opponents will be FAU, Rice and South Florida, while their away-only foes will be North Texas, Temple and Tulsa.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball schedule 2025-26: Tigers’ American games set
