What to watch for in Memphis’ exhibition against Mississippi State

Memphis kicks off the season tonight with its first exhibition game against Mississippi State. It will be the first of two exhibitions before the season starts on November 2. 

Tonight’s game will be streamed on State 1878.

Memphis completely turned over its roster and coaching staff during the offseason, and this will be the first look of what Penny Hardaway’s new team looks like. The head coach added 13 players, including 9 transfers, 3 high school signees and an international signee.

Julius Thedford and William Whorton are the only two players to return to the roster after a 13-19 season.

The Tigers non-conference schedule is brutal, and it will be a good opportunity for them to prepare against two SEC opponents in the preseason.

Here are three things to watch in tonight’s exhibition.

Rotations:

With 13 new players on the roster, it will be interesting to see what the rotations look like in both exhibition games. There’s a good chance that they will look much different from the regular season because this is a good opportunity for coaches to see how different players work together.

It feels like there are two locks in the starting five. Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid and Southern Miss transfer Tylik Weeks, but the other three positions could be up in the air. Big man Nemanja Popović will be a starter on this team, but he has yet to be granted eligibility by the NCAA.

It was reported that Popović, SEMO transfer Luke Almodovar and Washington State transfer Rihards Vavers were the starters in addition to Reid and Weeks in the secret scrimmage against Jacksonville State, and we’ll see if Hardaway falls with the same five against the Bulldogs.

Keep an eye on who comes off the bench and when they come off the bench in both of the exhibitions.

The defense:

Hardaway has stressed that the Tigers will return to making defense a priority this season, and it will be interesting to see how they look on that end of the court against SEC opponents. Mississippi State has one of the best players in the SEC on its roster, but it’s unclear if he will play tonight.

If Josh Hubbard is in the lineup, it will give the Tigers an opportunity to matchup against one of the best scorers in the country, and it will be interesting to see who would matchup against him.

Rebounding will also be a big question going into these exhibition games. Last year, the Memphis ranked No. 350 in defensive rebounding percentage, and it will be fun to see how they rebound against Mississippi State and the Razorbacks.

Three-point shooting:

It appears the Tigers have added more three-point shooters this offseason, and they should be a much better three-point shooting team this year. 

During the 2023-24 season, the team shot 35 percent from deep, but they only attempted 8.3 threes per game. Last year, Memphis shot 31.6 percent from deep, ranking No. 304 in the country.

Hardaway has added several players that can be knock down shooters, and fans saw a glimpse of that during Zoo Hoops when Almodovar knocked down 15 triples in one minute.

It will be interesting to see how they shoot the ball in a more realistic game scenario.