Memphis basketball debuts at No. 85 in preseason KenPom ratings

The 2027 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings released on Sunday, and Memphis debuted at No. 85 in the preseason ratings. The Tigers rank No. 72 in offensive rating and No. 87 in defensive rating, and they are the top ranked team in the American conference.

KenPom is an analytics website that uses offensive and defensive efficiency ratings to rank all 365 Division I teams. It’s viewed as one of the best analytics website and rankings in college basketball.

Penny Hardaway had to completely overhaul his roster after finishing 13-19 last season and losing all but two players. The Tigers finished No. 133 in the KenPom ratings last year, which is the worst finish under Hardaway.

William Whorton and Julius Thedford are the only two players to return to the roster, and Hardaway brought in 13 new players. Nine players were brought in from the transfer portal, three were brought in as high school signees, and one was added as an international signee.

Nemanja Popovic, who the Tigers added from Serbia, has yet to be cleared by the NCAA, but most people within the program and around college basketball expect him to be cleared before the season starts.

Most people predict Wichita State to win the American, but KenPom has the Shockers five spots behind the Tigers at No. 90. South Florida is the only other team in the top 100, and they debut at No. 94.

According to KenPom’s conference Net rating, the American will start the season as the No. 9 conference in the country behind the “power five” conferences, the Pac-12, the Atlantic 10 and the Mountain West.

Eight of the Tigers’ non-conference opponents rank inside the top 60, including the season-opening opponent Iowa State. The Cyclones are one of two teams ranked inside the top 10 in KenPom’s preseason ratings on Memphis’ schedule, and they debut at No. 6. Texas is the other team inside the top 10 at No. 10.

KenPom’s projected record for Hardaway’s team is 18-13 and 12-6 in conference play, not including the second game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. That means the analytical website thinks the Tigers will win six of their non-conference games that are currently on the schedule.

Hardaway, Southern Miss transfer Tylik Weeks and Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid are in Tampa, Florida for the American Tipoff. Memphis was selected to finish second in the conference behind Wichita State in the preseason coaches poll, and both players appeared on the preseason All-Conference teams.

Reid was named to the first team, while Weeks appeared on the second team.

Memphis will play two exhibitions before the season starts on November 6 in South Dakota against Iowa State.