Memphis moves up in several bracketology projections

After three games, Memphis basketball sits at 2-1, and earlier this week several bracketologists have inserted the Tigers into their brackets.

Penny Hardaway’s team started the season with back-to-back wins over Iowa State and VCU, but they lost in their first true road game in Nashville against Vanderbilt.

Memphis spent the entire offseason outside of the bracket projections, but with the hot start, multiple outlets believe it will be the American’s representative in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers have a challenging non-conference slate, which could help and hurt their tournament chances.

With remaining games against Louisville, Dayton, Baylor, Grand Canyon, Texas and Utah State, Hardaway’s team will have plenty of opportunities to improve their resume, but the most important thing will be winning the conference. Wichita State looks like the biggest competition for Memphis, but several teams have put together nice starts to the season.

ESPN (Joe Lunardi):

Joe Lunardi updated his bracketology on November 10, and for the first time this season, he had the Tigers in the field. That was after the 2-0 start and before the loss against Vanderbilt. 

Lunardi has Hardaway’s team as a 13 seed and the automatic qualifier out of the American Conference. He has Memphis playing Alabama in the first round, and a win would set up a potential rematch against Iowa State or a meeting against High Point.

CBS Sports:

CBS Sports’ David Cobb and Jacob Fetner updated their bracketology on November 13, and they also have the Tigers as a 13 seed. He has them in the south region and playing UCLA in the first round. 

The Bruins have looked impressive to start the season, and it would be the first time Memphis has faced Mick Cronin since he was the head coach at Cincinnati. 

If the Tigers won that game, They would get the winner of Louisville, which would be a rematch of tomorrow’s game, or the winner of the play-in game between Ole Miss and Purdue, who they have in the No. 12 spot.

Bracketville (Bracket Guy Dave):

Bracket Guy Dave updated his bracketology on Tuesday, which was before Memphis’ first loss, and he has Hardaway’s team all the way up on the 8-line. He has the Tigers as the home team against St. Louis in Louisville. 

This would be a great outcome for Memphis because the destination would give fans an opportunity to drive to the game. The Tigers have been the No. 8 seed several times under Hardaway, and fans know that it means a potential matchup against the No. 1 see in the next round. 

Dave has Illinois as the No. 1 seed in that pod. The Fighting Illini are off to a 3-1 start this season, and they’re averaging 104.5 points per game.