What we learned about Memphis through the Non-conference slate

Memphis starts American Conference play on Wednesday against North Texas, which almost puts an end to the non-conference slate. The Tigers have played 12 non-conference games, with one remaining against Utah State in February, and they currently have a 5-7 record in non-conference games. 

With the non-conference slate mostly behind them, what have we learned about Memphis through the first two months of the season?

Penny Hardaway’s team started the year with a win over San Francisco, but lost the next four games, including a 14-point home loss against UNLV. The Tigers responded by playing well in the Bahamas against Purdue and Wake Forest, but they lost both of those games.

Memphis returned home and won three straight games against Southern Illinois, New Orleans and Baylor before going on another three-game losing streak. 

Hardaway’s team picked up a much-needed win over Alabama State before they received a nine-day break for the Holidays.

Here are a couple of things that jumped out during the first two months of the season:

Offensive struggles

Memphis struggled on the offensive end of the court throughout the non-conference slate, shooting only 42.5 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from deep. They also couldn’t find much consistency from a scoring standpoint, and only two players are averaging more than 10 points per game, including Curtis Givens III, who missed five games with an injury.

According to KenPom, Memphis ranks No. 270 in effective field goal percentage,  No. 235 in three-point percentage and No. 269 in two-point percentage. Six teams in the American currently have a better offensive rating than the Tigers, with Tulsa leading the way with an 118.6 offensive rating.

Several players have shown flashes this season, but Memphis must find more scoring options behind Givens and Dug McDaniel. Guys like Zach Davis and Hasan Abdul Hakim have both shown they can play that role, but Hardaway has limit their minutes due to effort in recent games.

Turnovers

The turnover category has been up and down all year, but they’re averaging 18.7 turnovers per game over the last three games. The second-half turnovers hurt the Tigers against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, leading to losses in both games.

Hardaway’s team had 20 turnovers last week against Alabama State.

While they’re averaging 14.3 turnovers per game, the turnovers are going in the wrong direction, and opposing teams are averaging 16.3 points off turnovers. Six players have double-digit turnovers through 12 games, and Memphis ranks No. 302 in turnover percentage.

Injuries 

Injuries might be the biggest storyline of the season, aside from the win-loss record. Multiple players have been sidelined with injuries this year, and the Tigers had to play multiple games without Givens and Julius Thedford.

Both players have played massive roles on the team, and it’s clear to see that Memphis could’ve used both while they were away.

Givens has been the biggest story. He has scored 18 points in both games since returning from injury, and it looks like he can be a consistent scoring option moving forward. 

Thedford has struggled scoring the ball since coming back from injury, but he has made an impact in other ways, being a force on the boards and coming up with stops on the defensive end.

Other players have missed time, including Sincere Parker. The senior hasn’t missed a game, but his playing time has been affected by nagging injuries.