MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men’s basketball team will open its 18-game American Athletic Conference season Thursday, Jan. 3 at FedExForum against perennial NCAA Tournament participant Wichita State and finish March 9, also at home, against Tulsa.
The AAC released the conference schedule today and Memphis, in its first season under coach Penny Hardaway, will play Wichita State and Cincinnati home-and-away, along with UCF, ECU, Temple, Tulane and Tulsa. The Tigers will play single games against Houston (Jan. 6 at Houston), SMU (Jan. 19 at home), USF (Feb. 2 at USF) and UConn (Feb. 10 at home).
All the UofM’s conference games will be carried by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews or ESPN3 and CBS Sports Network (CBSSN).
CBS Sports Network will carry the Tigers’ conference opener against Wichita State. CBS Sports Network will carry three other games: Jan. 24 at Temple, Jan. 27 at home vs. UCF and Feb. 10 at home vs. UConn.
Wichita State, which joined the AAC last season, played the Tigers at FedExForum in February. Memphis plays at Wichita State Feb. 23. The Shockers have appeared in seven straight NCAA tournaments.
The Tigers play defending league champion Cincinnati Feb. 7 at home and March 2 in Cincinnati. Memphis battled the Bearcats three times last season, including in the semifinals of the AAC Championships in Orlando. The Tigers led the Bearcats by 13 points at the half in the league semifinals before falling, 70-60.
UCF, coached by Johnny Dawkins, beat the Tigers twice last season. The Knights come to FedExForum Jan. 27, and the Tigers travel to Orlando Feb. 16.
Memphis played host to Houston in February and posted a 91-85 victory over the the 23rd-ranked Cougars. Houston finished 27-8 and tied Wichita State for second in the AAC standings at 14-4.
The Memphis schedule includes six Saturday games (two at home), four Sunday games (two at home), four Thursday games (three at home), three Wednesday games (one at home) and a Tuesday game on Feb. 26 against Temple.
The Tigers will play host to the American Athletic Conference Championship for the first time since 2014 when the league tournament is held March 14-17 at FedExForum.
Memphis opens the regular season Nov. 6 at home against Tennessee Tech after playing exhibition games Oct. 25 against LeMoyne-Owen and Nov. 2 against Christian Brothers University.
Tennessee will visit Dec. 15 in a game that tips off at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
Memphis Madness is scheduled for Oct. 4 at FedExForum.
2018-19 MEMPHIS AAC SCHEDULE
(All times Central)
Jan. 3 Wichita State (8:30 p.m./CBSSN)
Jan. 6 at Houston (5 p.m./ESPNews)
Jan. 10 ECU (8 p.m./ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Jan. 13 at Tulane (5 p.m./ESPNU)
Jan. 19 SMU (3 p.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Jan. 24 at Temple (6 p.m./CBSSN)
Jan. 27 UCF (3 p.m./CBSSN)
Jan. 30 at Tulsa (7 p.m./ESPNews)
Feb. 2 at USF (11 a.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Feb. 7 Cincinnati (6 p.m./ESPN or ESPN2)
Feb. 10 UConn (1 p.m./CBSSN)
Feb. 13 at ECU (6 p.m./ESPN3)
Feb. 16 at UCF (5 p.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Feb. 20 Tulane (6 p.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Feb. 23 at Wichita State (7 p.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Feb. 26 Temple (8 p.m./ESPNU)
March 2 at Cincinnati (7 p.m./ESPN2 or ESPNU)
March 9 Tulsa (8:30 p.m./ESPNU)