2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This is the 100th season of Tiger basketball, the third under head coach Penny Hardaway, and the eighth as members of the American Athletic Conference. They play their home games at the FedEx Forum. They finished the season 20-8, 11-4 to finish in 3rd place. They defeated UCF in the quarterfinals of the AAC Tournament before losing in the semifinals to Houston. They received an invitation to the NIT where they defeated Dayton, Boise State, Colorado State, and Mississippi State to become NIT Champions.

2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball
NIT Champions
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	20–8 (11–4 AAC)
Head coach	Penny Hardaway (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Tony Madlock Jermaine Johnson Cody Toppert
Home arena	FedExForum
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Wichita State	11	–	2		.846			16	–	6		.727
No. 6 Houston †	14	–	3		.824			28	–	4		.875
Memphis	11	–	4		.733			20	–	8		.714
SMU	7	–	4		.636			11	–	6		.647
Cincinnati	8	–	6		.571			12	–	11		.522
UCF	8	–	10		.444			11	–	12		.478
Tulsa	7	–	9		.438			11	–	12		.478
South Florida	4	–	10		.286			9	–	13		.409
Temple	4	–	10		.286			5	–	11		.313
Tulane	4	–	12		.250			10	–	13		.435
East Carolina	2	–	10		.167			8	–	11		.421
† 2021 AAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2019–20 season 21–10, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in sixth place. They entered as the No. 6 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Tyler Harris	1	G	5'9	150	Sophomore	Memphis, TN	Transferred to Iowa State[1]
Ryan Boyce	12	F	6'6	185	RS Freshman	Memphis, TN	Transferred to Georgia State (mid-season)[2]
Isaiah Maurice	14	F	6'10	224	Senior	Durham, NC	Graduated
James Wiseman	32	C	7'1	240	Freshman	Nashville, TN	Left team (mid-season)[3]
Precious Achiuwa	55	F	6'9	225	Freshman	Port Harcourt, Nigeria	Declared for NBA draft; selected 20th overall by the Miami Heat[4]

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Ahmad Rand	F	6'8"	180	Junior	Lincolnton, GA	Junior college transferred from USC Salkehatchie.[5]
Landers Nolley II	F	6'7"	225	RS Sophomore	Atlanta, GA	Transferred from Virginia Tech. Nolley was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[6][7]
DeAndre Williams	F	6'9"	190	Junior	Houston, TX	Transferred from Evansville. Williams was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on December 16. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[8][9]

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Moussa Cissé C	Conakry, Guinea	Lausanne Collegiate School	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	07/15/20 [10]
	Star ratings: Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Memphis 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Memphis Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020. "2020 Memphis Tigers Basketball 24/7 Sports Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

Memphis will also add Preferred Walk-on Conor Glennon a 5'10" PG from Brother Rice High School in Chicago.^[11]

Preseason Awards

• Preseason Rookie of the Year - Moussa Cisse
• All-AAC Second Team - Landers Nolley, D.J. Jeffries

Roster

2020–21 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 D. J. Jeffries 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Olive Branch HS Olive Branch, Mississippi G 1 Jayden Hardaway 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So IMG Academy Memphis, Tennessee G 2 Alex Lomax 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr East HS Memphis, Tennessee G 3 Landers Nolley II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Virginia Tech Fairburn, Georgia F 4 Isaiah Stokes (S) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So Florida Memphis, Tennessee G 5 Boogie Ellis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Mission Bay HS San Diego, California G 10 Damion Baugh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Tennessee Prep Academy Nashville, Tennessee G 11 Lester Quiñones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So IMG Academy Brentwood, New York F 12 DeAndre Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Evansville Houston, Texas G 14 Jordan Nesbitt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr St. Louis Christian Academy St. Louis, Missouri F 15 Lance Thomas (T) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Louisville Norcross, Georgia F 20 Ahmad Rand (T) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr USC Salkehatchie Lincolnton, Georgia C 23 Malcolm Dandridge 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So East HS Memphis, Tennessee G 30 Conor Glennon (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Brother Rice HS Chicago, Illinois C 32 Moussa Cissé 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Lausanne Collegiate School Conakry, Guinea	Head coach Penny Hardaway (Memphis) Assistant coach(es) Tony Madlock (Memphis) Cody Toppert (Cornell) Jermaine Johnson (UT Arlington) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on (T) Transferred Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 8, 2020

• Nov 19, 2020 - Prior to the start of season, Isaiah Stokes was suspended for the year.^[12]
• Dec 31, 2020 - Ahmad Rand elected to transfer to Oregon State after the fall semester.^[13]
• Jan 19, 2021 - 2021 commit Jordan Nesbitt enrolled a semester early.^[14]
• Jan 22, 2021 - Lance Thomas entered the transfer portal.^[15] He would eventually transfer to South Alabama.^[16]

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Main article: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Tigers' schedule was subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel. The game against Houston scheduled for March 7 was moved to Houston.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Saint Mary's Crossover Classic quarterfinals	W 73–56	1–0	24 – Ellis	9 – Jeffries	3 – Lomax	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 26, 2020* 11:00 a.m., ESPN		vs. Western Kentucky Crossover Classic semifinals	L 69–75	1–1	25 – Nolley II	10 – Jeffries	4 – Nolley II	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 27, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. VCU Crossover Classic third place game	L 59–70	1–2	17 – Jeffries	5 – Jeffries	5 – Baugh	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
December 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arkansas State	W 83–54	2–2	23 – Nolley II	10 – Tied	6 – Tied	FedExForum (2,829) Memphis, TN
December 5, 2020*		Ole Miss	Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues[17]					The Pavilion at Ole Miss  Oxford, MS
December 5, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Arkansas	W 85–68	3–2	23 – Nolley II	10 – Cisse	5 – Bauh	FedExForum (2,564) Memphis, TN
December 8, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mississippi Valley State	W 94–57	4–2	21 – Jeffries	13 – Cisse	11 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,478) Memphis, TN
December 12, 2020* 4:30 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Auburn Holiday Hoopsgiving	L 71–74	4–3	16 – Jeffries	14 – Cisse	5 – Nolley II	State Farm Arena (0) Atlanta, GA
December 16, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Tulane	W 80–74	5–3 (1–0)	20 – Quiñones	11 – Jeffries	3 – Jeffries	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 21, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		Tulsa	L 49–56	5–4 (1–1)	13 – Williams	9 – Williams	3 – Tied	FedExForum  Memphis, TN
December 29, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		South Florida	W 58–57	6–4 (2–1)	13 – Quiñones	4 – Cisse	4 – Jeffries	FedExForum (133) Memphis, TN
January 2, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPNU		at Temple	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[18]					Liacouras Center  Philadelphia, PA
January 17, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulsa	L 57–58	6–5 (2–2)	13 – Nolley II	10 – Dandridge	4 – Williams	Reynolds Center (100) Tulsa, OK
January 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Wichita State	W 72–52	7–5 (3–2)	16 – Nolley II	10 – Tied	6 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,118) Memphis, TN
January 24, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		at East Carolina	W 80–53	8–5 (4–2)	15 – Cisse	9 – Cisse	5 – Lomax	Williams Arena (55) Greenville, NC
January 26, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		SMU Previously scheduled for Jan. 14	W 76–72	9–5 (5–2)	14 – Lomax	10 – Cisse	5 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,157) Memphis, TN
January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at SMU	L 65–67	9–6 (5–3)	19 – Nolley II	11 – Williams	8 – Lomax	Moody Coliseum (1,698) University Park, TX
February 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UCF Previously scheduled for Jan. 5	W 96–69	10–6 (6–3)	20 – Nolley II	7 – Jeffries	6 – Quiñones	FedExForum (2,106) Memphis, TN
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UCF	W 75–61	11–6 (7–3)	18 – Nolley II	10 – Nolley II	6 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,284) Memphis, TN
February 6, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN		East Carolina	W 66–59	12–6 (8–3)	12 – Tied	8 – Williams	9 – Lomax	FedExForum (2,371) Memphis, TN
February 11, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		Cincinnati Rivalry	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[19]					FedExForum  Memphis, TN
February 14, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPN		at Houston	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[20]					Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		at Wichita State	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[21]					Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
February 21, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Temple	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[22]					FedExForum  Memphis, TN
February 24, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Tulane	W 61–46	13–6 (9–3)	13 – Ellis	11 – Williams	5 – Williams	FedExForum (2,253) Memphis, TN
February 28, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN		at Cincinnati Rivalry	W 80–74	14–6 (10–3)	17 – Ellis	7 – Tied	10 – Williams	Fifth Third Arena (1,135) Cincinnati, OH
March 2, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at South Florida Previously scheduled for Mar. 3	W 73–52	15–6 (11–3)	18 – Ellis	10 – Williams	4 – Jeffries	Yuengling Center (1,222) Tampa, FL
March 7, 2021 11:00 a.m., CBS		at No. 9 Houston	L 64–67	15–7 (11–4)	14 – Nolley II	5 – Tied	4 – Tied	Fertitta Center  Houston, TX
AAC Tournament
March 12, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPNU	(3)	vs. (6) UCF Quarterfinals	W 70–62	16–7	17 – Jeffries	15 – Quiñones	5 – Williams	Dickies Arena (826) Fort Worth, TX
March 13, 2021 4:30 p.m., ESPN2	(3)	vs. (2) No. 7 Houston Semifinals	L 74–76	16–8	27 – Ellis	7 – Cisse	3 – Williams	Dickies Arena (1,182) Fort Worth, TX
NIT
March 20, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN	(1)	vs. (4) Dayton First Round – Memphis bracket	W 71–60	17–8	21 – Nolley II	10 – Quinones	5 – Tied	The Super Pit (1,044) Denton, TX
March 25, 2021 8:00 p.m., ESPN	(1)	vs. (2) Boise State Quarterfinals – Memphis bracket	W 59–56	18–8	11 – Tied	7 – Quinones	3 – Jeffries	The Super Pit (935) Denton, TX
March 27, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN	(1)	vs. (1) Colorado State Semifinals	W 90–67	19–8	27 – Nolley II	9 – Williams	6 – Tied	Comerica Center  Frisco, TX
March 28, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN	(1)	vs. (4) Mississippi State Championship	W 77–64	20–8	23 – Ellis	16 – Quinones	5 – Ellis	Comerica Center  Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	RV																			Not released
Coaches	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Awards and honors

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Awards

• Freshman of the Year: Moussa Cisse
• Sixth Man of the Year : Boogie Ellis

All-AAC First Team

• Landers Nolley II

All-AAC Freshman Team

• Moussa Cisse

Source^[23]

References

1. Peterson, Randy (April 25, 2020). "Iowa State men's basketball lands Memphis transfer Tyler Harris". desmoinesregister.com. Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
2. Moore, Ben (December 22, 2019). "Memphis Guard Ryan Boyce to Transfer to GSU". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
3. ESPN News Services (December 19, 2019). "James Wiseman leaves Memphis, to enter NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
4. Giviony, Jonathan. "Memphis star, AAC Player of the Year Precious Achiuwa to enter NBA draft". espn.com. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
5. "Tigers Add JUCO Standout Ahmad Rand". gotigersgo.com. University of Memphis Athletics. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
6. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (April 20, 2020). "Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolley has committed to Memphis, per his Twitter page" (Tweet). Retrieved April 20, 2020 – via Twitter.
7. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (August 27, 2020). "Source: Memphis' Landers Nolley has received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible for the 20-21 season. Transfer from Virginia Tech" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. Lindskog, Chad (May 15, 2020). "DeAndre Williams transfers from Evansville to Memphis". courierpress.com. Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
9. Bieler, Des (December 17, 2020). "NCAA grants blanket waiver to transfer athletes, most of whom can play right away". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
10. Givony, Jonathan (July 15, 2020). "No. 24-rated prospect Moussa Cisse commits to Memphis basketball". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
11. Disabato, Pat. "Disabato: Brother Rice point guard Conor Glennon bets on himself by accepting preferred walk-on offer from Memphis". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
12. Munz, Jason (November 19, 2020). "Memphis forward Isaiah Stokes suspended one year; Tigers still playing in Crossover Classic". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
13. Daschel, Nick (January 18, 2021). "Memphis transfer forward Ahmad Rand lands at Oregon State, eligible to play next season". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
14. Munz, Jason (January 19, 2021). "Penny Hardaway: Jury is still out on whether Memphis early enrollee Jordan Nesbitt will play this season". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
15. @VerbalCommits (January 22, 2021). "Memphis F Lance Thomas (RS JR) has entered the transfer portal" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. @JonRothstein (March 7, 2021). "Source: Memphis transfer Lance Thomas has committed to South Alabama. Another big transfer for Richie Riley" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. Munz, Jason (November 24, 2020). "Penny Hardaway: Memphis basketball is working to add a game after Ole Miss cancellation". commercialappeal.com. Commercial Appeal. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
18. "Pair of Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. December 31, 2020.
19. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". February 10, 2021.
20. "The American Announces Pair of Men's Basketball Postponements". February 11, 2021.
21. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". February 13, 2021.
22. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". theamerican.org. February 16, 2021.
23. "American Athletic Conference Announces Men's Basketball Honors". theamerican.org. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.