What to expect when Memphis basketball visits No. 22 Vanderbilt, plus a game prediction – Substack

It’s hard to deny Memphis basketball’s body of work, even after just two games.
The Tigers (2-0) — in the first week of the 2026-27 season — defeated an Iowa State team that began this year ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25, and a VCU team that received votes in the AP poll and was picked first in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll.
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Penny Hardaway’s club also did so without its full arsenal, since star big man Nemanja Popović is in the midst of a six-game withholding period to start the campaign.
That’s why Memphis, which currently ranks No. 1 in wins above bubble according to Bart Torvik, is starting to garner more attention nationally. CBS Sports personality and Grind City Media host Gary Parrish even listed the Tigers at No. 26 in his latest Top 25 and 1 on Sunday.
But Memphis’ current resume wasn’t enough to earn it a spot in the first AP Top 25 update of the season, since it narrowly missed out on Monday’s poll. The Tigers received 97 votes, however, more than any other unranked team.
“I want the respect. I’ve been in the top 25 in (five) of my first seven years, because we’ve worked our way to get in there,” Hardaway told reporters after Memphis defeated VCU last Saturday. “Nobody’s ever ranked us this early (besides the 2019-20 and 2021-22 teams), which were ranked before the season started. Everybody else had to fight to get in.
“PJ Haggerty’s team (in 2024-25) had to fight to get in. David Jones’ team (in 2023-24) had to fight to get in. Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams’ team (in 2022-23) had to fight just to get respect. We have to do the same thing.”
Memphis will get another opportunity to bolster its pedigree at No. 22 Vanderbilt (2-0) inside Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday (6:15 p.m., SECN+).
Beating their in-state foe would give the Tigers their second victory over an AP Top 25 opponent. It would also give Memphis its third win against a top-60 team in KenPom, where the Commodores are listed at No. 7.
Here’s what to expect in Memphis’ first trip to Nashville since 2022-23.
Hardaway has had several premier guards capable of scoring in bunches throughout his nine-year tenure — Davis, Jones and Haggerty, just to name a few.
Reid seems destined to be the next Tiger added to that list, since the 5-foot-10 guard has been Memphis’ primary engine to start this season.
Reid is currently tied for the nation’s second-leading scorer at 29 points per game while shooting 53.1% overall and 45.5% from 3-point range. He’s also averaging 4 assists and 2.5 steals through the Tigers’ first two outings.
“To be able to have the luxury to have a guard like Jayden Reid come in, it means a lot, because I’ve seen it before,” Hardaway said. “He’s in attack mode. He’s aggressive. He’s a winner. That’s what we know. We know when we need a basket, he can get it for us. It’s just always fun when you have guards that can put the ball in the basket at the end of the game.”
As Hardaway noted, another trait Reid shares with his predecessors is that he’s typically at his best late in contests. The Westbury, New York, native, in fact, might be even better than them down the stretch.
Reid scored Memphis’ last 11 points in the final 3:02 of its win over Iowa State last Monday. He then scored the Tigers’ last 6 points in the final 3:01 to lift them over VCU, including a pair of free throws with five seconds left that gave his team its only lead of the second half.
That makes Reid the only Tiger to score in the last three minutes of any Memphis game this season.
Hardaway and Co. will certainly need Reid’s late-game magic yet again should things get dicey against Vanderbilt.
“That’s the pressure that I want,” Reid said. “Coming down the stretch, finding ways to win, that’s what it’s all about.”
One area that’s slightly held Memphis back to open this year is its subpar work at the charity stripe.
The Tigers are shooting just 70.4% at the free-throw line as a team through their first two games, despite earning at least 33 attempts in both outings.
Poor foul shooting nearly cost Memphis in its 89-88 win over VCU, where it missed 13 of its 38 tries at the line. Senior forward Tylik Weeks, who scored 17 points against the Rams, missed seven freebies by himself in 18 attempts.
Reid, meanwhile, has missed two free throws in each of Memphis’ first two contests. And senior big man Corneilous Williams is 0-for-5 at the charity stripe this season.
Those numbers must come up against a Vanderbilt team hitting 77.8% of its free throws through two games.
Vanderbilt hopes to take things to the next level in its third season under Mark Byington after back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Commodores, who defeated Bellarmine and Wake Forest by a combined 69 points last week, own the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense and are holding teams to 36% shooting through two games. They were picked sixth in the SEC preseason poll last month.
AP preseason All-American point guard Tyler Tanner returns for his third year with the Commodores. The 6-foot junior is averaging 18.5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals on 54.2% shooting to begin this season. He put up a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double in Vanderbilt’s 74-51 win over Wake Forest last Thursday. Reid’s matchup with Tanner is perhaps the biggest one to watch Tuesday.
Washington State transfer Ace Glass is another scoring threat for Vandy in the backcourt. The 6-foot-3 sophomore is tallying 14 points and 5 rebounds per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 37.5% on 3-pointers. Glass and Memphis wing Rihards Vavers were teammates at WSU last season, and were the Cougars’ two leading scorers.
Nebraska transfer Berke Büyüktuncel is Vanderbilt’s top option in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-10 center is averaging 9 points, 4.5 rebounds and a block on 50% shooting to start this year. He amassed 5 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal against Wake Forest, though he shot just 2-of-9 from the field.
Other names to watch include 6-foot-6 forward Chandler Bing (12 points, 2 steals and 1 block per game), 6-foot-3 guard Ant Brown Jr. (10.5 points and 41.7% from 3-point range) and 6-foot-9 forward Sebastian Williams-Adams (5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds).
Memphis upsets Vanderbilt to remain unbeaten.
The Tigers are undoubtedly set for a tough task in a true road environment. But they’re much more battle-tested than the Commodores at this point, and are simply on a different planet offensively compared to Vandy’s first two opponents.
Memphis’ 45.2% clip from 3-point range could particularly stress Vanderbilt, which hasn’t faced a team shooting above 26% from deep so far. Reid has also shown he can match Tanner at every step, while Williams and Maxim Logue can contend with the Commodores’ thin frontcourt.
The Tigers’ secondary scoring options — namely Weeks, Vavers and Luke Almodovar — along with their overall depth have been more impressive than Vanderbilt’s as well.
Expect Memphis to prevail in another close game down the stretch.
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