MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A day after securing their second-straight NCAA Tournament spot, the Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball team saw their return to the AP Top-25.
The Tigers came in at No. 24 Monday, one spot above their NCAA Tournament first round opponent FAU, and the first time the team cracked the Top-25 rankings since 2021.
Memphis came close throughout the year - a win over then-No. 11 Auburn had them receiving Top-25 votes from AP voters - but seemingly stalled their momentum after getting there.
The ranking came after the Tigers' huge win against No. 1 Houston to capture their first conference championship since they won the Conference-USA title in 2013. Houston dropped one spot to No. 2.
Here's a full list of the rankings:
- Alabama
- Houston
- Purdue
- Kansas
- Texas
- Marquette
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Gonzaga
- UConn
- Baylor
- Duke
- Xavier
- Virginia
- Kansas State
- Miami (FL)
- Texas A&M
- San Diego State
- Saint Mary's
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- TCU
- Missouri
- Memphis
- FAU
Memphis (26-8) is the No. 8 seed in the East Region and will play No. 9 Seed FAU on Friday in Columbus, OH. The winner of the 8-9 matchup will advance to the Round of 32, where they will likely play No. 1 seed Purdue.
The top-seeded Boilermakers play the No. 16 seed on Friday. The winner of Texas Southern and Farleigh Dickinson will play Purdue in the Round of 64.
In their Round of 64 matchup, the Tigers drew FAU (31-3), one of six programs joining the AAC next season. The Owls captured the Conference USA title this weekend, and enter Friday's contest riding a seven-game win streak.
