Report: Mississippi State schedules home-and-home basketball series vs. Memphis

Nearby college hoops squads Mississippi State and Memphis are set to begin a home-and-home series beginning next season, according to Jon Rothstein.

Rothstein wrote Wednesday afternoon the two programs had agreed to a two-year series hosted in Memphis this coming season and then in Starkville in 2025-26. Here was his blurb on the matchup:

“Memphis and Mississippi State will begin a home-and-home series next season at FedExForum, multiple sources told College Hoops Today. There is no timetable on an official announcement. Official dates and tip-off times are also TBD. The series will feature a return game in Starkville during the 2025-26 season.”

That’s a nice little swap right there between to schools not too far away from each other. Of course, Memphis is tucked away down in the corner of the state at the confluence of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Heck, there’s Memphis suburbs that stretch into MS.

Meanwhile, Starkville is on the eastern side of the state but less than a three-hour car trip from Memphis. The Bulldogs will travel much further for some SEC games than they will to go face the Tigers next fall.

As for the basketball, well, MSU is coming off two straight NCAA Tournament appearances in Chris Jans‘ debut seasons. The Bulldogs were senior-laden in 2024, but they already have a star backcourt pieced together in 2024-25 in freshman sensation Josh Hubbard and Penn State transfer Kanye Clary.

Hubbard was a fireball scorer off the bench who averaged 17 points in 27 minutes per game. On the other hand, Clary stepped up big time for a Penn State team in total rebuild this past season, going from 3.7 points per game to pouring in over 16 per contest, and on 46% shooting from the field and 37% from 3.

Like MSU, Memphis was also extremely veteran in 2024 after Penny Hardaway made the heel-turn a couple years back from relying on freshman to leaning heavy on older guys. Like last season, they’ll need to hit the portal for a nearly-total roster reset, so there’s no telling how the Tigers look when they welcome Mississippi State next fall/winter.

Just consider this: Penny Hardaway’s own son is transferring away from the team. Perhaps he just wants a chance to shine with premium playing time at a smaller school, but either way, Memphis just hasn’t been able to maintain any roster continuity lately — and it’ll be another fresh group in 2024-25.