STARKVILLE, MS — If Memphis basketball was looking to make a strong first impression ahead of the 2026-27 season, mission accomplished.
The Tigers torched Mississippi State 75-58 in exhibition action at Humphrey Coliseum on Oct. 23.
Penny Hardaway and his program have their sights set on big success after Memphis finished last season with a disappointing 13-19 record — the worst for any Tigers team in 56 years.
The preseason victory supplied quite a few reasons for optimism. Here are five takeaways from the proceedings.
Jayden Reid was the best player on the floor
The Tigers’ point guard played like someone worthy of his preseason all-conference first-team selection.
Reid was the best player on both ends of the floor in the first half, dropping 14 points (on 6-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from the 3-point line) to go along with an assist (zero turnovers), helping Memphis take a 39-35 lead into halftime.
He was also pesky on defense, coming up with a pair of first-half steals, both of which he converted into buckets.
Reid finished with a game-high 26 points to go with four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Nemanja Popović could be a problem for Memphis opponents
The 6-9 Serbian big man arrived in Memphis as a bit of a mystery.
Having never played college basketball, the 24-year-old has spent the last few years showing what he can do overseas (landing first-team all-league honors in Poland last season), but there has still been some skepticism about him.
He quickly dispelled some of that against Mississippi State.
Popovic showed he can create off the dribble, can work out of double-teams on his own and block shots. He displayed high-level vision, above-average instincts and made good decisions.
And all of that came in the first five minutes of the game.
Popović was one of four Tigers in double figures, scoring 12 points, while contributing four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.
Rihards Vavers: glue guy?
If the Tigers are looking for a candidate for the all-important glue guy role, wing Rihards Vavers has made a strong case so far.
After leading the team with 21 points in last week’s closed scrimmage, the former Washington State Cougar – who shot better than 41% from three last season – impacted the game as much as any other Tiger.
Vavers scored 10 points and added 5 rebounds, all while providing invaluable floor-spacing and traffic direction.
He and Reid tied for the highest plus-minus (+26) on the night.
Tigers like the 3-point shot
One of Hardaway’s emphases this offseason was shoring up the team’s 3-point shooting.
It’s one of the reasons why they made Vavers an early priority.
The fruits of those efforts showed up against Mississippi State. The Tigers made three of their first four attempts beyond the arc and five of their first seven.
Mid-way through the second half, Memphis was 8-of-16 from deep for an even 50% success rate.
Vavers, Reid, Luke Almodovar and Josh Holloway each had multiple triples. The team was 9-of-20 in the game, good enough for 45%.
Tylik Weeks makes impact despite scoring struggles
The Sun Belt’s leading scorer a season ago, there are high expectations for Weeks at Memphis.
The 6-7 forward had trouble in that regard against Mississippi State, managing only five points on 1-of-9 shooting.
But Weeks made up for it elsewhere. He led all players with nine rebounds despite picking up his fourth foul with more than 10 minutes left in the game.
He also dished out three assists and had one steal and one block, finishing with a +21 plus-minus in 31 minutes.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jayden Reid soars, Tylik Weeks' impact and other takeaways from Memphis basketball's exhibition win