What we want to see when Memphis basketball faces LeMoyne-Owen in final preseason tuneup

Memphis basketball gets one more dress rehearsal before the 2023-24 regular season begins.

The Tigers, who breezed by Lane College last week, 106-49, will face LeMoyne-Owen on Thursday (7 p.m.) at FedExForum. The exhibition contest is not expected to be televised or streamed.

The Tigers were crisp in the win over the Dragons, which is notable considering it was the first time some players took the floor in a game setting since arriving at Memphis. Even though the Tigers played three exhibition games in the Dominican Republic in early August, they were still incomplete. David Jones, Jayhlon Young and Malcolm Dandridge did not play. Caleb Mills missed two of those games.

Here is what we're looking for from the Tigers against the Magicians.

Will Jahvon Quinerly play?

The Alabama transfer point guard was a late scratch and did not play against Lane.

Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said Quinerly has missed some practice time in recent weeks due to a minor hyperextension of his knee. He added the decision to keep him out was more precautionary than anything else, given Quinerly suffered a torn ACL in March 2022.

"We just wanted to make sure he was just 100 percent," said Hardaway. "But, maybe play next game."

What can defense do vs LeMoyne-Owen?

Memphis played well defensively against Lane, limiting the Dragons to just 18 first-half points. The Tigers forced 24 turnovers, coming up with 17 steals in the process. And they held Lane to just 26.5% from the field.

But LeMoyne-Owen (under first-year coach Antonio Harris) returns two of its top four scorers from last season: Micah Evans (11.5 ppg, who also led the Magicians in rebounding) and Tariq Shepherd (10.5 ppg).

Even though the Tigers look like an offensive-minded squad, Hardaway doesn't want it to come at the expense of great defense.

"I think our identity is always gonna be defense," he said.

Consistent cohesion

In the win over Lane, Memphis did not look like a team with 13 new players that still hasn't played a game with all of its players available.

Even without their primary facilitator (Quinerly), the Tigers were in sync. First, they shared the ball well, finishing with 24 assists on 34 made baskets. They also limited mistakes, especially early.

MEMPHIS BASKETBALL: Five takeaways from new-look Tigers' exhibition win against Lane

Memphis (reminder: without Quinerly) turned the ball over just 13 times. While Hardaway was substituting rapidly, the cohesion was still there. The team pushed the pace considerably in the first half, before the game had gotten completely out of hand. The Tigers scored 25 fast-break points before halftime and committed only four turnovers during that stretch.

“I think you see that chemistry,” Hardaway said. “These guys like playing together.”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What we want to see from Memphis basketball in final preseason tuneup