Aug. 1, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2009-10 University of Memphis non-conference basketball slate is taking shape, and the first announcement about the schedule was made Saturday when Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST) released that the Tigers are playing Kansas as part of the Hall of Fame Showcase doubleheader in St. Louis on Nov. 17. The Memphis-Kansas matchup is slated for a 9 p.m. (CT) start at the Scottrade Center, home of the NHL's St. Louis Blues.

The opening contest of the Hall of Fame Showcase tips off at 6:30 p.m. (CT) with Louisville meeting Arkansas. The doubleheader is scheduled to air on the ESPN family of networks, with the Cardinals-Razorbacks encounter on ESPN2 and the Tigers-Jayhawks contest on ESPN.

The event, managed by BEST, is an annual benefit for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The yearly event began in 2006 in Phoenix, and then moved to the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston in 2007. The 2008 Showcase was the first basketball event to be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

This year's Showcase has been modified into a round-robin event, as the four teams (Memphis, Kansas, Louisville, Arkansas) host three home games against other opponents in November. The three other foes on the Memphis-Kansas side are Central Arkansas, Oakland and Tennessee Tech, while on the Louisville-Arkansas slate, the other opponents are Appalachian State, East Tennessee State and Morgan State.

Dates for Memphis' other Showcase home games are to be announced at a later time.

The Tigers enter the exempt event under first-year head coach Josh Pastner. Memphis returns six letterwinners from the 2008-09 squad that went 33-4 overall and 16-0 in Conference USA, sweeping the league's regular season and tournament crowns for a fourth-straight year. The 2008-09 Tigers earned a fourth-consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Memphis-Kansas game is a rematch between the two programs that battled in the 2008 NCAA Tournament championship game, which the Jayhawks won in overtime.

Tickets to the public go on sale Sept. 2 at the Scottrade Center box office as well as all Ticketmaster locations. Ticket prices range from $25-200 for the doubleheader.