MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The fourth AP Top-25 men's basketball poll released Monday morning, and for the second week in a row, the Memphis Tigers are just short of the rankings, despite a strong showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas.
The Tigers (5-1) are the first team left out of the week four rankings, receiving 108 votes to No. 25 Oklahoma's 120.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Tigers made it all the way to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship, beating Michigan and No. 20 Arkansas in their first and second-round matchups, ultimately falling to Villanova in a game that was never close.
Villanova, now 5-1, jumped all the way to No. 18 in the latest rankings after previously being unranked.
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While the Tigers won't be happy about being left out of the week four Top-25 rankings, they have ample opportunity to prove they belong amongst the country's elite, with a tough non-conference stretch coming up.
The Tigers start a stretch of three straight non-conference road games, two against SEC opponents, Saturday against cross-state rival Ole Miss. The last time the Tigers went to Oxford was 2021, when the Rebels edged out a four-point win 67-63 in a game that proved to be the catalyst to Memphis' return to the NCAA Tournament.
Memphis returns to the FedExForum Dec. 16 against the Clemson Tigers.
