The Memphis basketball team will start 2024 at No. 15 in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.

The Tigers (11-2) have not been ranked in the top 15 this late in a season in the AP poll since 2008-09. Penny Hardaway's team (ranked No. 19 in last week's AP poll) was ranked as high as No. 7 on one voter's ballot, according to collegepolltracker.com. Memphis was No. 18 in last week's coaches' poll.

FAU, the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference, dropped from No. 7 to No. 17 after a loss at Florida Gulf Coast last week. The Owls also fell to 17th in the coaches' poll.

Memphis tallied 631 points in this week's AP voting, behind No. 14 Duke (662) and just ahead of No. 16 Clemson (630). Ole Miss (one of the Tigers' only two losses this season) is ranked 22nd.

The Tigers have won six games in a row, most recently an 81-70 victory over Austin Peay on Dec. 30. David Jones continues to lead the team in scoring at 21.4 points per game. Jones put up 19 points in the win over the Govs and had three steals, while newcomer Nae'Qwan Tomlin registered his first double-double in a Memphis uniform (15 points and 15 rebounds) to go along with three blocks. Jones has the Tigers' other two double-doubles this season.

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Hardaway's team is due to return to action Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+) at Tulsa (9-3). The Golden Hurricane have won four straight games. Later this week, the Tigers will host SMU (9-4) on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPN). Tulsa is ranked 192nd in the NET, while SMU is slotted at 46th.

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: Memphis basketball moves into the top 15 in both national polls