A Memphis radio station not only corroborated the earlier story, but added some further insight into the schedule expansion issue.
According to the radio report, Memphis coach Josh Pastner told people assembled at a Summer golf outing that the move to the Big East playing a 20 game conference schedule in basketball was a "done deal." The report claims that the move to a larger schedule is fueled by the ongoing television negotiations and that the ESPN officials communicating with the conference office have indicated that they would be willing to pay much more for a basketball slate with more league match-ups.
Teams would play around two-thirds of their games against opponents from the Big East, shortening their non-conference schedules to just 10 or 11 games, which may not leave many openings after the pre-season "exempt" tournaments are counted.
(h/t Adam Ladd)