Tulsa Set to Take on Memphis Monday

Monday, December 21

Memphis, TN

7:00 PM

Tulsa

Memphis

Tulsa Set to Take on Memphis Monday

12/20/2020 5:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME #6: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (2-3, 0-0) vs. Memphis Tigers (5-3, 1-0)
Date/Time:	Monday • Dec. 21, 2020 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Site:	FedEx Forum (18,400) • Memphis, Tenn.
Coaches:	Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 7th year Memphis – Penny Hardaway (Memphis '92), 3rd year
TV:	ESPN2 \| Kevin Brown (pxp) & Mark Adams (analyst)
Radio:	Big Country 99.5 FM (Don King & J.R. Rollo)
Live Stats:	Live Stats
Series:	48th Meeting (Memphis leads series at 29-19)
Twitter:	@TUMBasketball \| @TulsaHurricane
Instagram:	TulsaMBasketball
Game Notes:	Tulsa (PDF) \| Memphis \| The American (PDF)
Game Program:	Game Day Program

The Game
• Tulsa will take on the Memphis Tigers in a conference matchup on the road at the FedEx Forum Monday night on ESPN2.
• The game is the sixth contest for Tulsa (2-3) this season ... the Tigers are 5-3 on the season winning their last game 80-74 in their conference opener against Tulane on Dec. 16.

Scouting the Tigers
• Memphis was picked to finish 2nd in the preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll ... the Tigers return 8, including three starters from last season, when the team went 21-10 and 10-8 in conference play.
• The U of M added three players in the offseason who are making an immediate impact with Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolly II and Evansville transfer DeAndre Williams ... the Tigers also welcome 5-star forward Moussa Cisse.
• The Tigers opened their season with a losing two of their first three contests ... they beat Saint Mary's 73-56, before falling to WKU 75-69 and VCU 70-59 ... all three contests were a part of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic.
• The Tigers are led in scoring by transfer Landers Nolly II who is averaging 14.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game ... forward DJ Jeffries is averaging 13.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game for Memphis.
• Memphis is led by Head Coach Penny Hardaway, who was been at the helm of the Tigers for the last 3 seasons and holds a 48-27 record.

The Series
• This will be the 48th contest between the Golden Hurricane and the Tigers ... the Tigers have won the last 4 contests in the FedEx Forum.
• Memphis holds a 29-19 series advantage over TU, with the Hurricane winning the last contest coming on Jan. 22, 2020 ... the Hurricane won the contest 80-40, behind a career-high 23 points from Elijah Joiner.
• Tulsa's last win in Memphis came on Feb. 28, 2015 as the Hurricane won 74-72 in overtime ... TU was led by Shaquille Harrison's 23 points, including all 8 of the Hurricane 8 overtime points.

A Tulsa Win Would
• Give the Hurricane its second win of the season, moving Tulsa to 3-3 on the year.
• Move Tulsa's all-time record against Memphis to 29-20.
• Give Head Coach Haith his 119th win which would be tied for 3rd all-time in Tulsa history with legendary TU coach Nolan Richardson.

Being Big in the Paint
• Tulsa has scored 59.0 percent of its points in the paint through three games ... the Hurricane has scored 180 of its 305 total points in the paint area.
• The Golden Hurricane has a 13.5 margin in the paint over its opponents, 36.0 per game (180) for Tulsa to 22.0 for the opposition (88).
• The Golden Hurricane has two games with a double-digit margin of points in the paint ... Tulsa outscored TCU 38-18 and UT Arlington 48-24 in the paint.
• Tulsa has used its two centers to bang downlow with Emmanuel Ugboh and Rey Idowu combing for 50 points in the paint ... the Hurricane guards have attacked the rim and made 65 baskets inside the paint.

Last Season Against the Tigers
• The Hurricane captured an 80-40 victory over the #23 Memphis Tigers at the Reynolds Center on Jan. 22, 2020.
• Jeriah Horne led 5 Tulsa players in double-digit scoring with 21 points going 9-16 (56%) from the field and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead Tulsa ... it was his 5th time this season scoring 20+ points.
• Brandon Rachal and Martins Igbanu both put in 11 points ... Elijah Joiner and Darien Jackson added 10 points with two assists and one blocked shot each.
• Tulsa held Memphis to 17 points in the first 20 minutes and 23 in the second half. For the game, Tulsa knocked down 50-percent of its field goals, as the Hurricane outscored Memphis 36-20 in the paint and 24-4 off turnovers.
• Memphis was led by Precious Achiuwa who finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds ... he scored the first 8 points for Memphis, but only made a pair of free throws the rest of the way.
• The Tulsa victory extended Tulsa's 4 game winning streak in the AAC ... and continued the Hurricane's success of defeating Memphis (6-0) in the Reynolds Center since joining the American Athletic Conference.

Richie Breaks Out Against Demons
• Junior Austin Richie is in his first season with the Golden Hurricane after spending his first two seasons with Triton College ... Richie was a NJCAA Third-Team All-American in 2019-20.
• In the first four games, Richie averaged 2.0 and 1.3 rebounds on 3-12 (25-percent) from the field and 2-11 (18-percent) from behind the arc.
• Against the Northwestern State Demons, Richie caught fire leading the Hurricane in points with 19 ... the guard went 7-14 (50-percent) from the field and 5-10 (50-percent) from three.
• Richie played his season-high 23 minutes, while tying his season-high rebound total, grabbing 3 during the contest ... he now is averaging 5.4 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

#LoyalAlwaysTrue