Jan. 8, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

TIGERS TO TRAVEL TO UCF FOR C-USA ROAD OPENER ON SATURDAY
The University of Memphis squad (11-3, 1-0 C-USA), ranked No. 32 in the Associated Press poll (seventh in Also Receiving Votes) and No. 31 in ESPN/USA Today poll (sixth in Also Receiving Votes), takes to the road for the first time in nearly a month on Saturday, Jan. 10 when it travels to Orlando, Fla. to face UCF (10-4, 0-0 C-USA) in a Conference USA battle. The game, to be televised by CBS College Sports, is scheduled for a 4 p.m. (CT) start.

The Tigers' last road contest was Dec. 13 at Georgetown. Memphis completed a seven-game homestand Jan. 7 and posted a 6-1 record in that stretch. It was longest homestand in the John Calipari era.

Saturday's game is the C-USA road opener for the Tigers. The contest is the C-USA opener for UCF, which wrapped up its non-league schedule with a 70-57 victory over Holy Cross on Jan. 6.

Memphis opened the seven-game homestand Dec. 17 with a 59-51 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock and followed with a 72-65 setback to No. 11/11 Syracuse Dec. 20. The Tigers bounced back with five-consecutive victories over Drexel (87-49) Dec. 22, Cincinnati (60-45) Dec. 29, Northeastern (80-48) Dec. 31, Lamar (108-75) Jan. 3 and Marshall (80-57) Jan. 7.

Prior to its Dec. 17 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis dropped its road opener of the 2008-09 campaign with a 79-70 overtime setback at No. 19/19 Georgetown Dec. 13. The loss ended the Tigers' 19-game road win streak that stretched back to the middle of the 2006-07 season.

UCF brings a 10-4 overall record into Saturday's match-up, which is the Knights' C-USA opener. The Knights enter Saturday's encounter on a five-game win streak with victories over Valparaiso, Penn, Chicago State, Sam Houston State and Holy Cross. UCF also has key wins over New Mexico and USF.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
UCF brings a 10-4 overall record into Saturday's match-up, which is the Knights' C-USA opener. The Knights enter Saturday's encounter on a five-game win streak with victories over Valparaiso, Penn, Chicago State, Sam Houston State and Holy Cross. UCF also has key wins over New Mexico and USF.

Senior Jermaine Taylor is making a strong case for the C-USA Player of the Year honor with his 23.6 scoring average, which leads the league. He is also the squad's leading rebounder at 5.2 boards per game. Taylor is shooting 50.6 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from the arc.

Freshman Isaac Sosa is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.9 ppg, and is the Knight's top threat from the arc at 49.2 percent. Freshman A.J. Rompza is tops on the team with 72 assists (5.1 apg).

The Knights are shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 36.9 percent from the three-point line and 70.1 percent from the charity stripe. UCF is out-rebounding its foes by an average margin of +2.3 boards per game (35.4-33.1). The Knights average 15.5 turnovers per contest, but also force opponents to turn the ball over 16.4 times per game.

CALIPARI-UCF HISTORY
Before the previous three Memphis-UCF encounters in Conference USA play (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08), Tigers head coach John Calipari faced the Knights earlier in his collegiate coaching career.

As the head coach at UMass, Calipari and his No. 1-ranked Minutemen were matched up with UCF in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament. UMass won that game 92-70 in Providence, R.I., en route to the Final Four.

UCF head coach Kirk Speraw was in his third season at the time. Another participant in that game was current Memphis assistant John Robic, who was an assistant on Calipari's UMass staff.

NOT A CLOSE SERIES
Not only does Memphis hold a 6-0 series lead, but none of the six encounters have been under double digits. The Tigers won the previous six meetings by an average of 29.2 points per game.

In the John Calipari era, Memphis won the three games by an average of 25.3 points. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 49-point win in the 1972-73 campaign (124-75). That 1972-73 Tiger squad advanced to the NCAA title game.

TIGERS IN C-USA ROAD OPENERS
Memphis has an 8-5 record in its previous 13 Conference USA road openers. The Tigers won their last four league road openers at Marshall 68-45 in 2007-08, at Houston 79-69 in 2006-07, at East Carolina 77-67 in 2005-06 and at USF 73-67 in 2004-05. Prior to its four-game C-USA road opener win streak, Memphis dropped conference road openers in 2003-04 (at Southern Miss, 66-63) and 2002-03 (at Southern Miss, 84-67).

Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers are 6-2 in Conference USA road openers.

MEMPHIS IN CONFERENCE USA
The Tigers have an all-time record of 148-55 (.729 winning percentage) in Conference USA play. Memphis has posted double-digit league wins in 10 of its previous 13 seasons in Conference USA, including a school-record and league-record tying 16 games in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Last year's 16 C-USA victories tied the Tiger record for most league wins in a season in school history. Prior to the previous two campaigns (2006-07, 2007-08), Memphis' most C-USA wins were 13 on two occasions in 2002-03 (13-3) and 2005-06 (13-1).

Memphis won its first outright C-USA regular season title in 2005-06, and followed that with out-right regular season crowns in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Memphis also tied for the C-USA regular season crown in 2003-04 (12-4 record) and 1995-96 (11-3).

Memphis also won three National Division titles in 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2002-03, and captured two league White Division championships in 1995-96 and 1996-97.

STREAKING IN C-USA
Entering league play in 2008-09, the Tigers still have two streaks going in Conference USA.

The Tigers have won 34-straight regular season Conference USA games and 43-straight C-USA overall contests, including the league's postseason tournaments. The last time Memphis suffered a setback to a C-USA foe was Mar. 2, 2006, when the Tigers fell at UAB 80-74 -- a span of 1,044 days.

The 43-game win streak (includes C-USA Tournaments) is the longest in C-USA history. The 34-game regular-season win streak is also tops in C-USA history, moving past Cincinnati's 21-game regular season win streak from 1998-99 through 2000-01.

TIGER SUCCESS IN JANUARY
While Memphis has had a lot of success in December in the John Calipari era, January has proven to be a better month for the Tigers. Since Calipari took over the Memphis hoops program in 2000-01, the Tigers have an impressive 56-10 record (.848 winning percentage) in the month of January.

The Tigers have won their last 27 January games, with their last January setback coming to Texas on Jan. 2, 2006 (69-58 loss).

A BATTLE OF PERCENTAGES
For a second-straight game, the Tigers are going to be tied up in a battle of field goal percentages and field goal percentage defense, as well as the same beyond the arc on Saturday at UCF.

Memphis faced the same challenge against Marshall Jan. 7 and came out ahead in both areas. The Thundering Herd brought a 45.9 field goal percentage (first in C-USA) and 35.9 three-point field goal percentage (third in C-USA) into the contest. The Tigers, though, held Marshall to 28.6 percent from the floor and 17.6 percent from the arc. The following shows the percentage differences and the C-USA rankings in italics:

	Memphis	Stat	UCF

	43.0/8th	FG Pct.	45.2/3rd

	36.1/1st	FG Pct. Defense	42.9/8th

	28.9/12th	3-pt. FG Pct.	36.8/2nd

	28.6/3rd	3-pt. FG Pct. Defense	33.9/8th

IF THERE ARE TIGER ADVANTAGES...
They may be in the rebounding and turnover categories. Memphis is second in Conference USA in rebound margin at +6.2, while UCF is sixth at +2.3.

In the turnovers area, the Tigers force their opponents into 18.1 miscues per game, which is tops in C-USA. The Knights average 15.5 turnovers per game, which is the second-highest turnover average in the league.

TIGER "D" STINGY OF LATE
It's no secret that head coach John Calipari loves defense, so he has to be happy with what the Tigers did defensively in their last five games. The following shows how tough the Memphis defense was in the last five contests:

Memphis Defense

(Last Five Games)

Scoring Defense	54.8

Opp. FG Made/Game	18.0

Opp. FG Pct.	30.9

Opp. 3-pt. FG Pct.	25.0

Rebound Margin	+7.4

Blocks	8.6

Steals	8.8

F-G DE-FENSE, F-G DE-FENSE!
Back in the 2005-06 season, head coach John Calipari inspired his club to become the best field goal percentage defensive team in NCAA Division I history. At times during that season, the Tigers flirted with Stanford's record of 35.2 field goal percentage defense (1999-2000), but finished the year at 38 percent, which is tops in Memphis basketball history.

Now, the 2008-09 team is making its run at the mark. Fourteen games into the campaign, Memphis is holding opponents to 36.1 percent shooting from the floor. In the last five wins, the Tigers held their opponents to a combined 30.9 percent shooting from the field (90-of-291).

'REKE AT POINT=BETTER OFFENSIVE FLOW
Just before Christmas, head coach John Calipari made the decision to move freshman Tyreke Evans to the point guard spot. And, my how things have changed offensively for the Tigers. The following shows the before and since Evans' move to the point Dec. 22:

	Before 12-22	Stat	Since 12-22

	76.6	Points/Game	83.0

	41.1	FG Pct.	46.3

	26.3	3-pt. FG Pct.	34.0

	5.7	3-pt. Made/Game	6.8

	14.7	Assists/Game	15.4

SALLIE FOR THREEEEEE!
When Roburt Sallie signed with the Tigers, the scouting report said the 6-foot-5 guard had shooting range to the parking lot outside the arena. After a period of learning and adjustment to the NCAA Division I level, Tiger Nation may start seeing that pinpoint shooting touch from the perimeter.

Sallie came off the bench versus Syracuse Dec. 20 and began lighting up the nets. The Sacramento, Calif., native shot 4-of-7 from the field with all four field goals made coming from the arc. Sallie finished the game with 12 points and added two blocks and two steals.

He continued his solid play in the Tigers' 87-49 win over Drexel Dec. 22. Sallie scored 11 points and added five boards, two assists and one block. He was 3-of-5 from the arc and 2-of-2 from the foul line.

In the Jan. 7 C-USA opener versus Marshall, Sallie netted a season-high 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from the arc. He also grabbed two boards and had one assist and one steal in the win over the Thundering Herd.

For more notes on the Memphis-UCF game, click on pdf link at the top of the page.