Jan. 29, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

Tigers On TV/Radio/Web
Television: Metro Sports/Dallas - TAPE DELAYED (Pete Stein, play-by-play; Bruce Wiseman, color analyst)
Radio: WREC 600 AM (Dave Woloshin, play-by-play; Matt Dillon, color analyst; Forrest Goodman, studio host)
Web: Game to be streamed live on Memphis athletics web site at gotigersgo.com via All-Access (must register to view game)

TIGERS CLOSE TWO-GAME CONFERENCE USA ROAD SWING AT SMU SATURDAY
The University of Memphis squad (15-5, 5-1 C-USA) finishes up a short two-game Conference USA road trip when the Tigers travel to Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 30 to face SMU (9-10, 2-3 C-USA) at Moody Coliseum. The game, to be aired on Metro Sports in the Dallas area on a tape-delayed basis, is slated for a 2 p.m. (CT) start.

After having their 64-game Conference USA win streak snapped Jan. 20 with a 72-67 loss to UTEP, the Tigers bounced back with consecutive league wins over Houston 92-77 on Jan. 23 and at Marshall 75-72 on Jan. 27. Prior to the UTEP loss, Memphis opened Conference USA play with three-straight league victories over Southern Miss 59-57, East Carolina 77-57 and Rice 80-68.

Memphis entered league play with a 10-4 non-conference record. The Tigers' four non-league losses were to then-No. 1/1 Kansas 57-55 in St. Louis, UMass 73-72 in Boston, then-No. 14/14 Tennessee 66-59 at FedExForum and then-No. 7/7 Syracuse 74-57 at the Carrier Dome.

Memphis, picked to finish between second and fourth in Conference USA in most preseason polls, returns only one starter and six letterwinners from last year's squad that won 33 games (33-4 record) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal (Sweet Sixteen). En route to the Sweet Sixteen, the Tigers swept the Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns.

SMU is riding a three-game win streak coming into Saturday's game versus the Tigers. The Mustangs posted victories over Rice 73-65 on Jan. 20, Houston Baptist 82-68 on Jan. 23 and UCF 65-43 on Jan. 27 in that three-game stretch. SMU's league setbacks were to UTEP, Tulsa and UAB by a combined 11 points.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
SMU enters Saturday's league encounter with a 9-10 overall record and a 2-3 Conference USA mark. The Mustangs are on a three-game win streak with victories over Rice 73-65 on Jan. 20, Houston Baptist 82-68 on Jan. 23 and UCF 65-43 on Jan. 27. SMU's league setbacks were to UTEP (49-45), Tulsa (63-56) and UAB (63-62) by a combined 11 points.

Senior guard Derek Williams leads a trio of Mustangs averaging double figures in the scoring column with a 16.5 average. Papa Dia (11.5 ppg) and Mouhammad Faye (11.0 ppg) also average double digits. Dia is SMU's top rebounder at 7.8 rpg, while Faye is second with 5.5 boards per game. Williams is tops on the team with 71 assists (3.7 apg). Rodney Clinkscales (45.8 percent), Robert Nyakundi (45.3 percent) and Mike Walker (44.7 percent) are the Mustangs' top threats from the three-point line.

SMU is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor, 33.8 percent from the three-point arc and 67.8 percent from the charity stripe. The Mustangs are out-rebounding their foes by an average margin of +3.6 boards per game (33.4-29.8).

TIGER STAFF VERSUS ALMA MATERS
For the third time since the Tigers began Conference USA play Jan. 9, a member of the Memphis hoops staff is facing his alma mater. On Saturday, Eric Sebastian, the Tigers' director of operations, is pitted against SMU, where he graduated from in 1994.

While at SMU, Sebastian worked in the athletic department's sports information office and assisted with publicity for the Mustang basketball program. Following graduation in 1994, Sebastian worked as a intern with the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas World Cup office, before moving on to a full-time position with the NBA's Denver Nuggets.

So far, Memphis basketball staffers have been perfect against their alma maters in 2009-10, and the following shows that:

Staffer/Pos.	Alma Mater	Result

Sebastian/Ops	SMU, 1994	--

Wilson/Asst.	Rice, 1982	80-68, W

Anderson/Trn.	Southern Miss, 1997	59-57, W

A TIGER HOMECOMING
Two weeks ago, freshman D.J. Stephens made his initial homecoming back to his home state of Texas when the Tigers played at Rice in Houston on Jan. 16. This Saturday, the 6-foot-5 forward returns a little closer to his home of Killeen.

When Memphis played in Houston, it was a nearly a 200-mile drive for family and friends, and over 20 made the trip to Rice. On Saturday, the trip should be a little closer, as Killeen is around 150 miles south of Dallas.

TIGERS PERFECT IN DALLAS-FORT WORTH SINCE 2000
Memphis sure loves its homecourt at FedExForum, and the home record of 104-12 (.897 winning percentage) proves it. But, if the Tigers can claim a second "home" -- a place they enjoy playing -- they may want to consider the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Since 2000-01, Memphis is a perfect 9-0 in games played in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including two NCAA Tournament games in 2006. The following shows those results:

Date	Opponent	Result

2/4/09	at SMU	79-66, W

3/5/08	at SMU	72-55, W

3/3/07	at SMU	64-61, W

3/19/06	vs. Bucknell*	72-56, W

3/17/06	Oral Roberts*	94-78, W

1/29/05	at TCU	72-57, W

1/31/04	at TCU	75-69, W

2/8/03	at TCU	84-69, W

1/9/02	at TCU	98-93, W

* 2006 NCAA Tournament

TIGERS, BEWARE THE MOOD(Y)!
While there is still a lot of hoops to be played in 2009-10, the Mustangs have been tough on their homecourt, Moody Coliseum, to date. SMU has a 7-5 home record, and of its five setbacks, four were by single digits. The Mustangs' C-USA home losses were by seven points to Tulsa (63-56) and one point to UAB (63-62).

Of course, the Tigers need only remember their last three trips to SMU in March of 2007 and 2008 and February of 2009 to know how tough it is to play in Moody Coliseum. In last season's contest at SMU, Memphis led 34-29 at the break, but the Mustangs opened the second half with a 12-5 run to take a 41-39 lead at the 13:43 mark. The Tigers, though, regrouped and went on a 15-2 spurt over the next seven minutes to take a 54-43 lead and never looked back.

In the 2007-08 meeting in Dallas, Memphis had to fend off several Mustang charges before pulling away late for the 72-55 victory. Three seasons ago (2006-07), the Tigers entered the game with a perfect 15-0 league record, but had to scrap and claw its way to a 64-61 win to preserve its first perfect conference season.

A VERY EARLY VISIT TO BIG "D"
This feels a little different -- the Tigers in Dallas (a.k.a. Big "D") in January. In 2006-07 and 2007-08, Memphis traveled to Dallas to play SMU in the final week of the regular season in early March. Last year, the Tigers made their Dallas appearance in February.

In the 2005-06 campaign, the Tigers made a mid-March trip to Dallas for the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds. Memphis won its two NCAA Tournament games at American Airlines Center, the home of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.

THE MAIN C-USA STREAKS ARE OVER...
All good things come to an end, and for the Tigers, their Conference USA win streaks came to a halt Jan. 20 when UTEP posted a 72-67 league victory at FedExForum.

Despite the loss, Memphis' C-USA wins streaks (overall and regular season only) were quite impressive. The Tigers won 52-straight regular season Conference USA games and 64-straight C-USA overall contests, including the league's postseason tournaments. Before the UTEP loss on Jan. 20, 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 1,419 days.

The 64-game win streak (includes C-USA Tournaments) is the longest in C-USA history. The 52-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.

... BUT ONE STILL REMAINS
While the Conference USA overall and regular season win streaks ended with a Jan. 20 home loss to UTEP, one Memphis streak still continues. This Saturday, the Tigers carry a 27-game Conference USA road win streak into Moody Coliseum at SMU.

The last time Memphis dropped a C-USA road game was Mar. 2, 2006, when the Tigers fell at UAB 80-74 -- a span of 1,429 days.

JANUARY PROVES GOOD FOR TIGERS
While Memphis has had a lot of success in December since 1999-2000, January has proven to be a better month for the Tigers. Since 1999-2000, the Tigers have an impressive 72-16 record (.818 winning percentage) in the month of January.

The Tigers have won 40 of their last 42 January games (.952 winning percentage) since a Jan. 2, 2006, loss to Texas (69-58). Prior to its Jan. 6, 2010, loss at Syracuse (74-57), Memphis had won its last 35 January contests.

WHERE'S THE SCORING?
Points may be hard to come by on Saturday when Memphis plays SMU, as both teams rank in the top half of Conference USA in scoring defense. The Tigers are third in C-USA in scoring defense, holding foes to 61.7 points per game. On the other side, the Mustangs are sixth in scoring defense at 65.1 ppg.

Moreover, the SMU defense has been even more stingy in C-USA play. The Mustangs are allowing C-USA opponents to score only 56.6 points per game, which is first in the conference. The most points scored in league play against SMU was 65 by the Rice Owls on Jan. 20 (73-65 SMU win).

HIDE YOUR EYES
Memphis and SMU hope that Saturday's game doesn't turn into a free throw shooting contest, as both are near the bottom in Conference USA in charity stripe percentage. The Mustangs are 10th in C-USA in free throw percentage at 67.8, while the Tigers are 11th at 67.7 percent.

However, the Tigers stepped it up at the free throw line in their 75-72 victory at Marshall Jan. 27. Memphis was 20-of-22 from the foul line for a 90.9 percentage.

AN ARC ADVANTAGE FOR TIGERS?
Memphis hopes so, as any advantage on the road helps. The Tigers lead Conference USA in three-point field goal percentage at 37.7 percent, while SMU is 12th in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense at 36.2 percent.

In the last four contests, Memphis shot the ball well from the arc. The Tigers hit 48.6 percent from the three-point line (36-of-74) in the last four games.

WILLIAMS LOVES THE C-USA ROAD
For most players, they love playing at home more than on the road. That, however, has not been the case for Memphis sophomore guard Elliot Williams in the early portion of the Conference USA schedule. The following numbers show how much Williams enjoys playing away from home in C-USA action:

Conference USA Games Only

	Home	Stat	Away

	13.7	Scoring	29.7

	3.0	Rebounding	3.0

	1.3	Steals/Gm	2.0

	3.7	Turnovers/Gm	2.7

	50.0	FG Pct.	55.1

	36.4	3-pt. FG Pct.	61.9

	73.3	FT Pct.	73.3

	11-of-15	FTM-Att.	22-of-30

PH-N A GLASS CLEANER IN RECENT GAMES
Tiger Nation doesn't know if it's a change in routine, but whatever has Pierre Henderson-Niles playing at the level he has the past three games, Memphis fans want him to keep doing it. In the three games, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 8.3 rebounds.

Henderson-Niles grabbed nine boards apieces versus UTEP Jan. 20 and Marshall Jan. 27 and pulled down seven rebounds against Houston Jan. 23. He also averaged 6.3 points in the three-game stretch.

Henderson-Niles began this run of solid rebounding performances after suffering a finger injury in warm-ups prior to the UTEP game. The Memphis, Tenn., native suffered a dislocation of his right middle finger, but he gutted it out and put together a seven-point, nine rebound performance against the Miners. The senior also committed only one turnover in 23 minutes despite playing with the injury.

The nine-board game was the second-best outing of his career in C-USA play. He grabbed 10 rebounds in a win at East Carolina in the 2008-09 season.

TIGERS TURNING 1,400
With the opening of the 2009-10 season, the countdown is on for Memphis. The Tiger basketball program entered the 2009-10 year with 1,383 all-time victories and needed 17 to reach the 1,400-win plateau. After the Jan. 27 victory over Marshall, the Tigers now have 1,398 wins.

If successful, Memphis, the winningest program in Conference USA, would be the first school in the league to reach 1,400 victories.

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