Feb. 19, 2013

Memphis Notes  | Houston Notes  | C-USA Notes 

Houston (15-9, 4-7) at Memphis (22-3, 11-0) FedExForum (Memphis, Tenn.) Wed., February 20, 2013 - 8 pm (CT)
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WREC 600 AM
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Memphis Tiger Network (Blacked Out in AR, KY, WV, NC, VA, TN, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA and TX)
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Tigers On TV/Radio/Web
Television: Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS)/Comcast digital channel 22 (Greg Gaston, play-by-play; Shane Power, analyst)

Radio: WREC 600 AM (Dave Woloshin, play-by-play; Matt Dillon, color analyst; Forrest Goodman, studio host)

Web:Fans in certain states can watch the Memphis vs. Houston game streamed live on the Memphis Tiger Network via the Memphis athletics website All-Access (must register to view game) at gotigersgo.com. Please note that video is not available for streaming in the CSS broadcast territory states (AR, KY, WV, NC, VA, TN, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA and TX) due to television broadcast restrictions.

Additional Comcast Sports Net Stations
Televising Memphis-Houston Game

• CSN Houston
• CSN California
• TCN (The Comcast Network)

SETTING THE SCENE

• Memphis (22-3, 11-0 C-USA) returns home to FedExForum to open a two-game homestand Wednesday, Feb. 20 against Conference USA foe Houston (15-9, 4-7 C-USA). The game, scheduled for an 8 p.m. (CT) start, is slated for a Comcast Sports Southeast (Comcast digital channel 22) telecast.
• The Tigers remained in the national polls for a second-straight week. Memphis moved up to the No. 21 spot in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
• The Tigers bounced back after their Dec. 15 setback to No. 6/6 Louisville with 16-consecutive wins over Lipscomb 62-56 Dec. 20, Oral Roberts 72-57 Dec. 28, Loyola, Md., 78-64 Dec. 30, Tennessee 85-80 Jan. 4, East Carolina 67-54 Jan. 9, UAB 69-53 Jan. 12, Rice 77-51 Jan. 16, Harvard 60-50 Jan. 19, Tulane 71-60 Jan. 22, Marshall 73-72 Jan. 26, East Carolina 75-68 Jan. 30, Tulsa 94-64 Feb. 2, SMU 60-52 Feb. 6, Southern Miss 89-76 Feb. 9, UCF 93-71 Feb. 13 and Marshall 71-59 Feb. 16.
• Prior to the Dec. 15 loss, Memphis had won four straight with victories over Northern Iowa, UT Martin, Ohio and Austin Peay.
• Houston has a 3-3 record in its last six outings, including two overtime games.
• The Cougars are 4-5 in road games, including a 1-4 Conference USA road record.
• Houston returns three starters and five letterwinners from last year's 15-15 squad.

WHAT'S UP NEXT

• The Tigers close out their two-game homestand at FedExForum Saturday, Feb. 23 against longtime rival and Conference USA foe Southern Miss. The contest, set for a 12 p.m. (CT) start, is slated for a FOX Sports Net (FSN) telecast.
• The Cougars are off from competition this Saturday, but return to action Wednesday, Feb. 27 with a road trip to El Paso, Texas, to face C-USA foe UTEP. Game time is 8 p.m. (CT). The Feb. 27 game at UTEP closes a three-game C-USA road swing for Houston.

WHAT THE COUGARS DID A YEAR AGO

• Houston posted a 15-15 overall record and a 7-9 Conference USA mark.
• The Cougars finished in a tie for eighth place in the C-USA regular-season standings.
• Houston earned the Conference USA Tournament No. 9 seed.
• The Cougars dropped a 67-62 overtime decision to UTEP in the C-USA Tournament opening round.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

• Houston is 15-9 overall and 4-7 in Conference USA entering Wednesday's league clash.
• The Cougars have split their last six games, going 3-3.
• Houston has an overall 4-5 road record, including a 1-4 mark in C-USA. The Cougars' only C-USA road win came at SMU Feb. 2 (84-80, OT).
• Houston has played four overtime contests in 2012-13 and is 2-2 in those games.
• The trio of Joseph Young (17.3 ppg), TaShawn Thomas (16.9 ppg) and Danuel House (12.8 ppg) paces the Cougars offense. Young (3rd) and Thomas (4th) rank among the top-five scorers in C-USA.
• Thomas pulls down 9.9 boards per game to lead Houston and is also ranked second in the league in rebounding.
• Thomas is the Cougars' top playmaker with 60 total assists (2.5 apg).
• Young (42 percent) and Jherrod Stiggers (40.1 percent) are Houston's top three-point threats.
• The Cougars are shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, 36.8 percent from the three-point line and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe.
• Houston is out-rebounding its opponents by an average margin of +4.0 boards per game (39.5-35.5).

The Last Meeting Memphis 89 Houston 55 January 14, 2012 Houston, Texas Stifling Defense Helps Memphis Bury Houston, 89-55 Memphis (12-5, 3-0) held Houston (9-8, 1-3) scoreless for a stretch of 8:09 during the second half and defeated the Cougars, 89-55, on Saturday night. Chris Crawford scored 19 points, including 15 from long-range, and dished out four assists. Will Barton recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 boards. Recap | Box Score | Notes

PASTNER VS. HOMETOWN SCHOOLS

• For the second time this season, Memphis head coach Josh Pastner is facing a school from his hometown area when the Tigers host Houston Wednesday at FedExForum.
• Earlier this season, Pastner's Tigers defeated Rice 77-51 Jan. 16 in Houston.
• Pastner is a Kingwood, Texas, native, and Kingwood is a suburb of Houston. In fact, Pastner grew up around 20 miles from the University of Houston campus.
• Pastner, who attended Kingwood High School, coached the Houston Hoops summer ball team during his high school and collegiate (Arizona) days.

PASTNER RECORD VS. HOUSTON TEAMS

• In his three-plus seasons, Josh Pastner has faced three NCAA Division I schools from Houston.
• The Tigers have played Houston, Houston Baptist and Rice.
• Memphis has a 6-3 record (.667 winning percentage) versus Houston area schools under Pastner.

A COWBOYS REUNION WEDNESDAY

• Wednesday's game is between the Tigers and Cougars, but there will be a reunion of former Cowboys -- as in Oklahoma State Cowboys -- on the two benches.
• Memphis assistant coach Jimmy Williams and Houston head coach James Dickey both were on Eddie Sutton's staff from 2004-07.
• In their three seasons (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07) together on staff, Williams and Dickey helped Oklahoma State to a 65-36 record and three postseason appearances (2005 NCAA, 2006 and 2007 NIT).
• In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, Oklahoma State -- with Williams and Dickey on the Cowboys bench -- advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, where it dropped a 79-78 decision to Arizona. On the Wildcats staff that year was assistant coach Josh Pastner.

GET YOUR TRACK SHOES ON!

• The scoreboard operator better get those fingers ready Wednesday, as Memphis and Houston rank in the top-five in C-USA in four offensive categories:

BOARD BATTLE SET FOR WEDNESDAY

• The winner of Wednesday's Memphis-Houston contest may be decided on the glass.
• The Tigers and Cougars enter the game ranked among Conference USA's top-four squads in rebound margin.
• Memphis is second in C-USA in rebound margin at +5.6, while Houston is fourth in the league at +4.0.
• The Cougars lead C-USA in defensive rebounds per game (27.2), while Memphis is fourth (25.1).

TIGERS LOOKING FOR WIN NO. 350

• With its next win, Memphis will be the third program at the NCAA Division I level to win 350 games in the 21st century.
• Duke (380 wins) and Kansas (379 wins) are the only two programs with 350 or more victories since 2000-01.

JACKSON JOINS TIGERS ELITE GROUP

• In the Jan. 30 win over East Carolina, Joe Jackson went over 1,000 points for his career with a career-high 26 points.
• In the Feb. 13 victory over UCF, the 6-foot-1 guard dished out a career-best 10 assists, and in doing so, went over 350 dimes for his career.
• Jackson now has 1,065 points and 357 assists for his career. He is in the No. 39 spot on the Tigers all-time scoring list and No. 10 position on the career assists chart.
• The Memphis, Tenn., native is the ninth player in Memphis hoops history to have 1,000 points and 350 assists:

MEMPHIS IN CONFERENCE USA

• The Tigers have an all-time record of 210-65 (.764 winning percentage) in C-USA play.
• Memphis has posted double-digit league wins in 15 of its 18 seasons in Conference USA, including a school-record and league-record tying 16 games in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09.
• Last season, the Tigers won the C-USA regular-season title with a 13-3 league mark.
• Memphis won its first outright C-USA regular season title in 2005-06, and followed that with outright regular season crowns in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12.
• 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.

TIGERS TOUGH AT HOME IN C-USA

• Since moving to FedExForum in 2004-05, Memphis has turned its homecourt into one of toughest arenas for opponents to play, and that is seen in the Tigers' 159-18 overall record.
• But, it is even tougher for Conference USA foes since conference realignment in 2005-06.
• Memphis has an incredible 72-3 record (.960 winning percentage) at FedExForum versus C-USA opponents (regular season and conference tournament) since 2005-06.
• The following shows the nation's top-10 conference homecourt records since 2005-06 (regular season and conference tournament; credit to Bryan McEldowney for compiling this list and Travis Chell for its updates this season):

TIGERS SUCCESS AT FEDEXFORUM

• The Tigers have a 159-18 overall record (.898 winning percentage) at FedExForum since moving to the arena for the 2004-05 campaign.
• Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 149 of its last 161 home games (.925 winning percentage).
• Against Conference USA foes (regular season and tournament) at FedExForum since 2004-05, the Tigers have an 80-7 mark (.920 winning percentage).
• Under head coach Josh Pastner, Memphis is 29-3 (.906 winning percentage) against C-USA opponents.

BEST HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE

• Since 2004-05, Memphis has won 159 games at FedExForum, the most home wins in the country over that span of time.
• The following are the top-five programs with the most home wins since 2004-05 (credit to former Memphis Athletics Communications Assistant Bryan McEldowney for compiling this list; credit to Travis Chell for updates):

STREAKING TIGERS

• Memphis brings a 16-game win streak into Wednesday's C-USA clash versus Houston.
• The 16-game win streak is tied for the fifth-longest in school history.
• The 16-game win streak is currently the nation's second-longest streak (Akron has the longest at 17 straight).
• The following lists the longest win streaks in Tigers basketball history: