Nov. 21, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

TIGERS TO FACE SETON HALL IN SEMIFINAL ROUND OF PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF FRIDAY
The University of Memphis squad (3-0, 0-0 C-USA), ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press poll and No. 12 in ESPN/USA Today poll, continues its play in the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday, Nov. 21 with a semifinal contest versus Seton Hall (3-0, 0-0 Big East). Game time is 6 p.m. (CT) at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Memphis advanced to the semifinals of the championship bracket with an 83-71 win over Chattanooga Nov. 20. Seton Hall moved to the semifinals with a 63-61 upset of No. 20 Southern Cal. The Tigers began action in the tournament on Nov. 15 with a 90-63 opening-round victory over Fairfield at FedExForum (see tournament bracket on page 4).

Prior to traveling to Puerto Rico to continue play in the second annual Tip-Off, the Tigers defeated UMass 80-58 on Nov. 17. The game tipped off ESPN's marathon of college basketball in which the network televised 23 hours of games.

Memphis, the 2008-09 preseason pick to win Conference USA, returns two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad that won an NCAA record 38 games (38-2 record) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament national championship game. En route to the title contest, the Tigers swept the Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns and the NCAA Tournament South Region championship.

Seton Hall, picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East in the 2008-09 coaches' preseason poll, is off to a quick 3-0 start. The Pirates opened 2008-09 with home victories over St. Francis, N.Y., and Columbia before their upset win over Southern Cal Thursday.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Seton Hall, picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big East in the 2008-09 coaches' preseason poll, is off to a quick 3-0 start. The Pirates opened 2008-09 with home victories over St. Francis, N.Y., and Columbia before their upset win over Southern Cal Thursday.

Last year, Seton Hall finished with a 17-15 overall record and a 7-11 Big East mark.

Sophomore guard Jeremy Hazell leads the Pirates with a 19.6 scoring average. Senior John Garcia and junior Eugene Harvey average 11.3 points apiece. Garcia is the team's top rebounder at 13.3 rpg, and Harvey is tops on the squad with a 5.7 assists average.

Seton Hall is shooting 43.4 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from the three-point line and 65.4 percent from the free throw line. The Pirates are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 4.6 boards per game (40.3-35.7).

MEMPHIS VS. THE BIG EAST
The Tigers are 124-136 all-time versus current members of the Big East Conference. Memphis has played Cincinnati (30-36), Connecticut (1-0), DePaul (14-12), Georgetown (2-6), Louisville (34-51), Marquette (14-12), Pittsburgh (1-1), Providence (2-3), St. John's (0-1), Seton Hall (2-1), Syracuse (1-1), USF (18-3), Villanova (4-8) and West Virginia (1-1).

Memphis has played 14 of the 16 Big East schools, leaving Notre Dame and Rutgers as the only two the Tigers have not faced. Most of the contests versus Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and USF were league games (Missouri Valley, Metro, Great Midwest, Conference USA).

Since the start of the 2005-06 campaign (when the Big East realigned), Memphis is a perfect 6-0 against teams from the Big East. Last year, the Tigers defeated Connecticut, Georgetown and Cincinnati.

Seton Hall is the first of four Big East foes for Memphis in 2008-09. The Tigers travel to Georgetown Dec. 13 and then hosts Syracuse Dec. 20 and Cincinnati Dec. 29 at FedExForum.

CALIPARI VS. THE BIG EAST
Memphis head coach John Calipari has an all-time record of 58-31 (.652 winning percentage) against current members of the Big East Conference. Calipari has coached against Cincinnati (4-7), Connecticut (1-2), DePaul (4-2), Georgetown (2-0), Louisville (6-5), Marquette (3-1), Pittsburgh (2-1), Providence (1-1), Rutgers (11-4), Syracuse (3-1), USF (9-1), Villanova (2-0) and West Virginia (10-6).

TIGER HISTORY VERSUS THE HALL
Although they have only played three previous times, two of the meetings were memorable. The first encounter between Memphis and Seton Hall came back in the 1952-53 campaign, and it was the Tigers' first-ever game versus the No. 1 team in the nation. The No. 1-ranked Pirates defeated Memphis 103-85 in South Orange, N.J., on Jan. 22, 1953.

The next meeting most Tiger fans may remember is Memphis' 73-72 win over Seton Hall in an opening round game of the NIT at Madison Square Garden on Mar. 17, 1974. The contest was the next-to-last game that Gene Bartow coached as the Tiger mentor. Bartow, who also followed his Memphis tenure with coaching stints at Illinois, UCLA and UAB, is in attendance at this week's O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

TIGERS IN NOVEMBER
While head coach John Calipari focuses on March and prepares teams to make postseason runs, his Tiger squads have done quite well in the month of November. Since taking over in 2000-01, Memphis has a 33-11 record (.750 winning percentage) in November.

One reason for the 11 early setbacks is the rugged national schedule the Tigers have played in the Calipari era. Of the 11 November losses, nine were to nationally-ranked teams.

The Tigers are 22-4 in November since the 2005-06 campaign, with all four setbacks coming to ranked opponents. Memphis is currently on an 11-game win streak in November games, dating back to the 2006-07 season.

THE RETURN OF THE MACK
Over the summer, Doneal Mack made a decision to transfer to another school. However, after just a week away, he decided to return to Memphis, and head coach John Calipari welcomed him back, but with the conditions that Mack would get stronger and expand his game. That was evident in the Tigers' 83-71 victory over Chattanooga Nov. 20.

The 6-foot-5 guard did what he does best and that was shooting the trey. Mack hit five three-pointers en route to scoring a team-high 19 points. He netted his 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from the arc.

The Charlotte, N.C., native also added three boards, four assists and two steals in his second start of the season. Mack had no turnovers while playing a career-high tying 26 minutes.

"TAG" ON A TEAR
When Joey Dorsey's career came to an end last season, many questioned how the Tigers would make up for his domination on the glass. The answer -- three games into 2008-09 -- is Shawn Taggart.

Taggart is averaging 11.3 boards per game and has grabbed double-digit rebounds in all three contests. He started the year with 12 boards versus Fairfield and then followed with 11 rebounds in games against UMass and Chattanooga.

The Richmond, Va., has also shown his ability to score and has two double-doubles in his first three games. He posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in the season-opening win over Fairfield on Nov. 15. It was his first double-double in a Memphis uniform. Five days later (Nov. 20), Taggart had his second double-double as a Tiger with 16 points and 11 boards in the victory over Chattanooga.

"BULL-DOZIER"-ING THE COMPETITION
When Robert Dozier announced he was withdrawing from the 2008 NBA Draft and returning for his final season, head coach John Calipari stated that he needed to return and play with passion and determination. In other words, Calipari wanted Dozier to dominate in 2008-09.

Well, Dozier showed the nation a little of that in the Tigers' 80-58 victory over UMass before a national ESPN audience. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 18 points, grabbed five boards and blocked four shots. He also had one assist and one steal in 30 minutes of play.

Dozier stepped up early in the UMass game, especially when the Tiger offense was struggling. In the game's first 13 minutes, the Lithonia, Ga., native netted 10 of the team's first 17 points, with four points coming on two emphatic dunks.

Dozier continued his strong early season play in the victory over Chattanooga Nov. 20. He finished the game with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and three steals.

For more notes on the Memphis-Seton Hall match-up, click on the pdf link at the top of the page.