Nov. 24, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

Tigers On TV/Radio/Web
Television: WKNO/Channel 10 (TAPE DELAYED at 10 p.m. CT; Greg Gaston, play-by-play; Elliot Perry, color analyst; Kristin Tallent, sideline reporter) Radio: WREC 600 AM (Jeff Brightwell, 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 TO HOST CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT FEDEXFORUM TUESDAY
The University of Memphis squad (2-1, 0-0 C-USA) continues its five-game homestand Tuesday, Nov. 24 when it hosts Central Arkansas (1-3, 0-0 SLC). The game, scheduled for a 7 p.m. (CT) tip, is the third of four contests in the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase.

Memphis began play in the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase on Nov. 17 when it dropped a narrow 57-55 decision to No. 1/1 Kansas in St. Louis. The Tigers played their second game in the Hall of Fame Showcase Nov. 20 and defeated Tennessee Tech 92-59. Memphis' final game in the Showcase is Nov. 30 versus Oakland at FedExForum.

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.

Central Arkansas, picked to finish sixth in the Southland Conference East Division, is off to a 1-3 start to 2009-10. The Bears won their season opener over Hendrix, but then dropped their next three games to Tennessee Tech, Kansas and Western Illinois.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Central Arkansas, picked to finish sixth in the Southland Conference East Division, is off to a 1-3 start to 2009-10. The Bears won their season opener over Hendrix 68-40, but then dropped their next three games to Tennessee Tech, Kansas and Western Illinois.

Senior guard Mike Pouncy is Central Arkansas' lone double-figure scorer at 11.3 ppg. Junior Jared Rehmel is the squad's second-leading scorer at 9.0 rpg. Mitch Rueter and Tadre Sheppard lead the Bears on the glass, each with a 7.0 rebounding average. Pouncy is the team's top field goal shooter at 40.8 percent.

The Bears are shooting 34.1 percent from the field, 16.9 percent from the arc and 59.8 percent from the free throw line. Central Arkansas is out-rebounding its opponents by an average margin of 1.2 boards per game (39.0-37.8).

Central Arkansas returns two starters and six letterwinners from last year's squad that went 10-19 overall and 3-13 in the Southland Conference. Head coach Rand Chappell is in his seventh year at Central Arkansas and has a 96-86 record at the school.

PASTNER IN FIRST YEAR AT HELM OF TIGER PROGRAM
Josh Pastner (Arizona, 1998) is in his first season as the head coach of the University of Memphis basketball program. The Kingwood, Texas, native was hired Apr. 7, 2009, after serving the 2008-09 season as an assistant on the Tiger staff.

Pastner has a 2-1 record at Memphis. He won his head coaching debut Nov. 13 with an 82-53 victory. He suffered his first coaching loss in a narrow 57-55 setback to No. 1/1 Kansas Nov. 17.

Prior to joining the Memphis basketball family for the 2008-09 season, Pastner spent the previous 12 years of his college basketball life at Arizona as a player, staff member and assistant coach. While in Tucson, Pastner was a member of Wildcat squads that made 12-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and posted a 290-103 record (1997-2008). Pastner was a player on the 1996-97 Arizona team that won the NCAA title.

HOMECOMING FOR A BEAR
For one Central Arkansas player, Tuesday's game is a homecoming. Chris Williams, the Bears' 6-foot-7, 250-pound junior center, calls Memphis home. He played his prep career at White Station High School.

MEMPHIS VS. SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Memphis has an all-time record of 16-3 (.842 winning percentage) against current members of the Southland Conference (SLC). The Tigers have played Central Arkansas (0-2), Lamar (4-1), McNeese State (2-0), Nicholls State (1-0), Northwestern State (4-0), Sam Houston State (2-0), Southeastern Louisiana (1-0), Texas-Arlington (2-0) and Texas-San Antonio (1-0). Memphis has never played Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State.

The last time the Tigers played a SLC foe was the 2008-09 campaign. Memphis hosted Lamar on Jan. 3, 2009, and the Tigers posted a 108-75 victory over the Cardinals.

MEMPHIS IN REGULAR SEASON TOURNEYS/CLASSICS
The Tigers have an overall record of 85-56 (.603 winning percentage) in regular season tournaments/classics in the program's history. Memphis has won 16 in-season tournament titles/classics. The Tigers are 1-1 in this year's 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase.

The last time the Tigers carried home the trophy from an in-season tournament (more than one game) was in the 2007-08 campaign. Memphis won the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic (Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer) with an 81-70 win over Connecticut at Madison Square Garden. The Tigers also posted a narrow 62-58 overtime win over Southern Cal in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City that same season.

Last year, Memphis finished as the runner-up in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. The Tigers defeated Fairfield, Chattanooga and Seton Hall en route to the championship game. Memphis dropped a 63-58 decision to Xavier in the title game.

TIGER SUCCESS AT FEDEXFORUM
After a rough first year at their new home in 2004-05, the Tigers have bounced back quite nicely and made FedExForum one of the toughest arenas for opponents to play in. The Tigers have a 95-10 overall record (.905 winning percentage) at FedExForum.

Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 85 of its last 89 home games (.955 winning percentage). Furthermore, the 2009-10 seniors -- Pierre Henderson-Niles, Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack -- are 60-2 (.968 winning percentage) at home in FedExForum.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Memphis has had a long history of success in non-league games, and that has continued in recent years. Since 1999-2000, the Tigers have a non-conference record (including postseason) of 137-46 for a 74.9 winning percentage.

In 2008-09, Memphis had a 17-4 record against non-conference opponents (including postseason).

TIGERS IN NOVEMBER
While all head coaches focus on March and their teams ready to make postseason runs, the Tigers have done quite well in the month of November. Since 1999-2000, Memphis has a 38-15 record (.717 winning percentage) in November.

One reason for the 15 early setbacks is the rugged national schedule the Tigers have played. Of the 15 November losses, 10 were to nationally-ranked teams.

The Tigers are 25-6 (.806 winning percentage) in November since 2004-05, with five of the six setbacks coming to ranked opponents.

CALL HIM MR. SWIPE
His perimeter jump shot may not be falling right now, but Roburt Sallie is contributing in other ways -- especially on the defensive end. Three games into 2009-10, the Tigers' 6-foot-5 guard leads the squad and Conference USA with 12 steals. He set a career high with four steals in the season-opening win over Jackson State, and then tied the mark with four steals against No. 1/1 Kansas and Tennessee Tech.

Sallie has also been bullish on the boards with a 4.0 rebounding average from his guard spot. The Sacramento, Calif., native grabbed a career-high seven rebounds versus Jackson State in the season opener.

TIGERS HAUL IN NATION'S NO. 1 RECRUITING CLASS
While head coach Josh Pastner has been doing great things with his Tiger team on the court, he and his staff have been equally impressive outside the gym, especially in the area of recruiting. According to several national media web sites, Memphis has the country's No. 1 recruiting class for 2010.

Rivals.com, ESPN.com, Scout.com and The Sporting News all rated the Tigers' 2010 class No. 1 in the nation. MaxPreps.com ranks the Tigers' class No. 2 and PrepStars.com No. 3, but both had not updated their rankings since Nov. 13.

TIGER DEFENSE = TURNOVER MACHINE
Head coach Josh Pastner has preached to his Tigers to play hard with a strong effort on the defensive end because the outcome of a lot of Memphis games in 2009-10 will come down to defense. The players are buying in.

After three games, Memphis is forcing its opponents to turn the ball over an average of 22 times per contest. The Tigers picked up 20 Jackson State miscues in the season opener, and then forced the No. 1/1 Kansas Jayhawks to turn the ball over 21 times. Memphis forced 24 Tennessee Tech turnovers in its last outing Nov. 20.

WILLIAMS SETS CAREER SCORING HIGH FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT GAME
After setting his career scoring high (19 points) in his first game wearing the Blue and Gray Nov. 13, Elliot Williams did "two-better" in the Tigers' narrow loss to No. 1/1 Kansas Nov. 17. Williams scored a career-high 21 points in Memphis' 57-55 setback to the Jayhawks.

Well, Williams did another "two-better" in the Tigers' win over Tennessee Tech Nov. 20. He set a new career high with 23 points versus the Golden Eagles.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE DEBUT
Junior college transfer Will Coleman played in his first NCAA Division I game Nov. 13 versus Jackson State, and the 6-foot-9 forward had quite the debut. The Columbus, Ga., native posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked five shots in 21 minutes of action.

Coleman is the first Tiger to post a double-double in his collegiate debut since Joey Dorsey did so as a freshman in the 2004-05 season opener. In that game, Dorsey had 10 points and 16 rebounds in a win over Savannah State on Nov. 12, 2004.

Coleman followed his impressive debut with a solid performance in the narrow 57-55 setback to No. 1/1 Kansas. He had eight points, five boards, two blocks and two steals versus the Jayhawks.

Coleman continued his solid play versus Tennessee Tech Nov. 20. He had nine points, eight boards and three blocked shots in 22 minutes.

TIGER GUARDS HIT THE GLASS
In preseason practices, head coach Josh Pastner has stressed that the Memphis guards are going to have to "rebound, rebound, rebound" if the Tigers are going to have success in 2009-10. Well, the guards have listened to their coach in the first two games of the season.

The Tiger guards combined for 17 of the team's 43 boards (39.5 percent) in the season-opening win over Jackson State. Leading the way was junior Roburt Sallie, who grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.

In the 57-55 loss to No. 1/1 Kansas, the Memphis guards grabbed 11 of the team's 25 boards (44.0 percent). Elliot Williams led the Tiger perimeter players on the glass with six rebounds.

The Tiger guards continued to hit the glass against Tennessee Tech Nov. 20. The guards combined for 14 of the team's 38 boards (36.8 percent). Willie Kemp and Williams each grabbed four rebounds to lead the guards.

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