Dec. 1, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

NOTE:The Tigers' Dec. 2 game will not be televised. Fans can watch the game on-line via the Tigers' athletic web site at www.gotigersgo.com if they have purchased the All-Access subscription.

TIGERS TO HOST MARIST TUESDAY NIGHT AT FEDEXFORUM
The University of Memphis squad (4-1, 0-0 C-USA), ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in ESPN/USA Today poll, returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 2 after an eight-day layoff with a home contest at FedExForum versus Marist (2-3, 0-0 MAAC). Game time is 7 p.m. (CT).

Memphis last played Nov. 23 when it dropped a 63-58 decision to Xavier in the championship game of the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts Tip-Off Classic. The Tigers advanced to the championship game with wins over Chattanooga Nov. 20 (83-71 in quarterfinal) and Seton Hall Nov. 21 (84-70 in semifinal). The Tigers began action in the tournament Nov. 15 with a 90-63 opening-round victory over Fairfield at FedExForum (see tournament bracket and final results on page 4).

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.

Marist, picked to finish 10th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the coaches' preseason poll, is off to a 2-3 start to the 2008-09 campaign. The Red Foxes have won two of their last three games with victories over Robert Morris 72-55 and New Hampshire 63-61.

Last year, Marist posted an 18-14 overall record and an 11-7 MAAC mark. The Red Foxes finished in a tie for fourth place in the MAAC.

SCOUTING THE RED FOXES
Marist, picked to finish 10th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the coaches' preseason poll, is off to a 2-3 start to the 2008-09 campaign. The Red Foxes have won two of their last three games with victories over Robert Morris 72-55 and New Hampshire 63-61.

Last year, Marist posted an 18-14 overall record and an 11-7 MAAC mark. The Red Foxes finished in a tie for fourth place in the MAAC.

Redshirt junior guard David Devezin leads three players averaging in double figures at 14.4 ppg. Redshirt senior Ryan Schneider (13.0 ppg) and redshirt sophomore Lawrence Williams (10.8) are also averaging double digits for the Red Foxes. Schneider leads Marist on the glass with a 10.0 rebounding average, while Williams is second at 7.0 rpg. Devezin is tops on the team with 20 assists (4,0 apg).

The Red Foxes are shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from the three-point line and 68.9 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents are out-rebounding Marist by a slim 0.8 margin (38.6-37.8).

Chuck Martin is in his first season as head coach of the Marist program. Martin makes his return to Memphis, where he helped lead the Tiger program to a 71-6 record from 2006-08 and the 2008 NCAA Tournament national championship game. He was also a part of the Tiger coaching staff that directed Memphis to an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2007.

MEMPHIS VS. THE MAAC
The Tigers have an all-time record of 7-4 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Memphis has played Canisius (0-2), Fairfield (1-0), Iona (2-0), Manhattan (2-1), Marist (1-0) and Siena (1-1).

The last time Memphis played a MAAC school was just over two weeks ago when the Tigers defeated Fairfield 90-63 on Nov. 15. The contest was the season opener for both schools, and was also an opening round game of the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

CALIPARI VS. THE MAAC
Memphis head coach John Calipari has a perfect 8-0 record versus members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Calipari has coached against Fairfield (1-0), Manhattan (2-0), Saint Peter's (1-0) and Siena (4-0).

Calipari is 3-0 versus MAAC foes during his time at Memphis. He coached the Tigers to a 77-59 win over Manhattan in the 2006-07 campaign and a 102-58 victory over Siena in the 2007-08 season. Calipari picked up his third victory over a MAAC foe just over two weeks ago when his Tigers defeated Fairfield 90-63 on Nov. 15 in the 2008-09 season opener.

CONNECTIONS AND STORYLINES
The media usually loves storylines within a game. Well, it has a couple in Tuesday's game with Memphis and Marist. The following lists those:

John Calipari, Memphis Head Coach
• Hired Chuck Martin to join his staff prior to the 2006-07 season
• Hired Tyrone Weeks to join his staff prior to the 2007-08 season
• Recruited Weeks to play at UMass; Weeks was a member of the 1995-96 UMass team that went to the NCAA Final Four

Chuck Martin, Marist Head Coach
• Served as an assistant for John Calipari at Memphis from 2006-08
• Tigers posted a 71-6 record in his two years in Memphis
• Also was an assistant at Drexel for Bruiser Flint, who was an assistant for John Calipari at UMass

Tyrone Weeks, Marist Asst. Coach
• Served on John Calipari's staff at Memphis for the 2007-08 season
• Recruited to play at UMass by then-Minuteman head coach John Calipari
• Was a member of the 1995-96 UMass squad that advanced to the NCAA Final Four

CALIPARI VERSUS FORMER ASSISTANTS
John Calipari doesn't like to play former assistants, but one couldn't tell that from the Tigers' schedule in 2008-09. Tuesday's game against UMass is the second of five games in which Calipari will match wits versus a former assistant.

Entering this season, Calipari is a perfect 3-0 versus former assistants. He has coached against Tony Barbee (UTEP) twice and Steve Roccaforte (Lamar) once.

This year, Calipari faced his first former assistant coach in Derek Kellogg when the Tigers hosted UMass Nov. 17 at FedExForum. Memphis posted an 80-58 victory over UMass to improve Calipari's record to 4-0 when matching wits with former assistants. The following shows the former assistants Calipari will face in 2008-09 and the ones he has already played and those results:

2008-09 Calipari vs. Former Assistants

Opponent	Former Asst.	Date/Result

UMass	Derek Kellogg	80-58, W

Marist	Chuck Martin	Dec. 2

Drexel	Bruiser Flint	Dec. 22

Lamar	Steve Roccaforte	Jan. 3

UTEP	Tony Barbee	Feb. 21

Past Results

Opponent	Former Asst.	Result

UTEP	Tony Barbee	70-64, W*

UTEP	Tony Barbee	78-67, W#

Lamar	Steve Roccaforte	87-62, W#

* 2007-08 season

# 2006-07 season

NOVEMBER, PLEASE DON'T GO...
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 34-12 record (.739 winning percentage) in November.

One reason for the 12 early setbacks is the rugged national schedule the Tigers have played in the Calipari era. Of the 12 November losses, nine were to nationally-ranked teams.

The Tigers are 23-5 in November since the 2005-06 campaign, with four of the five setbacks coming to ranked opponents. Prior to the Nov. 23 loss to Xavier in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship game, Memphis had won 12-straight games in the month of November, dating back to the 2006-07 season.

...BUT, DECEMBER HAS ALSO BEEN GOOD TO TIGERS UNDER CALIPARI
Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers have a 39-14 record (.736 winning percentage) when playing in the month of December. Memphis was 5-0 last December and has won 18 of its last 20 December contests, dating back to the 2004-05 season.

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. Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 66 of its last 69 home games (.957 winning percentage).

Overall, the Tigers have a 76-9 record (.894 winning percentage) at FedExForum. Memphis had a perfect 19-0 home mark in 2006-07, and was 20-1 at FedExForum in 2007-08.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Memphis has had a long history of success in non-league games, and that has continued under head coach John Calipari. Since Calipari took over in 2000-01, the Tigers have a non-conference record (including postseason) of 114-35 for a 76.5 winning percentage.

In 2007-08, Memphis had a 22-2 record against non-conference opponents (including postseason).

HENDERSON-NILES OK AFTER KNEE SPRAIN
Two days after his best performance in a Tiger uniform, junior Pierre Henderson-Niles suffered what looked on television as a season-ending knee injury in the first half of Memphis' Nov. 23 contest. But, after the team physician's diagnosis at halftime, the injury was not as serious as it appeared. The injury was a knee sprain, and Henderson-Niles returned to play in the second half.

In the Nov. 21 game versus Seton Hall, Henderson-Niles played like head coach John Calipari envisioned his big man would since he arrived on campus in the fall of 2006. After Henderson-Niles' dedication to losing weight over the summer, the work is paying off.

The 6-foot-8 forward played a career-high 23 minutes versus the Pirates, and grabbed a career-best 10 boards. Both previous career bests (seven rebounds vs. Kentucky; 20 minutes vs. Oklahoma) were set at the start of his freshman campaign in 2006-07 at the Maui Invitational.

In the Nov. 21 game versus Seton Hall, Henderson-Niles also scored five points and added one assist and one steal.

ALL-AROUND `REKE
All the talk from the national pundits about Tyreke Evans was that he was a talented and gifted scorer. Well, at least we can give them some credit, as Evans has proved he can score. After the Tigers' first five games, the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 14.6 points.

But, Evans is quickly proving there is more to his game than just putting the ball in the net. The Chester, Pa., native is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals. He is shooting 84 percent from the free throw line.

"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. Although limited by foul trouble versus Seton Hall Nov. 21, Dozier still managed 10 points and five boards in 20 minutes.

In the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship game loss to Xavier, Dozier posted his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards. The double-double performance was the 10th of his career.

"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 9.4 boards per game and has grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of the Tigers' five contests. He started the year with 12 boards versus Fairfield and then followed with 11 rebounds in games against UMass and Chattanooga. Taggart had 10 rebounds in the loss to Xavier on Nov. 23.

The Richmond, Va., has also shown his ability to score and has two double-doubles in his first five 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.

In the setback to Xavier Nov. 23, the 6-foot-10 forward had four blocks to go along with his 11 boards.

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