Tigers On TV/Radio/Web Television: CBS Sports Network/Comcast digital channel 222 (Dave Ryan, play-by-play; Pete Gillen, color analyst)
Radio: WREC 600 AM (Dave Woloshin, play-by-play; Matt Dillon, color analyst; Forrest Goodman, studio host)
Web:None
SETTING THE SCENE
Memphis (4-2) hosts Ohio (6-1) Wednesday, Dec. 5 at FedExForum. The game, to be televised on the CBS Sports Network (CBS SN), is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) tip.
The Tigers are in the Also Receiving Votes category of the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll (No. 40). Memphis did not appear in the Associated Press poll.
The Tigers' return to the mainland was a successful one last Thursday (Nov. 29) with a 93-65 non-conference victory over UT Martin at FedExForum.
Prior to the Nov. 29 contest, Memphis went 2-2 in the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis, posting wins over Samford and Northern Iowa and falling to VCU and Minnesota.
Prior to its participation in the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis, Memphis opened its 2012-13 campaign with an 81-66 win over North Florida Nov. 12.
Memphis returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad.
Ohio posted all six wins at home and dropped its one road contest at Robert Morris Dec. 1.
The Bobcats return all five starters and 12 letterwinners from their 2011-12 squad that posted a 29-8 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
WHAT'S UP NEXT
The Tigers return to action Saturday, Dec. 8 with a home contest against Austin Peay (3-4). The game, to be televised on SportSouth, is slated for a 12 p.m. (CT) tip.
Ohio returns to Athens, Ohio, to open a two-game homestand Saturday, Dec. 8 with a contest versus Oakland. Game time is 1 p.m. (CT).
WHAT THE BOBCATS DID A YEAR AGO
Ohio posted a 29-8 overall record and an 11-5 Mid-American Conference (MAC) mark. The Bobcats finished third in the MAC regular-season standings.
The Bobcats won the MAC Tournament crown.
Ohio advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. The Bobcats upset Michigan and South Florida, before dropping a narrow overtime decision to North Carolina.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Ohio enters Wednesday's encounter with a 6-1 overall record, winning all six home games and dropping its road opener Dec. 1.
D.J. Cooper leads four Bobcats scoring in double figures with a 14.7 average. Walter Offutt (12.6 ppg), Ivo Baltic (11.1 ppg) and Nick Kellogg (10.7 ppg) also average double digits for Ohio.
Jon Smith is the team's top rebounder at 5.1 rpg, while Cooper is the squad's top playmaker with 51 assists (7.3 apg).
The Bobcats have four players that shoot 38 percent or better from the arc. Baltic shoots a team-best 66.7 percent from the arc, while Kellogg has a team-high 16 three-pointers made (47.1 percent).
Ohio is shooting 48.6 percent from the floor, 40.3 percent from the three-point line and 72.6 percent from the free throw line.
Opponents are out-rebounding the Bobcats by an average margin of +1.4 boards per contest (32.3-30.9).
The Bobcats are averaging 17.9 assists per game, and the Ohio defense is forcing its opponents to turn the ball over 21.1 times per game.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ohio junior guard Nick Kellogg is the son of current CBS Sports college basketball lead analyst Clark Kellogg.
There is a tie between the Tigers and Clark Kellogg. Kellogg's first NCAA men's basketball game as CBS Sports' lead analyst was the Dec. 13, 2008, Memphis-Georgetown contest.
MEMPHIS VS. THE MID-AMERICAN
Memphis has a perfect 11-0 record versus current Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools.
The Tigers have played five of the 12 MAC programs. Those five MAC schools are Ball State (5-0), Eastern Michigan (1-0), Kent State (3-0), Miami, Ohio (1-0) and Toledo (1-0).
The last time Memphis faced a MAC program was the 2000-01 campaign when it met Miami, Ohio, in the Puerto Rico Shootout. The Tigers defeated the Redhawks 60-59 on Nov. 23, 2000, in the Shootout's opening round.
MEMPHIS VS. FIRST-TIME FOES
Ohio is the third of five first-time opponents Memphis faces in 2012-13.
The Tigers have already played North Florida (81-66 win Nov. 12) and Northern Iowa (52-47 win Nov. 24) and will meet Loyola, Md., Dec. 30 and Harvard Jan. 19.
Memphis has an all-time record of 153-70 (.686 winning percentage) when facing first-time foes.
Since 2000-01, the Tigers are 26-2 (.928 winning percentage) against first-time opponents. The only two setbacks against first-time opponents since 2000-01 were to Stanford (2000 Puerto Rico Shootout) and Duke (2005 Preseason NIT).
Under head coach Josh Pastner, Memphis is 5-0 against first-time foes.
TIGERS LOVE THOSE LONG HOMESTANDS
The Tigers opened a seven-game homestand Nov. 29 when they hosted UT Martin at FedExForum. The seven-game home stretch continues Wednesday, Dec. 5 against Ohio.
After Wednesday, Memphis also hosts Austin Peay Dec. 8, No. 5/6 Louisville Dec. 15, Lipscomb Dec. 20, Oral Roberts Dec. 28 and Loyola, Md., Dec. 30.
This seven-game homestand is the longest since 2008-09 when the Tigers also played seven-straight home games in December and early January. Memphis posted a 6-1 record in that homestand, with the lone loss coming to No. 11 Syracuse.
To find a longer homestand in Tigers history, one has to go all the way back to the 1979-80 campaign when the Tigers played nine-straight at home from Dec. 1, 1979-Jan. 3, 1980. Memphis went 7-2 in that homestand.
The following are the longest Memphis homestands since 1974-75 and the Tigers' record during those homestands:
Longest Homestands Since 1974-75
Year
No. of Games
Record
1979-80
9
7-2
1975-76
9
9-0
1974-75
8
7-1
2012-13
7
1-0*
2008-09
7
6-1
1995-96
7
7-0
2005-06
6
6-1
* current homestand started Nov. 29
TIGERS VERSUS OHIO NCAA DIVISION I PROGRAMS
Memphis has an all-time 46-56 record (.451 winning percentage) against current NCAA Division I basketball programs from the state of Ohio (13 total).
The Tigers are playing two NCAA Division I opponents from the state of Ohio this year in Ohio Dec. 5 and Xavier Feb. 26.
The following shows the Tigers' all-time records against the NCAA Division I opponents from the state of Ohio:
Opponent
Record
Akron
0-0
Bowling Green
0-0
Cincinnati
31-36
Cleveland State
1-0
Dayton
7-12
Kent State
3-0
Miami, Ohio
1-0
Ohio State
0-2
Ohio
0-0
Toledo
1-0
Wright State
0-0
Xavier
2-6
Youngstown State
0-0
TIGERS SUCCESS AT FEDEXFORUM
The Tigers have a 148-17 overall record (.897 winning percentage) at FedExForum since moving to the arena for the 2004-05 campaign.
Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 138 of its last 149 home games (.926 winning percentage).
Against non-conference foes (regular-season only) at FedExForum since 2004-05, the Tigers have a 66-10 mark (.868 winning percentage).
Under head coach Josh Pastner, Memphis is 30-4 (.882 winning percentage) against non-league foes at FedExForum (includes 3-0 record so far this year).
BEST HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE
Since 2004-05, Memphis has won 148 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):
Most Home Wins Since 2004-05 (As of Dec. 3)
1.
Memphis
148
2.
Ohio State
139
3.
Kansas
137
4.
Louisville
135
Pittsburgh
135
Syracuse
135
TIGERS AMONG ELITE GROUP
Memphis is among the winningest NCAA Division I programs since 2000-01 and 2005-06, but it doesn't end there.
The Tigers are a part of another elite group at the NCAA Division I level.
Memphis is one of nine programs that has won 20 or more games each of the last 10 seasons.
The following lists the nine NCAA Division I programs that have 20 or more wins the each of the last 10 years:
Duke
Florida
Gonzaga
Kansas
Louisville Memphis Pittsburgh Syracuse Utah State
THE JOHNSON EFFECT
Most of the talk coming into 2012-13 was how junior college transfer Geron Johnson was going to help the Tigers offensively.
However, while his offense will eventually come, it's Johnson's defense that has helped Memphis early on.
Johnson had to sit out the Tigers' first three games due to an NCAA-imposed suspension, but has seen action in the last three contests.
The following shows the defensive improvement with Johnson on the floor:
Without Johnson
Stat
With Johnson
44.3
Opp. FG Pct.
38.7
44.4
Opp. 3-Pt. FG Pct.
33.9
+4.4
Rebound Margin
+5.0
SHAQ ON THE GLASS
Freshman Shaq Goodwin had his first double-digit rebounding game Nov. 29 versus UT Martin (12 rebounds).
The 12 boards were the most by a Tigers freshman since Kareem Cooper pulled down 13 rebounds versus Southern Miss on Feb. 14, 2006.
