Tigers Look for Fifth Straight Win on Tuesday

Tuesday, December 15

Memphis, Tenn.

7 pm CT

University of Memphis

Southern

Tickets

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Dec 14, 2015 | Men's Basketball


Memphis Tigers (6-2)	Game Information	Southern Jaguars (7-2)
Game Notes (.pdf)	TV: American Sports Network / ESPN3	Game Notes (.pdf)
Schedule	Mike Gleason (pxp) Paul Hewitt (analyst)	Schedule
Roster	Radio: 600 AM WREC	Roster
Media Guide	Dave Woloshin (pxp) Matt Dillon (analyst)	Media Guide
	Live Stats: StatBroadcast

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
Memphis comes into the meeting riding a season-long four-game win streak, with a most recent 89-57 win over two-time defending MAAC Champion Manhattan. In the game, the Tigers out-scored the Jaspers 53-19 in the second half, including starting the stanza on an 18-5 run over the first eight and a half minutes.

In the game, freshman Dedric Lawson scored a game-high 21 points, while Markel Crawford set a new career-high with 16 points. Both Trahson Burrell and Shaq Goodwin scored 13 points, as K.J. Lawson added nine points after missing the previous three games with injury. Burrell, Goodwin, and Dedric Lawson each pulled down eight rebounds for the team lead, while Burrell, Dedric Lawson, Avery Woodson, Crawford, and Ricky Tarrant Jr. each dished out a team-high three assists.

This season the Tigers are led by Dedric Lawson, recently named by CBS Sports as one of the top five freshmen in the country. He is averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game - both best on the squad - while sitting second on the team with 15 blocked shots and 12 steals. Goodwin averaged 14 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, while Tarrant Jr. average 12.4 points to go with his team-best 31 assists.

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
Southern University comes into Memphis with a 7-2 overall record with wins over Mississippi State, Tulane, and Wyoming.

In the team's last game, a 96-69 win over Ecclesia, five players reached double-figures in the scoring column, led by Shawn Prudhomme's 17 points (6-10 field goals) off of the bench. Adrian Rodgers scored 14 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots from long range, while LaQuentin Collins scored 12, and D'Arian Allen and Christopher Hyder each scored 10.

Two others - Chris Thomas (9 points) and Trelun Banks (8 points) finished a basket shy of double-digits. Jared Sam pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Hyder gave out seven assists and picked up three steals.

For the season, the squad is paced by Rodgers, who averages 15.7 points per game, while Prudhomme averages 13.6 and Banks 13.2. Hyder is just off of the double-figure pace at 9.2 points per game.

Sam pulls down a team-best six rebounds, while Hyder has given out 51 assists in the team's nine games.

CLIMBING INTO THE POINTS CLUB
Against Ohio State on November 27, Memphis senior forward Shaq Goodwin became the 50th member of the program's 1,000-point club with an ally-oop dunk with eight minutes remaining in the first half. He now has 1,068 career points, which puts him 41st in the school record book. Below is where Goodwin stands, and the two former standouts ahead of, and behind him in the record book.

MAKING A HOME AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
This season, the Memphis Tigers have made a point of taking the ball to the basket, and as such, have went to the free throw line 254 times with 177 makes (the latter of the two numbers ranks 34th in the country). That mark also moves the needle in a big category, as 27.8 percent of Memphis' points come from the free throw line this season, second-highest such total in the country (behind only Georgia's 28.4 percent). A season ago the Tigers made just 385 total free throws, tied for 286th, while their 17.9 percent of points ranked 310 of 351 schools. The point distribution is on pace to shatter the best finish by the Tigers in the category since 2003, as the next best total is the 23.7 percent of points coming from free throws from the 2004-05, which ranked 24th.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE
This season, the University of Memphis has recorded assists on 61.1 percent of its baskets, the 39th highest total in the country. Since Josh Pastner's first season as head coach in the Bluff City (2009-10), the Tigers have ranked in the top 90 in the category five times, and inside of the top 30 three times, including a 2013-14 total of 61.1 percent of baskets that ranked 17th overall. The current average is tied for the program's highest since the 2002-03 team had an assist on 62.6 percent of its baskets - which ended the season 30th in NCAA Division I. Additionally, the 2012-13 and 2013-14 teams ranked inside of the top five nationally in assists per game and total assists, finishing third in total assists for 2012-13 and fourth in assists per game in 2013-14.