Memphis Looks for Second Straight Win in Houston

Wednesday, February 10

Houston, Texas

6 pm CT

University of Memphis

Houston

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Feb 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (14-9, 5-5 AAC) vs. Houston (16-7, 6-5 AAC)
When: Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Tip-Off: 6 p.m. (CT)
Location: Houston, Texas
Arena: Hofheinz Pavilion
TV: ESPNU
Alex Faust, play-by-play
Brooke Weisbrod, analyst
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame/postgame host
Live Stats: Houston GameTracker
Game Notes: Memphis | Houston
Roster: Memphis | Houston
Schedule: Memphis | Houston
Media Guide: Memphis | Houston

SETTING THE TABLE

•     Memphis head coach Josh Pastner is from the Houston area (Kingwood, Texas - a suburb of Houston), and is 10-4 all-time against teams from his hometown: Houston, Houston Baptist, and Rice.
•     Memphis is 106-16 all-time under head coach Josh Pastner when it makes more free throws than its opponents
•     Against Cincinnati, Memphis hit 30.3 percent of its shots, the lowest shooting percentage in a win since it shot 29.8 percent against SMU exactly three years to the day of the Cincinnati win.
•     Memphis forward Shaq Goodwin currently leads the American Athletic Conference in points per game in conference games (18.4) and blocked shots per game (2.1).
•     The Tigers have the eighth shortest length of possession in NCAA Division I.
•     Memphis' Avery Woodson was a teammate of Houston's Devonta Pollard when both were at East Mississippi Community College, helping the program to a 20-7 record.
•     Shaq Goodwin has climbed into 19th place all-time in Memphis program history in career scoring.
•     Avery Woodson (12.5) is one of three Memphis players that average double-figure points against the Cougarss joining Shaq Goodwin (10.0) and Kedren Johnson (10.0).
•     Memphis has led wire-to-wire five times this season, the third-most times in head coach Josh Pastner's tenure.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS

Houston comes into the game after seeing its three-game win streak snapped against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
In the loss to Tulsa, Damyean Dotson scored 23 points, while Ronnie Johnson and Devonta Pollard each scored 13 points. That trio scored 49 of the Cougars' 63 total points. Wes VanBeck pulled down a team-best four rebounds, while Pollard grabbed three assists.
Rob Gray - who has missed the last two games with a foot injury - leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game. Pollard and Dotson each average 12.7 points per game, while Johnson puts in 10.0 points per contest. Dotson pulls down 7.1 rebounds per game to lead the team, while Galen Robinson has dished out 70 assists.

PASTNER VS. HIS HOMETOWN SCHOOLS

For the first time this season, and 15th time in his career, Memphis head coach Josh Pastner is facing a school from his hometown area when the Tigers play at Houston on Wednesday. Pastner, a Kingwood, Texas (suburb of Houston) native, grew up around 20 miles from the University of Houston campus. He attended Kingwood High School, coached the Houston Hoops summer team during his high school and collegiate days. He has faced three different NCAA Division I schools from his hometown: Houston, Houston Baptist, and Rice. Against those three schools, Pastner has a 10-4 overall record (.692 winning percentage).

MEMPHIS VS. SCHOOLS IN TEXAS

Wednesday's opponent, Houston, resides in Texas, which has 23 Division I schools. The Tigers have a 118-45 record against those, and have played 20 of the 23 teams (with the only exceptions being Texas State, recent Division I addition Incarnate Word, and new school UTRGV (University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley).

SAME DATE, SAME GRITTY WIN

February 6 has been a lucky/unlucky day for the Memphis Tigers in regards to shooting from the field. In 2016, the Tigers went 20-of-66 against Cincinnati, a percentage of .303 in a four-point victory over the Bearcats. That was the lowest field goal percentage in a win since exactly three years ago. That day, February 6, 2013, the Tigers hit 14-of-47 shots against SMU, a percentage of .298 in a 60-52 win over the Mustangs.

QUICK PACE

After games as of February 7, the Memphis Tigers have the ninth-fastest offense in NCAA Division I basketball, averaging 74.8 possessions per game, and have the eighth shortest possession length in the country. Below are the seven teams ahead of Memphis per length of possession in NCAA Division I basketball.

STANDOUT SHAQ

In his team's 10 conference games this season, Memphis senior Shaq Goodwin has scored 184 points, for an average of 18.4 per game. That average is best among all players in the league, just ahead of Quention DeCosey of Temple who averages 18.3 and Jahmal McMurray of USF who averages 17.4. He also leads the AAC in blocked shots (21) and blocked shots per game (2.1), just ahead of USF's Jaleel Cousins (20/1.7)

HEY, I KNOW YOU...

When Memphis and Houston meet up, it will pair two former teammates. Memphis' Avery Woodson and Houston's Devonta Pollard were teammates during the 2013-14 season when each played at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Mississippi. In the first meeting between the two teams a season ago, Woodson scored a career-high 23 points, hitting six three-point baskets, where Pollard scored 17 points with seven rebounds. The second meeting did not have quite the same results, as Woodson scored two points, while Pollard scored four points with four rebounds.

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 1,286 career points, which puts him 19th in the school record book, and stands 20 away from climbing into sole possession of 18th all-time. Below is where Goodwin stands, and the three former standouts ahead of him in the record book.

TIGER-COUGAR CONNECTION

Memphis and Houston have another connection, and it is through current Tiger assistant coach Robert Kirby. Kirby joined head coach Josh Pastner's coaching staff in the summer of 2013, and one of his previous coaching stints was at Houston from 1993-98. While he was an assistant coach with the Cougars, the school transitioned from the Southwest Conference to Conference USA. In 1995-96 the team had a 17-10 overall record - the most wins since the 1992-93 season, and the team's 10 conference wins were the most since the 1991-92 season.