Tigers Take to the Road to Battle Temple

Thursday, March 3

Philadelphia, Pa.

6 pm CT

University of Memphis

Temple

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 02, 2016 | Men's Basketball

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (16-13, 7-9 AAC) vs. Temple (18-10, 12-4 AAC)
When: Thursday, March 3
Tip-Off: 6 p.m. (CT)
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Arena: Liacouras Center
TV: ESPNU
Alex Faust, play-by-play
Malcolm Huckaby, analyst
Joe Lunardi, bracketologist
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame/postgame host
Live Stats: Temple Sidearm Live Stats
Game Notes: Memphis | Temple
Rosters: Memphis | Temple
Schedules: Memphis | Temple
Media Guide: Memphis | Temple

SETTING THE TABLE

•     Memphis is the only school of the ten American Athletic Conference Tournament-eligible teams to have its spot secured in the upcoming AAC Championships - the sixth seed
•     During his head coaching tenure, Memphis head coach Josh Pastner has not lost three games in a row. He is one of just three coaches in Tiger basketball history, and the only current head coach in the AAC to be able to claim that feat
•     Memphis senior Shaq Goodwin has had big efforts in his five all-time games against Temple, including three games with 20 or more points, three double-digit rebounding games (including an AAC-record 23 rebounds), and has played at least 32 minutes in all of the five games
•     The Tigers stand 32 free throws away from climbing into the single-season top-five in school history
•     Memphis freshman Dedric Lawson is on pace to become just the seventh freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring
•     The game against Temple is the second of three straight games in which Memphis will be playing in a "Senior Day" contest
•     Shaq Goodwin is three points away from moving into the top-15 in program history in career scoring
•     Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson combine to average 17.4 rebounds per game, the seventh-highest rebounding average combo total in the NCAA this season

SCOUTING THE OWLS

Temple heads into the mid-week battle - senior day for the Owls - having won three of its last five games, including a 63-61 home win over the UCF Knights on February 27.

In the game, Obi Enechionyia scored 19 points while Quenton DeCosey scored 16 and Devin Coleman 12. Josh Brown and Enechionyia each grabbed eight rebounds, while Brown dished out a game-high nine assists in the win.

For the season, DeCosey leads the Owls in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game, while Enechionyia averages 11.2 points per game. Three others - Jaylen Bond (9.5), Coleman (9.2), and Brown (8.0) - average over eight points per game. Brown, who leads the team with 132 assists, is one of four players in the American Athletic Conference (along with Cincinnati's Troy Caupain, Tulsa's Shaquille Harrison, and UConn's Daniel Hamilton) that have more than 100 points, rebounds, and assists this season.

Bond pulls down 7.9 rebounds per game on the season, as DeCosey grabs 6.0. DeCosey and Brown lead the team with 34 steals as Enechionyia has a team-best 26 blocked shots.

SET AT THE SIX

For the upcoming American Athletic Conference Tournament, the one and only position that has been set in stone has been Memphis at the six seed. As such, the Tigers will play the No. 3 seed at 8 p.m. CT on March 11 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

NOT THREE IN A ROW

In the history of Memphis basketball, there have been three head coaches - Frederick Graham, Bob Vanatta, and Josh Pastner - who have never lost three games in a row. Graham coached for one season (1920-21), as Vanatta coached from 1956-62 (six seasons), and Pastner from 2009-present (seven seasons). Additionally, Pastner is the only head coach in the American Athletic Conference to have never lost three consecutive games.

SHAQ IS BIG AGAINST THE OWLS

In five games against Temple, Memphis senior Shaq Goodwin averages a double-double with 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. Included in that is an AAC-record-tying 23 rebounds, while scoring 22 points in the first meeting between the teams this season.

FREE THROW RECORDS

This season, the Memphis men's basketball program has converted on 576 free throw attempts, over 100 more than its opponents, while attempting 800 free throws. The makes and attempts marks are each climbing near the top five marks in program history for a single season.

FRESHMAN SCORING

Memphis freshman Dedric Lawson will have his name mentioned many times in the upcoming game notes, but the lead-off for this set of notes comes from his prowess in the scoring column. This season he is averaging 15.5 points, which leads the 2015-16 Tigers. If he leads the team at the end of the season, he will become just the seventh freshman in school history to lead the team in scoring. He would join the group of Dexter Reed (1973-74), Keith Lee (1981-82), Lorenzen Wright (1994-95), Dajuan Wagner (2001-02), Sean Banks (2003-04), and Tyreke Evans (2008-09) as freshman players who led the team in the scoring column.

MEMPHIS vs. SCHOOLS FROM PENNSYLVANIA

Within the Quaker state there are 14 NCAA Division I schools, and Memphis has faced off against a dozen of them. Memphis is 23-24 against teams from the State, while Pastner is 4-2 all-time against schools from Pennsylvania. Specifically, Memphis has played all five NCAA Division I schools from within Philadelphia, a group known as the Big Five. Memphis is 15-17 against LaSalle, Penn, St. Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova.

SENIOR DAY

This past Sunday (February 28), Memphis hosted Tulsa for the second straight year on senior day, winning 92-82 at FedExForum. The Tigers' next two games - against Temple and East Carolina, are senior days for the opponents. Memphis is 18-4 in the last 22 senior day games Memphis has played in (home and road) since 2005-06.

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 1,379 career points, which puts him 16th in the school record book, and stands three away from climbing into sole possession of 15th all-time.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE

Not only is Dedric Lawson's double-double total among the best in the country, and third-most by a freshman in program history, it is also tied for the 17th-highest single-season total in school history.

NATION'S TOP CAROM COMBOS

Later in this notes package, we talk about where Dedric Lawson and Shaq Goodwin rank as a pair among the top two rebounders in the American Athletic Conference (spoiler alert - they are the top pair). The duo doesn't stop there, however, as only six other sets of teammates in NCAA Division I combine average more rebounds than Lawson and Goodwin.

LONG RANGE WEAPON

With his 67 made three-pointers this season, junior guard Avery Woodson is quickly etching his name as one of the top long-range shooters in Memphis basketball history. His 67 made three-pointers this season stand two away from No. 10 on the single season list, currently held by Anfernee Hardaway. His career makes total of 128 stands 15 away from No. 10 on that list, currently occupied by Elliot Perry. His career three-point percentage of .399 stands third all-time, behind Antonio Barton (.417) and ahead of Harry Allen (.394).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TEMPLE

In 15 previous all-time meetings between the two programs, the series is deadlocked at seven wins apiece. The series, which has its largest margin by either team at 10 points, has seen the margin for the last three meetings being at five points or less, including an overtime game in 2014.