Tigers Travel to East Carolina for AAC Tournament Tune-Up

Sunday, March 6

Greenville, N.C.

3 pm CT

University of Memphis

East Carolina

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Travel to East Carolina for AAC Tournament Tune-Up

Mar 05, 2016 | Men's Basketball

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (16-14, 7-10 AAC) vs. East Carolina (12-18, 4-13 AAC)
When: Sunday, March 6
Tip-Off: 3 p.m. (CT)
Location: Greenville, N.C.
Arena: Minges Coliseum
TV: CBS Sports Network
Dave Ryan, play-by-play
Steve Wolf, analyst
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame/postgame host
Live Stats: East Carolina GameTracker
Game Notes: Memphis | East Carolina
Rosters: Memphis | East Carolina
Schedules: Memphis | East Carolina
Media Guide: Memphis | East Carolina

SETTING THE TABLE

•     Memphis senior Shaq Goodwin stands five points away from becoming just the third player in Memphis history with over 1,400 points, 800 rebounds, and 190 blocked shots
•     Memphis will face off against either Cincinnati or Tulsa in the first round of the AAC Tournament
•     East Carolina ranks 32nd in the country in fewest personal fouls per game
•     Memphis leads the AAC in blocked shots, while East Carolina ranks 11th
•     Memphis is 23 made free throws away from climbing into fifth place in school history in single-season free throw
•     Memphis is 27-15 all-time against schools from the state of North Carolina
•     The game on Saturday is Memphis' third straight "Senior Day" game
•     Memphis freshman Dedric Lawson's 15 double-doubles this season rank second among all freshman in school history, and 13th among all classes
•     Shaq Goodwin's 1,395 career points rank 15th all-time in school history, 14 away from 14th place
•     The Memphis forward duo of Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson combine to average 17.3 rebounds per game, which ranks ninth in the country and top in the AAC
•     Avery Woodson has climbed into 10th place in single-season three-point baskets made in Memphis history

SCOUTING THE PIRATES

East Carolina comes into the game after holding USF to just 39 points - the fewest allowed by the Pirates since the 1998-99 season - in a 52-39 win.
In the game, Caleb White scored 12 points with nine rebounds and a game-high-tying three assists, while Lance Tejada scored 11 points and B.J. Tyson 10. White's nine rebounds tied for the team-high as the Pirates out-rebounded the Bulls 40-to-38. East Carolina shot just 36 percent in the win, while hitting 5-of-20 from long range.
Four players average double-figures in the scoring column, led by Tyson who averages 14.6 points per game. White - who missed the first meeting with the Tigers - averages 12.6 points per game, while Kentrell Barkley and Prince Williams average 10.7 and 10.4 points per game, each. Barkley also leads the team with 188 rebounds and 37 steals while Williams has dished out a team-best 114 assists.

RARE AIR

Memphis senior Shaq Goodwin is five points away from becoming just the third player in Memphis basketball history to score 1,400 or more points, pull down 800 rebounds, and block 190 shots in a career. Goodwin, who has 1,395 points, 835 rebounds and 192 blocked shots, joins Keith Lee (2,408 points/1,336 rebounds/320 blocks) and Kelly Wise (1,487 points/1,075 rebounds/226 blocks) as the only players in Memphis basketball history to reach the trio of plateaus.

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT

Memphis has secured the sixth seed; however, its opponent in the final game of the quarterfinal round on Friday night at 8 p.m. CT is not. As of the morning of March 5, Tulsa and Cincinnati are currently tied for the No. 3 and No. 4 seed with identical 11-6 records. Tulsa hosts USF on Saturday, while Cincinnati hosts SMU. If Tulsa wins, it will secure the No. 3 seed; however, if Tulsa loses and Cincinnati wins, Cincinnati will earn the third seed.

NOT THE FOUL-FEST

East Carolina ranks 32nd in the country, and fifth in the AAC, in fewest personal fouls per game, averaging 17.0 fouls per contest. Memphis stands 11th in the AAC and 248th in the country, averaging 20.4 fouls per game.

SET AT THE SIX

Heading into the final set of games of the 2015-16 regular season, Memphis is one of five schools that have cemented their spots into the AAC Tournament. Temple and Houston have each nailed down the first and second seeds, respectively. UConn has clinched the No. 5 seed, while the Tigers are locked in at No. 6. UCF is the fifth and final spot is secured by UCF at the No. 7 seed.

SHOT BLOCK DIFFERENTIAL

The game on Sunday features teams that are at the top (Memphis) and bottom (East Carolina) in the American Athletic Conference shot block standings. Memphis averages a league-best 5.8 blocked shots per game, while the Pirates average 2.1 with 60 total blocks during the season.

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.

FREE THROW RECORDS

This season, the Memphis men's basketball program has made 586 free throws, over 100 more than its opponents, while attempting 813. The make and attempt 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 15.4 points, which leads the 2015-16 Tigers. If he leads the team at the end of the season, he will become just the eighth 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), Tyreke Evans (2008-09), and Will Barton (2010-11) as freshman players who led the team in the scoring column.

MEMPHIS VS SCHOOLS IN NORTH CAROLINA

There are 18 schools within the state of North Carolina that play athletics in NCAA's top division. That stands as the fourth-most Division I schools within a state border, behind only California (24), New York (22), and Texas (21). Against those 18 schools, Memphis has faced half, to a 27-15 all-time record, including a 10-3 mark under current head coach Josh Pastner.

SENIOR DAY

During its last two games, Memphis has played in "Senior Day" games. The first of these games came on February 28, when the Tigers hosted Tulsa for an 82-72 win on Senior Day at FedExForum. Four days later Memphis took on the Temple Owls in Philadelphia, in what was senior day for the hosts. Sunday, Memphis faces off in its third consecutive "Senior Day" game this season, looking to move its record in such games to 2-1.

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 1,395 career points, which puts him 15th in the school record book, and stands 15 away from climbing into sole possession of 14th 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 13th-highest single-season total in school history.

YOUNG DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Through the first 30 games of the 2015-16 season, Memphis freshman Dedric Lawson has recorded double-doubles in half of those. That number not only ranks fourth in the country among all freshmen, but it is also tied for the second-highest true-freshman total in the University of Memphis 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 eight other sets of teammates in NCAA Division I combine average more rebounds than Lawson and Goodwin.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. EAST CAROLINA

Memphis has faced off against East Carolina 18 times, with the Tigers holding a commanding 15-3 all-time advantage. In the series, the margin has been within seven points just five times total.