Tigers Basketball Preview: New Orleans

Tuesday, November 21

Memphis, Tenn.

7 PM

University of Memphis

New Orleans

Tickets

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Nov 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Basketball Game Notes (vs. New Orleans)New Orleans Basketball Game Notes (vs. Memphis)

Memphis, Privateers to meet for first time since 1989-90.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – OK, the University of Memphis men's basketball team got the first-game jitters out of the way in its Nov. 10 season opener. Then, last Tuesday (Nov. 14), the Tigers put their home-opener butterflies behind them in the 70-62 win over Little Rock.

This Tuesday, it's down to regular business for Memphis when it welcomes the New Orleans Privateers to FedExForum.

With 11 newcomers and two returning starters taking on different roles, Tiger Nation was expecting to see some nerves in the first two games. Now, it's about making progress, and the next step takes place Tuesday against New Orleans.

Game Quick Facts

Opponent	New Orleans
Day/Date	Tuesday, Nov. 21
Time	7 p.m. (CT)
Site	Memphis, Tenn./FedExForum
Television	None (Web: ESPN3.com)
Radio (Flagship)	600 WREC AM/Rock 103 (102.7 FM)

Head coach Tubby Smith
"We've had a week off now, and we've tried to work on areas where we needed improvement. We played solid on defense (last week vs. Little Rock), but we needed to make shots and Jeremiah made some. He was outstanding against Little Rock. We understand that we have to get everyone involved and have a more balanced attack. We've been working on sharing the ball and finding the open man. Also, we need to continue to work on pushing the ball in transition.

"We'll see if the week of practice helped us tomorrow against a very talented New Orleans team that is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last year. They have a solid ball club, and they had a tough outing in their last game at Oakland. I'm very impressed with New Orleans' talent. (Travin) Thibodeaux is a player that plays inside and outside. They use a high-post offense in which they try to post up a number of different players, and they do a good job. Our guards are going to have to do a good job of defending the post and the perimeter."

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know

Tuesday's match-up is the ninth all-time between the two programs, but the first since the 1989-80 campaign. Memphis holds an 8-0 series lead, including a 5-0 mark when the two play in the Bluff City. The Tigers won the last meeting, a 59-55 victory at the Mid-South Coliseum on Dec. 20, 1989. Memphis and New Orleans were regulars on each other's non-conference schedule in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Tuesday's match-up is the first time Memphis head coach Tubby Smith faces New Orleans in his decorated career. Smith has coached against nine of the 13 Southland Conference (SLC) schools in his career, and the Privateers will be his 10^th SLC foe.
New Orleans is the first of two opponents that earned 2017 NCAA Tournament berths for the Tigers this week. Memphis hosts the Privateers Tuesday and Northern Kentucky Saturday. New Orleans (Southland Conference) and Northern Kentucky (Horizon League) both earned their "Big Dance" bids by winning their respective conference tournaments last season. New Orleans lost to Mount St. Mary's in the NCAA First Four, and Northern Kentucky fell to the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA South Region first round.
With a win Tuesday, the Tigers would post their 100^th all-time victory against NCAA Division I programs from the state of Louisiana. Memphis brings a 99-16 record into Tuesday's contest with New Orleans. The Tigers have played all 13 NCAA Division I programs from the Pelican State.
Head coach Tubby Smith continues to preach sharing the ball, and the Tigers are improving in that area. But, there is still progress to be made. In each of the first two games, Memphis handed out fewer than 10 assists (7 vs. Alabama; 9 vs. Little Rock). The single-digit assists outings were the fifth and sixth times, respectively, in Smith's two seasons at Memphis. The Tigers have a 2-4 record when dishing out fewer than 10 assists in a contest under Smith.