University of Memphis Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
Nov 21, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2003
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
MATCH-UP - Fordham (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) vs. Memphis (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)
TIPOFF - 7:00 pm (CT), Saturday, Nov. 22, 2003
SITE - The Pyramid (20,004), Memphis, Tenn.
RADIO INFORMATION - WMC-AM 790 will broadcast the game with Dave Woloshin (play-by-play) and Matt Dillon (analyst) calling the action. The radio broadcast can also be heard on the World Wide Web at the U of M athletics site, www.goTIGERSgo.com.
TELEVISION - WLMT/UPN 30 will televise Saturday's game with Greg Gaston (play-by-play) and Jon Albright (analyst) calling the action. This is the ninth-straight year WLMT has televised Memphis Tiger basketball.
THE SERIES - Saturday's contest will mark the third meeting between Memphis and Fordham University on the hardwood. The series is tied at 1-1.
WHAT'S NEXT - Memphis continues its three-game homestand next Saturday, Nov. 29 against Austin Peay at The Pyramid. Game time is 7:00 p.m. (CT).
TIGER TIPOFF
The Memphis Tiger basketball team hosts its home opener Saturday against Fordham University at The Pyramid. The U of M dropped its season opener to No. 20/No. 21 Wake Forest in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York Nov. 13. The Tigers won both exhibition contests with victories over the Universal All-Stars (116-70) and Team Georgia (105-77). The Fordham Rams also won their two exhibitions, defeating the Connecticut Stars (111-78) and GT Express (93-73).
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham opens its 2003-04 campaign Saturday against Memphis. In fact, the Rams play their first four games away from home, as the road trip continues to Siena (Nov. 25), Manhattan (Nov. 29) and Fairfield (Dec. 2).
Dereck Whittenburg is in his first season at the helm of the Fordham program. A member of the 1983 N.C. State squad that won the NCAA title, Whittenburg coached the previous four years at Wagner College and posted a 67-50 record. He guided the Seahawks to a 19-10 mark and an NIT berth in 2001-02, and followed that with a 21-11 record and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 2002-03.
The Rams return seven letterwinners and three starters from last year's team that went 2-26 overall and 1-15 in the Atlantic 10. Four of last year's top five scorers are back, including Michael Haynes who averaged 15.1 points. Haynes, a senior, also led the Rams on the boards last season with an 8.0 average. Jermaine Anderson is the squad's top returning three-point shooter, hitting 40 percent from the arc last year. Anderson also led the Rams in assists with 70 last season.
In their two exhibitions, the Rams defeated the Connecticut Stars 111-78 and GT Express 93-73. Haynes led four players in double figures with 27 points against the Stars, while Mark Jarrell-Wright had 22 points versus GT Express to lead Fordham in that contest. The Rams averaged 26 assists in the two exhibitions (28 vs. the Stars, 24 vs. GT Express).
PROBABLES/TOP RESERVES** probables are based on previous game
MEMPHIS ppg rpg FORDHAM# ppg rpg
F - Rodney Carney 19.0 6.0 F - Michael Haynes 15.1 8.0
F - Sean Banks 10.0 14.0 F - Mark Jarrell-Wright 11.0 4.1
F - Duane Erwin 5.0 3.0 G - Drew Williamson 6.4 2.8
G - Antonio Burks 13.0 ^9.0 G - Jermaine Anderson 5.9 2.5
G - Anthony Rice 13.0 7.0 G - John Blackgrove 9.2 1.6
R - Billy Richmond 14.0 3.0 R - Derrick Breland% 0.0 0.0
R - Modibo Diarra 2.0 6.0 R - Dominic Osei% 0.0 0.0
R - Almamy Thiero 0.0 0.0 R - Alessandro Acquaviva 0.9 0.2
# stats are from 2002-03 season; ^ apg; % first season at Fordham
MEMPHIS-FORDHAM SERIES
The two schools have met two previous times on the hardwood, with both encounters coming in the 1960s. The Tigers won the first meeting in the 1962-63 campaign, a 70-49 victory in the NIT first round in New York. Two years later (1964-65), the Rams came to Memphis and defeated the Tigers 73-71 on Jan. 2, 1965.
CALIPARI AGAINST FORDHAM
Memphis head coach John Calipari has faced Fordham on two previous occasions, with both meetings coming in the 1995-96 campaign. Calipari's UMass Minutemen played the Rams twice that year, winning 80-50 Jan. 30, 1996, in Amherst and 73-47 Feb. 6, 1996, in New York. That was Fordham's first year in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
TIGERS VERSUS THE ATLANTIC 10
Memphis has an all-time record of 19-29 against current members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Tigers have played Dayton (7-12 record), Duquesne (0-2), Fordham (1-1), George Washington (0-1), UMass (0-1), Rhode Island (0-1), Richmond (3-0), St. Bonaventure (1-1), St. Joseph's (1-0), Temple (5-5) and Xavier (1-5). The last time Memphis played an Atlantic 10 team was the 2001-02 season when the Tigers faced Temple twice. Memphis won at Temple 64-54 in December of that year and also defeated the Owls in the NIT semifinals 78-77.
MEMPHIS IN HOME OPENERS
The Tigers have a record of 60-21 in home openers in their history. Last year, Memphis dropped a narrow 81-80 overtime decision to Austin Peay in the home opener at The Pyramid. Under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers are 1-2 in home openers.
In their last 10 home openers, the Tigers are 7-3. Memphis' best decade for home openers was the 1980s when the Tigers posted a 9-1 record. The following shows the Tigers' home opener record by decades:
Decade Home Opener Record 1920-29 7-2 1930-39 5-5 1940-49 7-2 1950-59 8-2 1960-69 8-2 1970-79 8-2 1980-89 9-1 1990-99 7-3 2000-pres. 2-2
DON'T FRET TIGER FANS
Sure, Memphis dropped its regular-season opener to No. 20/No. 21 Wake Forest in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic on Nov. 13. But, a setback in the regular-season opener has not been a bad omen for the Tigers, especially looking back at the last 30 years.
Since the 1973-74 campaign, the Tigers have lost their season opener nine times (prior to this year), but went on to earn a postseason berth on seven of those occasions. The following chart shows that:
Year Season Opener Postseason 2003-04 lost to No. 20/No. 21 Wake Forest 85-76 TBD 2000-01 lost to Temple 67-62 NIT Final Four/3rd place 99-2000 lost to Georgetown 71-55 None 1996-97 lost to Wisconsin 49-46 NIT First Round 1992-93 lost to Arkansas 81-76 NCAA First Round 1991-92 lost to No. 20 DePaul NCAA Elite Eight 1990-91 lost to Boston College NIT Second Round 1981-82 lost to East Tennessee State 67-62 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1980-81 lost to Southern Illinois 69-67 None 1975-76 lost to No. 8 Louisville 79-74 NCAA First Round
TIGERS PICKED FOURTH IN C-USA
Memphis was picked to finish fourth in Conference USA in a preseason vote by the league's coaches. The Tigers, which won the National Division title the previous two seasons, were selected fourth behind Conference USA favorite Louisville, Cincinnati and Marquette.
This season, C-USA is going to a 14-team division format, and each team will play 16 league games. From the 1997-98 campaign through the 2002-03 season, C-USA played a two-division format. With the new set-up, each school will play each other once for a total of 13 games. The other three games were added to the schedule based on geography, rivalries and television. Memphis' three additional contests are against Louisville, Southern Miss and TCU.
GOING FOR ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON
The Tigers opened their 2003-04 campaign Nov. 13, and despite the lost to Wake Forest, they are looking for their fourth-straight 20-win season. If successful, it would be the first time Memphis has had four-consecutive years of 20 or more wins since 1985-86 through 1988-89. The U of M had back-to-back 20-win years during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons as well as 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Last year, Memphis posted its 20th win of the year with a 67-48 win over Cincinnati in early March, giving the Tigers their third-straight 20-win season.
Right out of the gates, Memphis posted a 22-8 record in its first season of intercollegiate basketball during the 1920-21 season and has now tallied 25, 20-win seasons.
Under head coach John Calipari, Memphis has averaged 24 wins a year in his first three seasons at the helm.
POINT MAN
Last year, senior guard Antonio Burks finished the season ranked among the Conference USA leaders in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. And, after the Tigers' first game against Wake Forest Nov. 13, he is picking up where he left off in 2002-03.
Against the Demon Deacons, Burks dished out nine assists in the loss. With the nine dishes, he now has 331 for his career, the ninth most in Tiger basketball history.
Despite missing five games in 2002-03, Burks played a major role during a 12-game U of M winning streak which propelled the Tigers to a national ranking and eventually an NCAA Tournament appearance. During the late-season 12-game run, Burks averaged 11.5 points, 7.5 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the free throw line.
