University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Basketball Notes
Jan 02, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Tigers On TV/Radio/Web
Television: None
Radio: WREC 600 AM (Dave Woloshin, play-by-play; Matt Dillon, color analyst; Forrest Goodman, studio host)
Web: Game to be streamed live on Memphis athletics web site at gotigersgo.com via All-Access (must register to view game).
TIGERS CLOSE FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND SUNDAY VERSUS HOUSTON BAPTIST
The University of Memphis squad (9-3, 0-0 C-USA) closes its four-game homestand Sunday when it hosts Houston Baptist (1-11, 0-0 Great West) at FedExForum. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. (CT) start.
The Tigers return to the court at FedExForum after suffering a 66-59 setback to No. 14/14 Tennessee Dec. 31. Prior to that loss, Memphis had won eight of its last nine with the lone loss to UMass 73-72 in Boston, Mass., on Dec. 19. In the nine-game stretch, Memphis posted wins over Tennessee Tech 92-59, Central Arkansas 81-49, Oakland 77-46, Arkansas State 74-55, Montana State 76-51, Arkansas-Little Rock 83-71, Southeast Missouri State 87-57 and IUPUI 87-67. The Tigers' only other loss was another narrow one to No. 1/1 Kansas 57-55 in St. Louis, Mo. The Kansas, Tennessee Tech, Central Arkansas and Oakland games were part of the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase classic.
Memphis, picked to finish between second and fourth in Conference USA in most preseason polls, returns only one starter and six letterwinners from last year's squad that won 33 games (33-4 record) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal (Sweet Sixteen). En route to the Sweet Sixteen, the Tigers swept the Conference USA regular season and tournament crowns.
Houston Baptist brings a 1-11 overall record into Sunday's encounter. The Huskies' lone victory was a 92-77 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2. Since that win, Houston Baptist has dropped five straight to New Orleans, UMKC, Santa Clara, Boise State and Creighton.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Houston Baptist brings a 1-11 overall record into Sunday's encounter. The Huskies' lone victory was a 92-77 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2. Since that win, Houston Baptist has dropped five straight to New Orleans, UMKC, Santa Clara, Boise State and Creighton.
Junior college transfer Andrew Gonzalez leads a trio of double-figure scorers for the Huskies with a 15.6 average. Senior Wendell Preadom (12.2 ppg) and senior Mario Flaherty (12.1 ppg) also average double digits in the scoring column for Houston Baptist. Flaherty leads the team on the glass with a 7.6 rebounding average, followed by Preadom at 4.9 rpg. Michael Moss is tops on the squad with 37 assists (3.1 apg). Gonzalez is the team's top three-point shooter at 30.8 percent from the arc.
Houston Baptist is shooting 37.4 percent from the field, 23.6 percent from the three-point line and 69.6 percent from the charity stripe. Opponents are out-rebounding the Huskies by an average margin of 1.9 boards per game (39.2-41.1).
HOUSTON BAPTIST MAKES RETURN TO NCAA DIVISION I
The 2009-10 campaign is the third year of Houston Baptist's return to play at the NCAA Division I level. The Huskies made the move back to NCAA Division I in 2007-08.
Houston Baptist was a member of the NCAA from 1967 until 1990 and competed as a Division I member from 1973 until 1989. Houston Baptist left the NCAA for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in the fall of 1990, joining the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) as a charter member in 1998. While a member of the RRAC, the Huskies won 40 conference championships and competed in 35 NAIA national tournaments. Houston Baptist was recipient of the league's All-Sports Award eight times.
TIGERS VERSUS NCAA DIVISION I NEWBIES
Memphis has played a couple of NCAA Division I new members in recent seasons, and has done quite well in those match-ups. Earlier this year, the Tigers hosted Central Arkansas in the 2009 Hall of Fame Showcase and posted an 81-49 win over the Bears at FedExForum. Central Arkansas made the move to NCAA Division I in 2006-07.
In 2004-05, Memphis opened the season and its new home, FedExForum, with an NCAA Division I newbie in Savannah State. Memphis defeated Savannah State 102-40 in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The 2004-05 season was Savannah State's first at the NCAA Division I level. The Savannah State athletics program has competed as an independent since its move to NCAA Division I.
MEMPHIS-HOUSTON CONNECTIONS
Sunday's Memphis-Houston Baptist contest offers a couple of connections. Head coach Josh Pastner is from Kingwood, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston. Pastner also coached the Houston Hoops AAU team during his high school and college years. In fact, Pastner grew up only 35 miles from the Houston Baptist campus.
Tiger assistant coach Willis Wilson served as head coach of the Rice University Owl basketball program for 16 years from 1992-2008. Rice University, which is located in Houston, is nine miles from the Houston Baptist campus. Willis coached against Houston Baptist twice as the Owls' mentor and won both meetings (72-65 in 1994-95; 92-68 in 1996-97).
IT'S WESTBURY VS. KINGWOOD
When Memphis and Houston Baptist meet Sunday, the provides a match-up of head coaches that graduated from Houston area high schools. Memphis head coach Josh Pastner earned his diploma Kingwood High School, while Houston Baptist mentor Ron Cottrell graduated from Westbury High School. The two high schools are located 38 miles apart in the Houston area.
A MATTER OF CITY PRIDE
Sunday's Memphis-Houston Baptist game is also going to be an encounter for city pride. The Tiger roster has six players from the Memphis area, and they are Drew Barham (Cordova), James Harvey Jr. (Memphis), Pierre Henderson-Niles (Memphis), Aaron Jacques (Bartlett), Preston Laird (Memphis) and Elliot Williams (Memphis).
On the other bench, the Huskies have five players that hail from Houston. The Houston area natives are Aaron Hendrix, Fred Hinnenkamp, Michael Moss, Wendell Preadom and Khris Roy.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
A year ago to the date Tiger basketball history was made. On Jan. 3, 2009, then senior Antonio Anderson became only the second player in school history to record a triple-double. Anderson posted 12 points, 10 boards and 13 assists in Memphis' win over Lamar at FedExForum. Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is the only other Tigers to have a triple-double, and he did it in back-to-back games in the 1992-93 season.
The Tigers have had a couple of "oh-so-close" to a triple-double this season. In the Dec. 22 win over Southeast Missouri State, Elliot Williams had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Roburt Sallie nearly had a triple-double with eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists versus Montana State Dec. 9.
TIGERS SO-SO TO OPEN NEW YEAR SINCE 1999-2000
Memphis has a 7-3 record (.700 winning percentage) in its first game of the new year since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Tigers have won their last three "first-game-of-the-New-Year" contests with victories over Cincinnati (2006-07), Siena (2007-08) and Lamar (2008-09). Prior to 2006-07, Memphis had dropped its two-straight first games of the new year with consecutive setbacks to Texas (69-58 in 2005-06; 74-67 in 2004-05).
TIGERS LOVE HOLIDAY HOOPS
The holidays are a time to spread good cheer. Well, the Tigers have done just that for their fans since the 1999-2000 campaign. When playing over the holidays (Dec. 22-Jan. 4), Memphis has an impressive 28-6 record (.824 winning percentage) since the 1999-2000 campaign. Since 2005-06, the Tigers are 15-2 (.882 winning percentage) in "Holiday Hoops" contests.
MEMPHIS VS. THE GREAT WEST
Sunday's game with Houston Baptist is Memphis' first against an opponent from the Great West Conference (GWC). Current basketball members of the GWC include Chicago State, Houston Baptist, North Dakota, N.J.I.T., South Dakota, Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley.
The seven schools joined the GWC in 2008 to form the basketball portion of the league. The 2009-10 athletics season is the first year of multi-team sport competition for the GWC.
TIGER SUCCESS AT FEDEXFORUM
After a rough first year at their new home in 2004-05, the Tigers have bounced back quite nicely and made FedExForum one of the toughest arenas for opponents to play in. The Tigers have a 101-11 overall record (.902 winning percentage) at FedExForum.
Since the 2005 Conference USA Tournament, Memphis has won 91 of its last 96 home games (.948 winning percentage). Furthermore, the 2009-10 seniors -- Pierre Henderson-Niles, Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack -- are 66-3 (.957 winning percentage) at home in FedExForum. The 2009-10 seniors' only three losses at home were to Tennessee (66-62) in the 2007-08 season, Syracuse (72-65) in the 2008-09 season and Tennessee (66-59) in the 2009-10 season.
TIGERS LOVE DECEMBER...
Since the 1999-2000 season, the Tigers have a 53-23 record (.697 winning percentage) when playing in the month of December. Memphis was 5-2 last December and has won 28 of its last 34 December contests (.824 winning percentage), dating back to the 2004-05 season.
...BUT JANUARY COULD BE BETTER
While Memphis has had a lot of success in December since 1999-2000, January has proven to be a better month for the Tigers. Since 1999-2000, the Tigers have an impressive 66-14 record (.825 winning percentage) in the month of January. The Tigers have won their last 34 January games, with their last January setback coming to Texas on Jan. 2, 2006 (69-58 loss).
`SPOON ON A ROLL
It was just a matter of time, and now that time has come. Tiger Nation has been waiting for Wesley Witherspoon to become a factor, and he has done so in recent games for Memphis.
In the last four contests, Witherspoon averaged 12.8 points and 5.5 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 forward shot 42.9 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from the arc and 72.7 percent from the free throw line in those four outings. The Atlanta, Ga., native netted a career-high 15 points versus Southeast Missouri State Dec. 22 and blocked a career-best four shots versus Tennessee Dec. 31.
FASTEST TO 10 WINS
Memphis head coach Josh Pastner is going after the 10th win of his young coaching career on Sunday. If successful, Pastner would be tied for the fourth-fastest Tiger head coach to 10 wins since World War II, and the following shows that:
Head Coach/Year Game For 10th Win
(Record)
Bob Vanatta/1956-57 11 (10-1)^
Gene Bartow/1970-71 12 (10-2)
Moe Iba/1966-67 12 (10-2)
Josh Pastner/2009-10 12 (9-3)
Wayne Yates/1974-75 13 (10-3)^
Dean Ehlers/1962-63 13 (10-3)
Larry Finch/1986-87 14 (10-4)^
Tic Price/1997-98 17 (10-7)
McCoy Tarry/1948-49 17 (10-7)
Eugene Lambert/1951-52 17 (10-7)^
John Calipari/2000-01 18 (10-8)^
Dana Kirk/1979-80 22 (10-12)
Johnny Jones*/1999-2000 25 (10-15)
* interim coach
^ went on to 20-win season
MACK OVER 900...
Doneal Mack entered the 2009-10 campaign with his sights set on becoming a part of the Tiger 1,000-point club. The 6-foot-5 guard started the season with 837 points, and with 137 points scored after 11 games, Mack now is over the 900-point plateau with 974 career points.
On his pace of 11.4 points per game, Mack would reach 1,000 points by the 15th game of the Tigers' season. When he reaches the milestone, Mack will become the 46th member of the Memphis 1,000-point club.
... AND NOW OVER 200
Doneal Mack reached a milestone in his collegiate career in Memphis' Dec. 31 game versus Tennessee. The Tiger senior became only the third player in Tiger basketball history to hit 200 three-pointers in a career. The 6-foot-5 guard now has 203 career treys. The other two Memphis players to have 200 or more treys in a career are Rodney Carney (287) and Anthony Rice (242).
MACK HEATING UP FROM THE ARC
Doneal Mack made his climb to the 200 treys made milestone quickly with his sharp-shooting in recent games. In the Tigers' last five games, the Charlotte, N.C., native hit 16 three-pointers (3.2 treys/game) and shot 42.1 percent from the arc. He hit four three-pointers in four of the five games.
On the other hand, Mack hit only 11 three-pointers and shot 39.3 percent from the arc in the first seven games of the 2009-10 season. In that stretch of games, Mack hit four treys in a game only once.
For more notes on the Memphis-Houston Baptist game, click on pdf link at the top of the page.
