Tigers Basketball Preview: Northern Kentucky

Saturday, November 25

Memphis, Tenn.

5 PM

University of Memphis

Northern Kentucky

Tickets

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Nov 24, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (vs. Northern Kentucky)Northern Kentucky Game Notes (vs. Memphis)

Memphis, Northern Kentucky meet for the first time.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Tigers fans, you got this on Saturday. And, it's not like you haven't done it before.

On Saturday, the University of Memphis plays a football-men's basketball doubleheader. So, after the 11 a.m. (CT) football contest versus ECU at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, fans can make the 15-minute drive to FedExForum for the 5 p.m. (CT) men's basketball game against Northern Kentucky.

The last time the Tigers played a football-men's basketball doubleheader was in November of 2003. In fact, Memphis played football-men's basketball doubleheaders on consecutive Saturday. On Nov. 22, 2003, the Tigers swept the doubleheader with a football victory over Cincinnati and a basketball win over Fordham. The next Saturday (Nov. 29), the football squad fell to USF and the men's basketball team posted a win over Austin Peay.

Game Quick Facts

Opponent	Northern Kentucky
Day/Date	Saturday, Nov. 25
Time	5 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
"Against New Orleans, we did what we had to do to get the win, especially making free throws down the stretch. Outside of that, we saw some things we needed to address. In the second half, New Orleans out-rebounded and out-shot us. That's going to be important for us (to correct) against a Northern Kentucky team that has a lot of good players returning. They are playing with a lot of confidence. John Brannen does an outstanding job. His team executes. They are solid all the way around, and they are out-shooting us in every category. I'm impressed with their play. They had a tough loss against Vermont, but they are a very solid basketball team. We better come ready to play and play better than we did against New Orleans to have a chance."

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know

Saturday's match-up is the first meeting between the two programs.
Saturday's contest also is the first time Memphis head coach Tubby Smith faces the Norse in a regular-season encounter. Smith, though, coached against Northern Kentucky in an exhibition game in 2004. The Norse, an NCAA Division II program at the time, played Smith's Kentucky Wildcats in a Nov. 3, 2004, exhibition at Rupp Arena. Kentucky won the exhibition 91-73.
The Tigers are playing a first-time opponent in Northern Kentucky Saturday. Memphis has a 36-5 record (.878 winning percentage) against first time foes since 2000-01. The Tigers played three first-time opponents in head coach Tubby Smith's first season in 2016-17, and Memphis went 2-1 in those match-ups. Memphis posted wins over UTRGV and Incarnate Word and lost to Monmouth.
Saturday's game features a match-up of youth versus veterans. Memphis is the team with youth, returning only 22.4 percent of its points and 17.9 percent of its rebounds from a year ago. On the other side, Northern Kentucky returns experience with 80.4 percent of its points and 83.6 percent of its rebounds from last season.
In late December, Memphis will see Northern Kentucky again. The Tigers aren't playing the Norse for a second time this season, but will play on the Northern Kentucky University campus. The Tigers open their American Athletic Conference season Dec. 31 with a road game at Cincinnati. The Bearcats, though, are playing all their home games this season at Northern Kentucky's 9,400-seat BB&T Arena since Cincinnati's on-campus facility, Fifth Third Arena, is undergoing renovations. The Bearcats will return to Fifth Third Arena in 2018-19.