Memphis Basketball back at FedExForum to face Tulsa

Monday, December 21

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

Tulsa

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Memphis Basketball back at FedExForum to face Tulsa

Dec 20, 2020 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Tulsa Game Notes (PDF)AAC Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Tiger Basketball returns to FedExForum Monday night at 7 p.m. to host Tulsa in its American Athletic Conference home opener. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Memphis holds a 29-19 advantage in the all-time series. The Hurricane won the most recent matchup, 80-40, in Tulsa last season, but the Tigers have won the past four meetings between the two teams at FedExForum.

Monday's game is presented by Kroger.

Game Details
Memphis (5-3, 1-0 AAC) vs. Tulsa (2-3, 0-1 AAC)
Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 | 7 p.m. CT
FedExForum; Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN2 (Kevin Brown, pxp; Mark Adams, analysis)
Radio: 102.7 FM/600 AM (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa dropped its conference opener to Wichita State, 69-65, at home last Wednesday. It was the Hurricane's first game in 11 days after they were forced to pause team activities due to a positive COVID-19 case. The team had two games postponed and missed several days of practice as a result.

Last season, Tulsa went 13-5 in conference play to finish in a three-way tie atop the AAC with Houston and Cincinnati. The Hurricane have replaced much of their experience from a year ago, as they entered this season with 10 players who had yet to play a game in a Tulsa uniform.

Senior guard Brandon Rachal, Tulsa's only returnee to average double-figure scoring last season, has led the way through five games. He leads the Hurricane in points (15.6) and rebounds (6.4) per game.

Last time out
Memphis won its conference opener 80-74 at Tulane last Wednesday. The Tigers raced out to a 24-7 lead before Tulane rallied to make it a one-point game at halftime.

Holding a narrow advantage for most of the second half, Memphis took a decisive lead behind a 12-2 run that began with just under five minutes remaining. Sophomore guards Lester Quinones and Landers Nolley II combined for nine of the 12 points scored to put the Tigers in front 71-58 with 1:36 to play.

Quinones finished with a game-high 20 points, one shy of his career high, in 30 minutes on the floor. His four 3-pointers matched a career high. He added six rebounds and three steals.

"It's a new season for us with conference play here," said Quinones. "We're 1-0 with 19 more conference games left, and we're looking to go 19-0 the rest of the way."

Junior forward DeAndre Williams made his Memphis debut after being declared immediately eligible by the NCAA earlier in the day. The transfer from Evansville provided a spark off the bench, scoring 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with six rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes.

"My nerves have been all over the place because I wanted to play so bad," Williams said. "I kept a positive mindset the whole time I was out. For my first game, I was very excited to be able to go out and perform for my team."

Looking ahead
The Tigers return to FedExForum on Tuesday, Dec. 29, for an 8 p.m. matchup with USF. The game will be televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The Bulls (5-2, 1-0 AAC) opened conference play with a 74-71 win at Cincinnati last Wednesday and will host Wichita State on Tuesday. Consistent with pending recommendations from local public health officials, Memphis Grizzlies and University of Memphis men's basketball home games at FedExForum will be played without fans in attendance until further notice. For more information, please visit www.GoTigersGo.com.