Tigers, Mustangs set for round two in Dallas; game time moved to 7 p.m.

Thursday, January 28

Dallas, Texas

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

SMU

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers, Mustangs set for round two in Dallas; game time moved to 7 p.m.

Jan 27, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (PDF)SMU Game Notes (PDF)AAC Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers and SMU match up again Thursday night in Dallas after a 76-72 Tigers win over the Mustangs Tuesday night in Memphis. Tip-off at Moody Coliseum is now set for 7 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN2.

Memphis (9-5, 5-2 AAC) took sole possession of second place in the American Athletic Conference with Tuesday's win, its third-straight, which was a make-up of a Jan. 14 postponement due to COVID-19-related issues at SMU.

The Tigers trailed by 13 with 6:46 left in the first half but came storming back at the end of the half and battled the Mustangs down the stretch to pick up the victory. Two of Memphis' largest deficits of the season, 13 points Tuesday night and 12 points against USF on Dec. 29, have ended up resulting in Tiger wins.

The Tiger defense limited the AAC's leading scorer, Kendric Davis, to eight points on 4-of-14 shooting. Memphis also forced him to commit six turnovers. Davis entered the game averaging 19.3 points per game for SMU.

The reigning AAC Freshman of the Week, Moussa Cisse, had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks Tuesday night. Landers Nolley II, who is on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll, had 12 points for his fourth double-digit scoring game in the last five and team-high ninth of the season.

The Mustangs (8-3, 4-3 AAC) are currently ranked No. 53 in the NCAA NET Rankings. A win at SMU would be a Quadrant 1 win for the Tigers, their first of the season, which is a road win against top-75 opponents in the NET.

SMU has The American's top-scoring offense this season (78.5 ppg), and the Mustangs are also the No. 1-ranked shooting team overall (.471) and from 3-point range (.370). The Mustangs' Davis leads the conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game, and he is also the AAC's top assists man at 7.6 per outing.

The Tigers are in the middle of a stretch of five games in 11 days and six in 14 through next Saturday against East Carolina.

Game Details
Memphis (9-5, 5-2 AAC) at SMU (8-3, 4-3 AAC)
Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 | 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum; Dallas, Texas
Television: ESPN2 (Kevin Brown, pxp; Dan Dakich, analysis)
Radio: 102.7 FM/600 AM (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Internet: WatchESPN.com

By The Numbers
- 2017-18: The last time the Tigers won four-straight conference games, which they can do with a win Thursday night.
- 7.0: Scoring average against Memphis in the last three games for three of the AAC's top-five scorers (Davis, SMU, 8; Gardner, ECU, 10; Etienne, WSU, 3); all three are averaging over 15.5 points per game this year.
- 5.3: Assists per game by Alex Lomax during Memphis' three-game winning streak; he is averaging 2.3 assists per game in four Memphis losses and did not play in its fifth.
- 6-0: Memphis' record this season when attempting more free throws than the opponent.
- 32: 3-pointers made by the Tigers in their last three games; the Tigers hit 33 in the six games prior.

The Last Time Out
- The Memphis Tigers erased a 13-point first-half deficit and moved into sole possession of second place in the American Athletic Conference with a 76-72 win over SMU Tuesday night at FedExForum.
- The Tigers (9-5, 5-2 AAC) have won three-straight games.
- Five Tigers were in double figures Tuesday night, led by Alex Lomax' season-high 14 points.
- Lomax also had five assists and went 4-of-6 from the floor to go along with six free throws.
- D.J. Jeffries and Landers Nolley II added 12 points apiece for Memphis and combined to go 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
- Moussa Cisse, the reigning AAC Freshman of the Week, had another double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and a season-high-tying four blocks.
- DeAndre Williams contributed 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.
- Trailing by 13, 26-13, with 6:46 left in the first half, the Tigers dominated the rest of the opening 20 minutes and took a 34-31 lead into the break.
- Memphis closed the half on a 17-2 run and held the Mustangs scoreless for the final 2:03.
- Memphis opened up a nine-point lead, its largest of the game, with 14:40 left to play, but the Mustangs scored the next nine points to tie the contest at 52.
- From there, the final 14 minutes featured six ties and four lead changes as two of the better teams in the conference were locked in a battle.
- With the game knotted at 70 with 2:30 to go, Williams came down and buried a triple off a Lomax assist to put Memphis on top, 73-70.
- Williams then made a key block on SMU's next possession, and the Tigers forced a pair of turnovers on SMU's next few possessions.
- Lomax and Lester Quinones hit their free throws in the final seconds, and Lomax' tough defense forced a shot clock violation on a potential game-tying 3-pointer.
- Memphis ended the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor (27-53), a new season high after previously setting it by shooting 50.0 percent in Sunday's win at East Carolina.
- The Tigers hit 10 3-pointers for their third-straight game with double-digit long balls.

Noting the Mustangs
- SMU was picked to finish third in The American's preseason coaches poll.
- That is one spot behind the Tigers and one position ahead of Cincinnati.
- SMU returns its top two scorers from a squad that went 19-11 last season.
- Kendric Davis led The American in assists last season with 6.6 assists per game while scoring 14.2 points per game, while Tyson Jolly led the Mustangs with 14.5 points per contest.
- Davis set the AAC record with 14 assists against Cincinnati earlier this season on Jan. 7.
- He now has three of the top-five assist games in The American's history, along with 13-assist showings in 2019-20 and earlier this season.
- Mustangs redshirt-junior guard William Douglas hails from Memphis and played prep basketball at Christian Brothers High School.
- As a senior at CBHS, Douglas helped the Brothers to a 24-5 record and a regional championship.
- He was a 2015-16 Tennessee Mr. Basketball finalist.
- Of six Tigers who have played multiple games against SMU in their careers, Lester Quinones has seen the most success.
- He had a 10-point and a 16-point game against the Mustangs last season.
- D.J. Jeffries scored 18 points against SMU in the season's first meeting on Jan. 25, but he missed the second after a season-ending knee injury.

Looking Ahead
After Thursday's game, Memphis plays four-straight games at FedExForum to start the month of February, beginning Monday and next Wednesday against UCF. Both home games against UCF next week tip off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.

A limited number of tickets are available for home games with the same social distancing safety guidelines in place as earlier this season. Tickets may be purchased online at www.GoTigersGoTix.com or by calling (901) 678-2331. Fans with existing season tickets or ticket packages can use their current tickets for upcoming games. More information can be found at www.GoTigersGo.com.