No. 12 Tigers Take the Court Sunday for First Exhibition Game

Sunday, October 24

Memphis, Tenn.

4 p.m.

University of Memphis

LeMoyne-Owen College

Tickets

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

No. 12 Tigers Take the Court Sunday for First Exhibition Game

Oct 22, 2021 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The 12th-ranked Memphis Tigers hit the floor Sunday afternoon at FedExForum, taking on LeMoyne-Owen College in the first of two preseason exhibition games. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Tigers return three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 20-8 and won the 2021 National Invitation Tournament, and Memphis has added the nation's top-ranked recruiting class to the mix this season.

Memphis was picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, and Landers Nolley II, Jalen Duren, DeAndre Williams and Emoni Bates were voted to preseason all-conference teams.

LeMoyne-Owen is coached by Bonzi Wells, who played 10 seasons in the NBA including parts of six alongside Tiger assistant coach Rasheed Wallace on the Portland Trail Blazers. Wells also played for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2003-04 and 2004-05 where Lionel Hollins, who is now a LeMoyne-Owen volunteer assistant coach, was a Grizzlies assistant and then interim head coach.

After Sunday, the Tigers host Lane College next Sunday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. in their final exhibition game before the season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Tennessee Tech.

Season tickets for all 18 home games in 2021-22 start as low as $100 per seat and are available online at www.GoTigersGoTix.com or by phone at (901) 678-2331.

FEDEXFORUM COVID-19 POLICIES
FedExForum has implemented a policy requiring fans 12 and older to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccination OR proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours to attend all scheduled Tigers and Memphis Grizzlies games at the venue through at least Nov. 19. Fans have to have at least started the vaccine series but do not have to yet be fully vaccinated.

There are three ways to present proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test:

CLEAR App Health Pass (fully vaccinated only)
Physical vaccination card or test result
Digital photo of vaccination card or test result

For more information, visit THIS LINK.

GAME DETAILS
No. 12 Memphis Tigers (0-0) vs. LeMoyne-Owen College Magicians (0-0) (exhibition)
Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021 | 4 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Doc Holliday, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

PROGRAM NOTES

Memphis has won 20 games in each of the last four seasons, including all three under head coach Penny Hardaway. Five Tiger head coaches, now including Hardaway, have won at least 20 games in each of their first three seasons at the helm (Pastner, Calipari, Finch, Yates).
Memphis is one of just four programs to win at least 18 games in each of the last 21 seasons starting in 2000-01 (Kansas, Gonzaga, Syracuse).
In the season following its five other NIT trips in the 2000s, Memphis has averaged 25.8 wins. After playing in the 2005 NIT, the Tigers went 137-14 from 2006-09 with four Sweet 16 appearances, three Elite Eights and one national championship game appearance.
Memphis has had the nation's top recruiting class in two of the last three seasons ('19, '21).
Memphis led the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2020-21 (points allowed per 100 possessions adjusted for opponent) at 86.4 after ranking fifth in 2019-20 (89.1). The Tigers ranked fifth in the nation in opponent field goal percentage (.389) after being No. 1 in 2019-20 (.361).
The Tigers allowed 62.7 points per game in 2020-21, its fewest since 2008-09 (58.8) and ninth-fewest in a season since 1949-50.
Memphis' average defeat in its eight losses in 2020-21 was by 4.4 points, including seven by single digits and its four losses from January through the end of the season each coming by one possession.
The Tigers have had the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in each of the last two seasons (Moussa Cisse, 2020-21; Precious Achiuwa, 2019-20).
Memphis' third-place finish in the American Athletic Conference in 2020-21 was its highest since also finishing third in 2013-14.
Memphis is 274-49 (.848) in 17 seasons since moving to FedExForum in 2004-05 and ranked ninth in the nation in average home attendance in both 2019-20 (16,312) and 2018-19 (13,694).

PLAYER AND COACH NOTES

Memphis returns three of its five leading scorers, 57.5 percent of its scoring and 49.2 percent of its rebounding in 2021-22.
Hardaway has won 63 games in three seasons as Tiger head coach, which is third-most among 50 head coaches hired before the 2018-19 season.
Between Hardaway and assistant coach Rasheed Wallace, Memphis' bench has 30 combined seasons of NBA playing experience, eight NBA All-Star appearances and over 26,000 NBA points.
Assistant coach Larry Brown brings 1,098 NBA victories in 26 seasons as an NBA head coach, plus the 1988 NCAA national championship while coaching Kansas, and he and Wallace won the 2004 NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons.
The Tigers went 16-5 after Williams became eligible prior to the Dec. 16 game at Tulane, with the five losses by a combined 15 points (7 vs. Tulsa, Dec. 21; 1 at Tulsa, Jan. 17; 2 at SMU, Jan. 28; 3 at #9/7 Houston, March 7; 2 vs. #7 Houston, March 13).
Williams was one of six players in the nation to average at least 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 2020-21.
Nolley II's 65 3-pointers in 2020-21 were tied for third-most in the American Athletic Conference and ranked third for a Tiger sophomore in school history (four behind Hardaway's 69).
Lester Quinones is 455 points shy of becoming the 53rd Tiger to score 1,000 points in his career.
Quinones averaged 9.5 rebounds per game in Memphis' final six games of 2020-21, including a career-high 16 in the NIT title game.
Alex Lomax is 15 games away from 100 for his Memphis career.
Over Lomax' 85 career games as a Tiger, Memphis is 22-4 when he has at least five assists in a game and 34-25 when he has fewer than five assists.
Tyler Harris is five 3-pointers away from entering the top-10 for a Tiger career (138; Elliot Perry, 143).

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