No. 12/16 Memphis Hosts North Carolina Central Saturday at 6 p.m.

Saturday, November 13

Memphis, Tenn.

6 p.m.

University of Memphis

North Carolina Central

Tickets

Memphis Tigers v Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles

Photo by: Joe Murphy

No. 12/16 Memphis Hosts North Carolina Central Saturday at 6 p.m.

Nov 12, 2021 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers' season-opening four-game homestand continues Saturday at 6 p.m. against North Carolina Central.

Memphis is coming off an 89-65 win over Tennessee Tech in the first game of the year Tuesday night. The Tigers shot 59.3 percent in the win over the Golden Eagles, their fourth-best shooting performance in a game since 2010-11 and best since shooting 60.0 percent against Tennessee State on Dec. 22, 2018.

North Carolina Central, hailing from Durham, N.C., dropped a 70-60 contest at Richmond in its season opener Tuesday. Memphis assistant coach Rasheed Wallace, who is in charge of the North Carolina Central scout, was the head coach five miles away from the Eagles' campus at Charles E. Jordan High School from 2019-21.

Additional ties include the two head coaches in Saturday's game both coaching at their alma maters. Penny Hardaway starred at Memphis from 1991-93 and earned his degree in professional studies in 2003. North Carolina Central boss LeVelle Moton played for the Eagles from 1992-96 and earned a degree in recreation administration in 1996 and a master's degree in Special Education with a focus on Learning Disabilities in 2013.

The game also features a pair of players with interesting connections. Memphis' Tyler Harris and North Carolina Central's Randy Miller Jr. are back with their current teams after transferring away. Harris began his career at Memphis before transferring to Iowa State in 2020-21, and Miller Jr. spent 2020-21 at Indiana State.

After Saturday, the Tigers welcome Saint Louis and Western Kentucky to FedExForum next week before traveling to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the NIT Season Tip-Off the week of Thanksgiving. Tuesday's game against the Billikens and Friday's game against the Hilltoppers both start at 7 p.m.

The Tigers have won eight-straight games at FedExForum and are 44-7 at home under Hardaway.

Tickets for 2021-22 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.

In accordance with the latest Shelby County Health Department Directive No. 27, as of Oct. 28 masks are no longer required – but are highly recommended – for all events at FedExForum. Children ages 2-11 will need to follow the current attendance policy and be masked while inside FedExForum for Tigers and Grizzlies games.

GAME DETAILS
#12/16 Memphis Tigers (1-0) vs. North Carolina Central Eagles (0-1)
Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021 | 6 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Jon Albright, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
SiriusXM App: 994

BY THE NUMBERS

3: Freshmen duos in the country, including Memphis' Bates/Duren, scored at least 15 points apiece in the season opener Banchero/Keels, Duke; Jimerson/Nesbitt, Saint Louis).
2: Games since 2010-11, including Tuesday, where Memphis has had 20-plus assists, 10-plus blocked shots and 10-plus steals (vs. Miss. Valley State, 12/8/20; 25-11-11).
78.8": The average height of Memphis' roster, which is tied for seventh tallest in the nation and tops in the AAC.
9.1: Rebounds per game for Lester Quinones in the last seven games, from the AAC Tournament through Tuesday's season opener, to go along with 11.1 points per outing.

THE LAST TIME OUT

The No. 12/16 Memphis Tigers began the 2021-22 season with an 89-65 win over Tennessee Tech Tuesday night at FedExForum.
Memphis has now won 19-straight home openers, dating back to an 81-80 overtime loss to Austin Peay on Nov. 22, 2002
Memphis shot 59.3 percent from the floor as a team (35-59), its fourth-best shooting performance in a game since 2010-11.
The Tigers also hit 13-of-26 3-point tries (.500).
Freshmen Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren led the way with 17 and 15 points, respectively, going a combined 13-for-19 from the field, and Duren also had six rebounds and five blocked shots.
Lester Quinones had 15 points, hitting 3-of-6 from distance, and he also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
DeAndre Williams added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and four assists, and Landers Nolley II had 10 points.
The Tigers came out firing in the first half, leading by as many as 16 points, and torched the nets in the first 20 minutes at a blistering 62.5 percent pace (20-32).
Tennessee Tech (0-1) was led by Mamoudou Diarra's 11 points.

NOTING THE EAGLES

The Eagles began the 2021-22 campaign with a 70-60 loss at Richmond Tuesday night.
Head coach LeVelle Moton returns for his 13th season at the helm of the program, and he stands four wins shy of becoming the third men's basketball coach in school history to reach 200 wins.
NCCU not only lost 11 student-athletes from the 2020-21 season, the most during Moton's 13-year tenure, but the Eagles also welcome 10 newcomers to this season's roster.
Nine of the newcomers are transfers, and one is a freshman.
North Carolina Central is coming off a season in which it played just 14 games, going 5-9.
One of the losses was to No. 16 North Carolina by only six points, 73-67.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.