Memphis, Ole Miss Renew Rivalry Saturday Morning in Oxford

Saturday, December 4

Oxford, Miss.

11 a.m.

University of Memphis

Ole Miss

Photo by: Zach Wall

Memphis, Ole Miss Renew Rivalry Saturday Morning in Oxford

Dec 03, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Ole Miss Game Notes (PDF)AAC Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 18/19 Memphis Tigers look to get back on the winning track Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ole Miss. The contest in Oxford, Miss., can be seen on ESPN2.

The Tigers head down the road coming off an 82-79 loss at Georgia Wednesday night in the first of four games against Southeastern Conference opponents in 18 days.

Wednesday's game was a bit of a statistical anomaly. The Tigers have had six games since 2010-11 with seven or more 3-pointers, 11 or fewer turnovers and a free throw percentage of at least 80.0 percent. The Georgia game was only Memphis' second loss with that box score, joining a 98-90 defeat at Houston on Feb. 10, 2016.

When the Tigers dropped their previous game, against Iowa State Nov. 26, they were one of six top-10 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll to lose a game over the span of a week-and-a-half. That includes two top-ranked teams, Gonzaga and Duke, plus No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Kansas and No. 10 Alabama along with then-No. 9 Memphis.

Ole Miss is the third team that participated in the 2021 National Invitation Tournament alongside Memphis the Tigers have faced in the first eight games of the season, joining Saint Louis and Western Kentucky.

So far this season, the Rebels have succeeded on the defensive end. Ole Miss has held its opponents to 70 points or fewer six times in seven games and 60 or fewer in each of the last four. The Rebels also rank third in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.4.

Following Saturday's game, the Tigers return home for two games. Memphis welcomes Murray State to FedExForum next Friday night at 7, and the Tigers host Alabama on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m.

GAME DETAILS
#18/19 Memphis Tigers (5-2) at Ole Miss (5-2)
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 | 11 a.m. CT
SJB Pavilion (9,500); Oxford, Miss.
Television: ESPN2 (Kevin Fitzgerald, pxp; Jimmy Dykes, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Satellite: Sirius 133 / XM 202 / SXM App 965

BY THE NUMBERS

11: Players on the two rosters in Saturday's game from either Memphis or Oxford.
4: Consecutive Memphis head coaches, before Penny Hardaway in 2019, lost their first matchup with Ole Miss (Smith, Pastner, Calipari, Jones [interim]).
2019-20: The last time Memphis had two games of 80.0-plus percent shooting from the free throw line (min. 15 att.); the Tigers shot 82.4 percent at Georgia and 80.0 percent against Virginia Tech.
5: Different leading scorers for Memphis in seven games this season (Bates, 3x; Duren, Harris, Nolley II, Williams).
6: Games with multiple blocked shots for Jalen Duren; the freshman has at least one block in each of Memphis' seven games and ranks 10th in the nation in blocks per game (3.6).

THE LAST TIME OUT

Six Memphis Tigers were in double figures Wednesday night in Athens, Ga., but the 18th-ranked Tigers came up short at Georgia, 82-79.
Landers Nolley II led the way for Memphis with 17 points, and Alex Lomax had 14.
Lester Quinones added 12, and Emoni Bates and DeAndre Williams contributed 11 points apiece.
Jalen Duren scored 10.
Georgia (3-5) was led by Kario Oquendo's 24 points.
In a second half played entirely within two possessions, the Tigers led by five points with 4:13 to go.
Georgia hit back-to-back buckets after that, and the teams shared free throws with Memphis leading 77-75 with 2:38 remaining.
But the Tigers only made one field goal after that, and Bates' 3-pointer at the buzzer was off.
The Tigers ended the contest with a season low 11 turnovers.
Memphis also went a season best 14-for-17 from the free throw line (.824).
Georgia scored 27 of its points from the free throw line.

NOTING THE REBELS

Ole Miss brings back two starters and five other letterwinners from last season's team.
A year ago, the Rebels finished 16-12 overall and 10-8 in SEC play, which was good for sixth place.
The Rebels bowed out in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament, falling 70-61 to Louisiana Tech.
Ole Miss is led in scoring by Jarkel Joiner, who is currently averaging 15.4 points per game.
Nysier Brooks is the Rebels' leading rebounder at 7.9 boards per contest.
Ole Miss played in the 2021 Charleston Classic the week before Thanksgiving, where it went 1-2.
The Rebels defeated Elon in between losses to Marquette and Boise State.
Ole Miss was picked to finish ninth in the SEC's preseason media poll.

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.