Tigers back in action Wednesday night at FedExForum

Wednesday, February 24

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

University of Memphis

Tulane

Jeffries Memphis Tigers v East Carolina Pirates

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers back in action Wednesday night at FedExForum

Feb 23, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Tulane Game Notes (PDF)AAC Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers return to the court Wednesday night against Tulane for the first time since Feb. 6 after four postponements due to COVID-19-related issues within the program.

Tip-off at FedExForum is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be seen on ESPN+.

Before the 17-day layoff between games, the Tigers went 6-1 over a 17-day period from Jan. 21-Feb. 6 to stay in the hunt for an American Athletic Conference championship.

The Tigers are 8-3 in conference play for the first time since 2013-14, which was also the last time Memphis was in the NCAA Tournament. Based on winning percentage, Memphis is currently in third place in the AAC. The Tigers are one loss behind first-place Wichita State, who sits at 9-2 in conference games. Houston is second at 11-3, and the Tigers still face the Cougars on March 7 in Memphis.

Tulane comes into Wednesday's game with a 9-9 overall record and a 4-9 mark in AAC play. Most recently, the Green Wave dropped a pair of games against UCF and won at South Florida and at Tulsa. Memphis defeated Tulane earlier this season on Dec. 16 in New Orleans, 80-74.

The Tigers have won 11-straight games against Tulane and hold a 58-11 advantage in the overall series. The Green Wave have won just once in Memphis in 22 trips since the 1995-96 season, which was a 74-66 victory over the Tigers on Jan. 3, 2015.

Tulane is led by Jaylen Forbes, who ranks fifth in the AAC in scoring at 16.3 points per game. He scored 15 points on 3-of-13 shooting against the Tigers in the matchup earlier this season, and he made seven of his eight free throw tries.

Wednesday's game is presented by Ashley HomeStore.

Game Details
Memphis (12-6, 8-3 AAC) vs. Tulane (9-9, 4-9 AAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 | 7 p.m. CT
FedExForum; Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Jon Albright, analysis)
Radio: 102.7 FM/600 AM (Jeff Brightwell, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

By The Numbers
- 25: Consecutive games Memphis has allowed 75 or fewer points; the last without was a 92-86 overtime loss at Cincinnati on Feb. 13, 2020.
- 4: Points needed for Alex Lomax to hit the 500-point mark for his Memphis career.
- 3: Defensive categories in which Memphis ranks in the top-12 in the nation (3-point field goal defense, 3rd; steals per game, 8th; blocked shots per game, 12th).
- 22-4: Memphis' record when Alex Lomax has five or more assists in a game; the Tigers are 32-25 when he has four or fewer.
- 1st: D.J. Jeffries' AAC rank in 3-point field goal percentage in conference games (.522, 12-23); Lester Quinones ranks fourth (.459) and Landers Nolley II is eighth (.397).

The Last Time Out
- Alex Lomax was one assist shy of a double-double, and Lester Quinones buried a massive 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to help the Tigers to a 66-59 win over East Carolina on Feb. 6 at FedExForum.
- Lomax turned in an impressive stat line of 10 points, nine assists, five steals, and five rebounds, and he was one assist shy of Memphis' first points-assists double-double since Jeremiah Martin at Cincinnati on Feb. 23, 2017.
- Landers Nolley II finished with 12 points and five rebounds, and D.J. Jeffries added 12 and four.
- DeAndre Williams led Memphis with eight rebounds to go along with seven points, and Malcolm Dandridge had seven points, two rebounds, a steal, and two blocked shots in 14 key minutes off the bench.
- Memphis led by as many as 13 points in the first half and by nine at halftime, but the Tigers found themselves trailing the Pirates at the 5:00-mark of the second half, 54-53, after the Pirates came out on fire in the second half.
- Nolley II split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 54 with 3:47 to play, and Lomax came up with a steal to feed a Jeffries jumper to put Memphis back on top.
- A couple of minutes later East Carolina's Jayden Gardner made two free throws to bring the Pirates back within two, but on the next possession Lomax dished it Quinones in the corner, who buried a triple to
give the Tigers a two-possession lead with 26 ticks left on the clock.
- Gardner, the second-leading scorer in the AAC entering the game, led all players with 23 points and nine rebounds.
- The Tigers ended the game with 14 assists on their 20 field goals and held East Carolina to 1-of-13 shooting from behind the arc (.077).

Noting the Green Wave
- Tulane was picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll.
- The Green Wave were much improved in head coach Ron Hunter's first year in charge last season, going 12-18 overall and 4-14 in conference play after a 4-27 (0-18 American) season in 2018-19.
- Jordan Walker is the returning leading scorer at 8.0 points per game.
- Memphis owns a 58-11 advantage over the Green Wave and an 11-game winning streak in the series.
- Six of the team's 11 wins during that stretch have been by double digits, including four wins by 20 or more.
- The Tigers have only lost to Tulane twice in the previous 36 meetings dating back to the 1999-00 campaign.
- Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway and assistant coach Tony Madlock won at Tulane as players (Hardaway a sophomore and Madlock a senior) on March 4, 1992, 68-67, when Tulane was ranked 21st in the country.
- The 20th-ranked Green Wave bested Hardaway and the Tigers the following year at The Pyramid in Memphis, 86-85, on Dec. 9, 1992.

Looking Ahead
After Wednesday's game, the Tigers hit the road for three-straight contests, starting Sunday at Cincinnati at noon CT on ESPN. Memphis then travels to USF next Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU. The Tigers' final home game is the regular-season finale on Sunday, March 7 against Houston at 11 a.m.

A limited number of tickets are available for home games with social distancing safety guidelines in place. 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.

Information on tickets for the 2021 Air Force Reserve AAC Men's Basketball Championship will be forthcoming from the Memphis Ticket Office. Questions or requests for additional information may be directed to the Ticket Office at (901) 678-2331 or tigertickets@memphis.edu.