Tigers Return Home to Host Texas A&M in Blue Out on ESPNU

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers are prepped and ready for their final Southeastern Conference battle of the regular season Saturday when the Texas A&M Aggies visit FedExForum for a 6 p.m. matchup on ESPNU.

The contest will be the fifth SEC matchup of the season for the Tigers as they have gone 3-1 in the first four.

It will be the first meeting between the two sides since March 22, 2007 in the NCAA Tournament when Antonio Anderson sank two free throws with 3.1 seconds on the clock to give Memphis its 25th-straight win and advance the Tigers to the NCAA Regional Final with a 65-64 victory in San Antonio.

The Tigers (8-3) are coming off a 91-88 loss on the road at No. 4 Alabama, a game in which Memphis led for nearly 12 minutes. Kendric Davis poured in a season high 30 points, while DeAndre Williams chipped in 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Memphis will wrap up its nonconference slate Wednesday against Alabama State at 7 p.m. inside the Forum. The Tigers will then get a break for Christmas before welcoming South Florida on Dec. 29.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (8-3) vs. Texas A&M (6-3)
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 | 6 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPNU (Dave Leno, pxp; Jon Crispin, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Satellite: Sirius 384 / SXM App 974

BY THE NUMBERS

3: Alex Lomax's rank nationally in steals with 32 through 11 games, just 3 behind the leader (Malique Jacobs - Kent St.) The senior also ranks 3rd in the country in steals per game at 2.90. He has 3+ swipes in 7-of-11 games this season and four with 4+.
5: Tigers already have five wins over Power Five conference opponents, including two SEC foes. It is already the most Power Five wins in a season since collecting seven in 2007-08.
10: Kendric Davis is 10th on the NCAA Division I's active career leaders list with 574 career assists. Alex Lomax is 29th with 452.
13: According to KenPom.com, Memphis has faced the 13^th-toughest schedule against average defensive efficiency of opposing defenses (97.1 points allowed per 100 possessions against the average Division I offense).
29: Rank in the country with 9.5 steals per game. The Tigers are on pace for the most steals per game in a season since 2008-09 (13.7 spg). Their 13.2 steal% according to KenPom ranks 23rd nationally.
4: DeAndre Williams is one of only four players in the country averaging at least 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game this season.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Memphis battled until the final buzzer, but ultimately fell 91-88 on the road Tuesday night at No. 4/5 Alabama in Coleman Coliseum.
The loss brought an end to the Tigers' six-game win streak and dropped them to 8-3 on the year.
Senior Kendric Davis cemented his warrior status with a 30-point performance on 11-of-22 shooting and kept the Tigers in the game all night long with tough bucket after tough bucket.
DeAndre Williams nearly grabbed another double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. He played only 28 minutes after fouling out with 6:35 left in the game, changing the tone of the Tigers.
Davis scored the first two baskets of the game and then assisted on the next to give Memphis a 6-0 lead out of the gate. The Tigers led for most of the first half until Alabama (9-1) got an and-one with 8:26 on the clock to go in front 19-17.
After starting the game hot from the field, the Tigers went ice cold midway through the first half by only hitting 1-of-15 shots during a stretch, but was able to stay within striking distance as Alabama took a 36-33 advantage into the break.
The Crimson Tide drained 21-of-26 at the stripe in the final 20 minutes, compared to just 12-of-17 from Memphis.
Memphis shot 34-of-79 from the floor (43.0%), 1-of-12 from deep and made 19-of-25 free throws (76.0%).
Alabama finished 26-of-54 overall (48.1%), 10-of-27 from long range (37.0%) and 29-of-40 at the charity stripe (72.5%).

SCOUTING THE AGGIES

Texas A&M enters Saturday having won four of its last five games, including a 72-54 victory over Oregon State on Dec. 11 in College Station.
In the win over the Beavers, four Aggies finished in double-digit scoring, while two more had seven-plug points. Dexter Dennis scored a team-high 16 points with four rebounds and was 4-of-7 from three-point range. Tyrece Radford had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Texas A&M finished 19 of 25 from the free-throw line.
The Aggies are one of the best in the nation in getting to and converting from the charity stripe. They are fifth in the country in makes per game (19.2) and eighth nationally in attempts each time out (26.7).
Wade Taylor IV leads the team on the year in scoring (14.4 ppg). He is shooting 41.4 percent overall from the field and is the team's top deep threat with 18 three-point makes and theft man with 22 steals.
Tyrece Radford is second on the squad averaging 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per outing. He does lead the team at the free throw line where he is 46-of-56 (.821).
Henry Coleman III is the third Aggie averaging double figures in scoring at 10.3 per game. He is also the team's top glass cleaner at 5.2 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8 forward is shooting 52.1 percent from the floor (37-71).
As a team, Texas A&M is averaging 77.0 points per game and allowing 69.3 points by opponents.
They are averaging 35.3 rebounds per game, 9.3 steals per game and ranks 16th nationally in turnover margin (5.2). Their 17.3 turnovers forced each time out ranks 28th in Division I.

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University of Memphis Athletics

Tigers Return Home to Host Texas A&M in Blue Out on ESPNU

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