Tigers Welcome Ole Miss Saturday for White Out Game on ESPN2

Saturday, December 3

Memphis, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

University of Memphis

Ole Miss

Tickets

Tigers Welcome Ole Miss Saturday for White Out Game on ESPN2

Dec 02, 2022 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers look to keep its winning ways Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when Ole Miss visits FedExForum for a showdown on ESPN2.

Saturday's game is a White Out with the Tigers wearing Memphis State uniforms, and 5,000 fans will receive a free white Memphis rally towel.

The Tigers are coming off an 87-68 victory over North Alabama Wednesday night in the first of three straight home games. Memphis will now play four games against Southeastern Conference opponents in 15 days.

Memphis (5-2) shot a season-best 55.0-percent from the floor against the Lions and put four players in double figures with Kendric Davis leading the way with 18 points.

The Tigers posted a season high 21 assists and only turned the ball over 11 times as their plus-10 margin was also a season high. The defense was sharp for most of the night, recording seven steals and a season high seven blocks.

Just 85 miles separate Memphis and Ole Miss, and each of the last five meetings between the programs have been decided by single digits. In the last meeting in Memphis, the No. 16 Tigers knocked off the previously unbeaten Rebels, 87-86, on Nov. 23, 2019 behind a monster double-double from Precious Achiuwa with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The Rebels enter the contest 6-1 on the year after falling 59-55 to Oklahoma in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday. Memphis native Matthew Murrell leads a trio of double-digit scorers at 14.1 points per game. He ranks sixth in the SEC in total threes made (17) and ninth in three-pointers per game (2.4).

So far this season, the Rebels have succeeded on the defensive end. Ole Miss has held all seven of its opponents to 70 points or fewer and 60 or fewer in three. The Rebels also rank seventh in the nation on the offensive glass, pulling down 16 offensive rebounds each time out.

Following Saturday's game, the Tigers host Little Rock at 7 p.m. Tuesday before going on the road to battle Auburn and Alabama next weekend.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (5-2) at Ole Miss (6-1)
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 | 6:30 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN2 (Mike Corey, pxp; Mark Adams, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Satellite: SiriusXM 385 / SXM App 975

BY THE NUMBERS

7: Players on the two rosters in Saturday's game from either Memphis or Oxford.
18: Memphis' national rank in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.8 points allowed per 100 possessions against the average Division I offense); Tigers are one of only three teams not from a power conference in the top 24.
38: Rank nationally in fastbreak points this season with 15.3 per game, which is tops in the American Athletic Conference.
45: Rank in the country in blocks per game at 4.9.
2: Different leading scorers for Memphis in seven games this season (Williams was the leader in the first two and Davis has been the leader in the last five).
11: Alex Lomax rank nationally in steals per game at 2.86. He is also 16^th overall with 20 swipes.
58.2: Points per game allowed by the Tigers in the team's five wins. In their two losses, that number jumps to 80.0 points per game. Memphis is also shooting 45.3 percent from the floor in the wins and 42.1 percent in the defeats.
26-3: Record at home against nonconference opponents in the past five seasons under Hardaway.
8: Straight wins for Memphis at FedExForum, dating back to a 70-62 loss to SMU on Jan. 20, 2022. The Tigers have won 10 of their last 11 and 27 of the last 30 games played inside the Forum.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Three Memphis Tigers were in double figures Wednesday night in the Forum as the Tigers defeated North Alabama 87-68.
Kendric Davis led the way for Memphis with 18 points, and DeAndre Williams was sharp from the floor all night, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-9 field goals.
Senior guard Keonte Kennedy scored a season high 11 points with four rebounds in 23 minutes, while freshman Johnathan Lawson recorded a career high 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from long distance.
Memphis scored a season high 46 points in the first half and never let up after the break.
Johnathan Lawson connected on his second three of the game with 5:59 on the clock to give the Tigers their largest lead of the night and of the season at 80-52.
Memphis finished the night 33-of-60 shooting for a season-high 55.0-percent clip. The Tigers also went 47.1 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-17) and drained 13-of-17 trips to the charity stripe.

NOTING THE REBELS

Ole Miss brings back two starters and six other letterwinners from last season's team.
A year ago, the Rebels finished 13-19 overall and 4-14 in SEC play, which was good for 13th place.
The Rebels bowed out in the first round of the SEC Tournament, falling 72-60 to Missouri.
Matthew Murrell leads a trio of double-digit scorers at 14.1 points per game. He ranks sixth in the SEC in total threes made (17) and ninth in three-pointers per game (2.4).
Jaemyn Brakefield is the Rebels' leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per contest.
Ole Miss played in the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational the week of Thanksgiving, where it went 2-1 and fell in the championship game.
The Rebels have wins over Chattanooga, Stanford, FAU, Siena, UT Martin and Alcorn State.
Ole Miss was picked to finish 11th 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.