Tigers Set For Holiday Hoopsgiving Showdown with No. 11 Auburn

Saturday, December 10

Atlanta, Ga. / State Farm Arena

4 p.m.

University of Memphis

#11/14 Auburn

Tickets

Tigers Set For Holiday Hoopsgiving Showdown with No. 11 Auburn

Dec 09, 2022 | Men's Basketball

Watch Live Live Stats Listen Live Buy Tickets Memphis Game Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers will face its toughest test of the season thus far on Saturday when they travel to Atlanta to take on No. 11/14 Auburn in the premier matchup of the Holiday Hoopsgiving. The two sides will tip things off inside State Farm Arena at 4 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Memphis (7-2) will ride a 5-game win streak into the meeting after disposing of Little Rock on Tuesday, 87-71, at FedExForum. The Tigers are set for three straight Southeastern Conference matchups over the next eight days as they will travel to No. 8/10 Alabama on Tuesday before returning home to face Texas A&M on Dec. 17.

The blue and gray shot 54.0 percent from the floor against the Trojans and put four players in double figures with DeAndre Williams leading the way behind 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jayden Hardaway reached a career high 16 points in 26 minutes and went 7-of-9 from the field.

Saturday's showdown will be just the third all-time between the two Tiger programs with Auburn taking the first two. They most recently defeated Memphis, 74-71, on Dec. 12, 2020 in the same Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta.

Auburn enters the game 8-0 on the year and currently leads the nation in blocked shots per game (8.2), and ranks seventh in adjusted defensive efficiency, which is the amount of points a team would allow per 100 possessions against an average Division I opponent. Memphis is 18th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Auburn's eight wins on the season include a 65-60 victory Saint Louis and a 67-59 win over South Florida.

Saturday's game is an important opportunity for the Tigers to add to their resume in nonconference play as it would be their first Quad I win of the season. Memphis went 4-5 in Quad I games a season ago. The Tigers have a chance to get two in the span of four days.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (7-2) vs. No. 11/14 Auburn (8-0)
Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 | 4:00 p.m. CT
State Farm Arena (21,000); Atlanta, Ga.
Television: ESPN2 (Mike Morgan, pxp; Dane Bradshaw, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Satellite: SiriusXM 137 or 190 / SXM 961

BY THE NUMBERS

2: Alex Lomax's rank nationally in steals with 29 through nine games, just 3 behind the leader (Malique Jacobs - Kent St.) The senior also ranks 3rd in the country in steals per game at 3.22. He has 3+ swipes in 7-of-9 games this season and four with 4+.
10: Kendric Davis is 10th on the NCAA Division I's active career leaders list with 563 career assists. Lomax is 29th with 447.
18: Memphis' national rank in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.6 points allowed per 100 possessions against the average Division I offense).
27: Rank in the country in field goal defense at 37.8%. The Tigers have held two opponents to under 30% and four to 35% or les
1^st: Memphis is playing its first ranked opponent of the season as the Tigers are 11th in the AP and 14th in the coaches poll.
4: The Tigers already have 4 wins over Power Five conference opponents, including two SEC foes (Vandy, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Stanford). Their next three outings are also versus SEC teams, setting them up for a strong resume builder.
28-3: Record at home against nonconference opponents in the past five seasons under Hardaway.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Jayden Hardaway set a career high with 16 points, and DeAndre Williams added 17, five rebounds and five assists to help the Memphis Tigers to their fifth-straight win with an 87-71 victory over Little Rock Tuesday night at FedExForum.
Hardaway reached his career high in 26 minutes of play. He went 7-of-9 from the field and made two of his three attempts from long distance.
DeAndre Williams reached 17 points for the fourth time this season and has scored in double figures five straight games.
Keonte Kennedy's 14 points were a season high and the fourth time he's reached double figures as a Tiger.
The Tigers shot a season high 54.0 percent from the floor, connecting on 34-of-63 shot attempts. They also hit 6-of-12 from three-point range and 13-of-19 from the charity stripe.
The Tigers recorded a season-high 16 steals in the victory. It's the most thefts since taking 20 against UCF on Feb. 1, 2021.
The Tigers dished 18 assists to 15 turnovers and outscored the Trojans 50-28 in the paint

NOTING THE AUBURN TIGERS

Auburn enters Saturday's matchup 8-0 on the season behind one of the most athletic rosters in the country.
The Tigers replaced two NBA first round draft picks with two of the best bigs in the nation with the additions of Johni Broome and Yohan Traore.
Broome transferred in from Morehead State where he was the OVC Player of the Year last year. Traore was a five-star recruit who hails from France originally.
Junior guards Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson are the team's top two returning scorers from last season. Green Jr. is pouring in a team-high 13.4 points to go along with a team best 30 assists.
Broome is adding 10.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.43 blocks per game, the 3rd best total in DI.
Auburn leads the nation averaging 8.1 blocks per game and has three players in the top-12 nationally.

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.