Tigers Go for Third-Straight Win Sunday at Cincinnati

Sunday, January 22

Cincinnati, Ohio

Noon

University of Memphis

Cincinnati

Team during the Memphis vs. Wichita State Men’s Basketball game on 01192023.

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers Go for Third-Straight Win Sunday at Cincinnati

Jan 21, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live Listen Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Cincy Game Notes (PDF)AAC Weekly Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Fresh off a double-digit win at home and two-game winning streak, the Memphis Tigers return to the road Sunday afternoon at Cincinnati. Tip-off against the Bearcats is schedule for noon CT on ESPN2.

Memphis defeated Wichita State Thursday night at FedExForum, extending the Tigers' home winning streak to 15 games, which is the sixth-longest active streak in the nation heading into the weekend. The 88-78 win was Memphis' fourth-straight over the Shockers.

The Tigers currently sit in fifth place in the American Athletic Conference standings with their 4-2 league mark. No. 1 Houston tops the table at 6-0, while Cincinnati, Tulane and Temple are all tied for second with 5-2 records.

Tuesday's game is the 85th in the longtime series between the Tigers and the Bearcats, and Memphis has won three-straight meetings. When Memphis won at Cincinnati two seasons ago on Feb. 28, 2021 it snapped a seven-game losing streak in games played at Cincinnati dating back to Dec. 19, 2007.

Last season, Memphis earned a regular-season series sweep over Cincinnati for the first time since 1994-95 in the Great Midwest Conference. Since then, the two schools have played twice in the regular season seven times. The Tigers won 87-80 in Memphis last season before going on the road to claim an 81-74 victory on Feb. 15.

Tiger fans will see a familiar face Sunday roaming the court for the Bearcats in Landers Nolley II.

The 6-foot-7 guard spent the previous two seasons at Memphis before transferring to Cincinnati in April. Nolley II was named the Most Outstanding Player in Memphis' run to the NIT championship in 2021 and averaged 12.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his 89 career games as a Tiger. He was 3-0 against the Bearcats while at Memphis.

Cincinnati enters the game having won three straight after a dominant 85-69 win over South Florida on Wednesday, courtesy of David DeJulius (16 of 21 points in first half) and Nolley II (16 of 21 in second). UC led by as much as 29 in the second half, notching seven treys before halftime for a 47-29 margin, its largest since the season opener.

The Bearcats are led by Landers Nolley II's 15.4 points per game, one of four players averaging double figures. He has scored double figures in 10-straight games, including four 20-point performances. David DeJulius is chipping in 14.5 points and ranks fourth in the AAC with 4.2 assists per game.

Viktor Lakhin, a 6-foot-11 big man, paces the squad on the glass with 7.4 rebounds per outing to go along with 12.1 points and a team-high field goal percentage of 62.0.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday's game, the Tigers make the trek home to welcome SMU to the Forum Thursday night at 6 p.m. Memphis then returns to the road to close out a stretch of three-straight Sunday road games at Tulsa at 4 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN2.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (14-5, 4-2 AAC) at Cincinnati (14-6, 5-2 AAC)
Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023 | Noon CT
Fifth Third Arena (13,176); Cincinnati, Ohio
Television: ESPN2 (John Schriffen, pxp; Perry Clark, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

5.3: Average margin of victory in the last four Memphis-Cincinnati games contested in Cincinnati; five of the last seven have been single-digit affairs.
9-0: Record for the Tigers this season when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points. They also are 14-1 when teams score 89 or fewer. Four of the five losses this season have come when the opposition scored at least 90 points in the game.
11: Three-pointers made last time out against Wichita State, which were a season high. It was also the highest percentage (52.4) the Tigers have shot all season from deep (11-21).
15: Consecutive double-digit games for DeAndre Williams, the longest streak of his career. His previous best was six games in 2020-21. He is averaging 17.4 points and 7.7 rebounds during the streak
4th: Kendric Davis' rank on the American Athletic Conference career scoring list with 1,727 points at Memphis and SMU. He is just eight points from tying UConn's Christian Vital (2016-20) for third all-time.
6th: National rank in block percentage (15.8) according to KenPom.com. It is the percentage of an opponent's shots blocked by a team.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Memphis defeated Wichita State, 88-78, Thursday night inside FedExForum behind monster games from DeAndre Williams and Kendric Davis to extend their home winning streak to 15 games. Memphis has now won 18 of its last 19 league games inside the Forum.
DeAndre Williams led the charge, scoring a season high 29 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting to go along with a career high-tying 15 rebounds.
Kendric Davis added 20 points, five assists and two rebounds, marking the second-consecutive game that Williams and Davis each tallied 20-plus points.
Keonte Kennedy had his best night as a Tigers, producing 16 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range.
Trailing 22-15 with 7:05 left in the first half, the Tigers woke up and went on a 14-1 run to put Memphis back in front 29-23 before Johnathan Lawson connected on the sixth triple of the night for the Tigers to send them into the halftime break with a 36-30 lead.
Memphis shot 46 percent in the opening 20 minutes (12-26), including 43 percent from long distance (6-14). Davis scored 11 points in the half, while Williams nearly grabbed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Tigers never trailed in the second half after shooting 60.0 percent after the break (18-30) en route to the victory.
Memphis finished the contest shooting 53.6 percent from the floor (30-56), 52.4 percent from distance (11-21) and 73.9 percent from the free throw line (17-23).

NOTING THE OPPONENT

The Bearcats finished 18-15 last season, and from that squad they bring back four starters and eight letterwinners.
The returning players accounted for 75.6 percent of their points scored (1,733 of 2,291), 61.7 percent of their rebounds (757 of 1,226) and 67.7 percent of their assists (293 of 433).
David DeJulius was a Preseason All-Conference Second Team pick this year after earning a third team selection for 2021-22. He leads all players in AAC play with 6.0 assists per game.
The Bearcats were picked to finish third in this season's preseason coaches poll with 82 points, just behind Memphis (87).
Cincinnati tops the AAC with 9.0 three-pointers made per game, 26.95 defensive rebounds per game, and it ranks 25^th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.42).
The Bearcats' 36.4 overall three-point clip leads the AAC after ranking eighth last season at 31.5 percent.
Nolley's overall 44.3 percent mark is 17th nationally, and in AAC play, he (50 percent) and Mika Adams-Woods (48.4) lead the pack.
Wes Miller is the nation's winningest coach under 40 years old, with his 217 wins entering the weekend ranking ahead of Iona's Richard Pitino (200) and Marquette's Shaka Smart (195).

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.