Saturday, December 30
Memphis, Tenn.
6:00 PM
University of Memphis
vs
Austin Peay
No. 19/18 Tigers Return From Break to Host Austin Peay
Dec 28, 2023 | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Refreshed from a holiday break, the No. 19/18 University of Memphis men's basketball team returns to FedExForum Saturday to wrap up its nonconference slate when Austin Peay visits for a 6 p.m. matchup on ESPN+.
The Tigers and Governors are meeting for the 24th time, with Memphis leading the all-time series 19-4.
Memphis has won eight-straight in the series with Austin Peay's last victory coming Nov. 22, 2002 (81-80) in overtime. The last meeting between the programs came more than 10 years ago on Nov. 14, 2013.
The Tigers have won five-straight games since dropping back-to-back decisions with Villanova and Ole Miss. The 10-2 start for Memphis is its best since opening 11-1 in 2019-20.
In their last game before the break, the Tigers defeated Vanderbilt, 77-75, at FedExForum behind nine 3-pointers and a season-high 26 made free throws. The Tigers trailed for nearly 21 minutes of game action and had to come back from an 8-point deficit with 8:20 remaining in the contest.
The Tigers forced Vanderbilt into 17 turnovers and scored 18 points off those miscues while limiting the Commodores to 34.5 percent shooting in the second half.
Memphis was led by senior forward David Jones, who finished with 28 points and nine rebounds. Jones narrowly missed his third double-double of the year, but managed to keep his streak to six-straight games with at least 20 points scored. He leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks 11th in the nation with a 21.4 scoring average.
Senior point guard Jahvon Quinerly added 13 points, four assists and two steals, while senior forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin made his Memphis debut with eight points and three boards in 15 minutes.
During the 5-game winning streak, the Tigers have been shutting down the opposition. They have held four of the five opponents to 30 percent or less from beyond the arc for a 26.2 percent total (34-130).
Austin Peay (7-7) is led by 6-foot-3 graduate senior Demarcus Sharp. He leads all of Division I in field goals made (109) and attempted (255), and ranks fifth in steals (35), sixth in steals per game (2.5) and 10th in minutes per game (37.1).
He's the only player in the country averaging at least 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Sharp has four double-doubles and has scored in double figures in all 14 contests, including a season-high 33 points against Sacramento State in November.
GAME DETAILS
No. 19/18 Memphis Tigers (10-2) vs. Austin Peay (7-7)
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 | 6 p.m. CT
FedExForm (18,400); Memphis, Tennessee
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston pxp; Jon Albright analyst)
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis (Dave Woloshin pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com
BY THE NUMBERS
UP NEXT
Memphis gears up for AAC action as the Tigers head to Tulsa on January 4 for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Golden Hurricane. They will then return home to host SMU (Jan. 7) and UTSA (Jan. 10).
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.
The Tigers and Governors are meeting for the 24th time, with Memphis leading the all-time series 19-4.
Memphis has won eight-straight in the series with Austin Peay's last victory coming Nov. 22, 2002 (81-80) in overtime. The last meeting between the programs came more than 10 years ago on Nov. 14, 2013.
The Tigers have won five-straight games since dropping back-to-back decisions with Villanova and Ole Miss. The 10-2 start for Memphis is its best since opening 11-1 in 2019-20.
In their last game before the break, the Tigers defeated Vanderbilt, 77-75, at FedExForum behind nine 3-pointers and a season-high 26 made free throws. The Tigers trailed for nearly 21 minutes of game action and had to come back from an 8-point deficit with 8:20 remaining in the contest.
The Tigers forced Vanderbilt into 17 turnovers and scored 18 points off those miscues while limiting the Commodores to 34.5 percent shooting in the second half.
Memphis was led by senior forward David Jones, who finished with 28 points and nine rebounds. Jones narrowly missed his third double-double of the year, but managed to keep his streak to six-straight games with at least 20 points scored. He leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks 11th in the nation with a 21.4 scoring average.
Senior point guard Jahvon Quinerly added 13 points, four assists and two steals, while senior forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin made his Memphis debut with eight points and three boards in 15 minutes.
During the 5-game winning streak, the Tigers have been shutting down the opposition. They have held four of the five opponents to 30 percent or less from beyond the arc for a 26.2 percent total (34-130).
Austin Peay (7-7) is led by 6-foot-3 graduate senior Demarcus Sharp. He leads all of Division I in field goals made (109) and attempted (255), and ranks fifth in steals (35), sixth in steals per game (2.5) and 10th in minutes per game (37.1).
He's the only player in the country averaging at least 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Sharp has four double-doubles and has scored in double figures in all 14 contests, including a season-high 33 points against Sacramento State in November.
GAME DETAILS
No. 19/18 Memphis Tigers (10-2) vs. Austin Peay (7-7)
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 | 6 p.m. CT
FedExForm (18,400); Memphis, Tennessee
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston pxp; Jon Albright analyst)
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis (Dave Woloshin pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com
BY THE NUMBERS
- 1: The number of players in the country averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game this season. David Jones leads the AAC with eight games of 20-plus points, including six-straight entering Saturday.
- 5-0: Memphis' record when Jahvon Quinerly has at least 15 points in a game.
- 7: The number of wins over Power Five programs this season for Memphis, which is the most in the nation. If you expand wins to also include the Power Six (Big East), the Tigers still have the most with Purdue and Marquette each totaling six.
- 7.6: Rebounding average for Malcolm Dandridge over the last five games, which leads the team. In the first seven games this season, he was averaging only 2.9 boards per game.
- 8-0: Memphis' record this season when it makes more 3-pointers than its opponent.
- 21: The plus/minus for Nicholas Jourdain against Vanderbilt last Saturday. Not only was it a team high, but it was a season-high for the forward, who played just 18 minutes with nine points, four rebounds and two steals.
- 96: The number of three-pointers Memphis has this season, which are the most by any Tiger team through the first 12 games of the season since at least 2010-11.
- 10-2: Tied for the second-best start to a season for Memphis since the 2008-09 season. Only the 11-1 start in 2019-20 has been better.
- 2021: Memphis moved up to No. 19 in the AP poll this week, marking the highest ranking for the Tigers since Nov. 29, 2021 when they were No. 18.
- 1987-88: The Tigers are shooting 73.8% at the free throw line this season. It would be the highest percentage for Memphis since shooting 76.3% in 1987-88.
- Austin Peay comes to town 7-7 on the year after defeating Ohio, 71-67, on Dec. 22.
- The Govs are 1-5 in true road games on the year with the only win coming Dec. 12 at Southern Illinois, 70-68.
- Demarcus Sharp, a Northwestern State transfer, has been doing it all for the Govs this season, leading the team in scoring (18.4), rebounding (7.3), assists (4.9) and steals (2.5).
- Ja'Monta Black is the only other Gov averaging double figures, pouring in 12.5 points each night out.
- Black leads the team in 3-point shooting with a 41.1-percent clip. He is fifth in the country in 3-point makes (46) and sixth in 3-point attempts (112).
- Austin Peay averages 67.1 points per game and is allowing 64.3 to its opposition.
- The Govs have defended the arc as well as anyone in the country this season, ranking 14th in the nation in 3-point defense with a 27.3-percent mark.
UP NEXT
Memphis gears up for AAC action as the Tigers head to Tulsa on January 4 for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Golden Hurricane. They will then return home to host SMU (Jan. 7) and UTSA (Jan. 10).
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.
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