Tigers, Tulane Set for Semifinal Showdown in AAC Championship

Saturday, March 11

Fort Worth, Texas / Dickies Arena

4:00 PM

University of Memphis

(3) Tulane

Tigers, Tulane Set for Semifinal Showdown in AAC Championship

Mar 11, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats Listen Live Watch Live Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Tulane Game Notes (PDF)

FORT WORTH, Texas – The second-seeded Memphis Tigers and the third-seeded Tulane Green Wave meet for the third time this season Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship at Dickies Arena. The game is scheduled to tip at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

After its 81-76 quarterfinal win over UCF Friday night, Memphis has won four if its last five games and 12 of its last 15 overall.

Also with Friday's win the Tigers have logged their most wins in a season since also winning 24 in 2013-14.

Since the Feb. 4 meeting with Tulane in Bluff City, the Tigers are 7-2 with the only two defeats coming to Houston.

Saturday's matchup will feature four of the top-five scorers in the conference this season and three of the five players named to the All-AAC first team.

Kendric Davis paces the conference and ranks eighth in the country at 21.8 points per game, while teammate DeAndre Williams is averaging 17.6 points, the fifth-best total in the league.

In Friday's quarterfinal win, the AAC first-teamers became the first Memphis duo since 1971 to put up 30 points each in the same game. Williams hung 35 points and 13 rebounds on the Knights, while Davis put up 33 with seven assists.

The Green Wave are led by All-AAC first teamer Jalen Cook (20.1) and second teamer Jaylen Forbes (18.8). They rank second and third in the league in scoring. They combined for 32 points and 12 rebounds in Tulane's 82-76 win over Wichita State in the quarterfinals.

Memphis and Tulane have met twice in AAC conference tournament action, with the Tigers winning both, 83-68 in 2019 in Memphis and 74-54 in 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
The two sides have also met seven other times dating back to 1977 as Metro Conference and Conference USA members. Memphis is 9-0 all-time against the Green Wave in conference tournament history.

Memphis leads the overall all-time series 60-14 dating back to the 1976-77 season.

With a victory Saturday, the Tigers would advance to Sunday's AAC Tournament title game, which is slated to tip off at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN.

The winner of the Memphis-Tulane semifinal would face the winner of the other semifinal matchup between top-seeded Houston and fourth-seeded Cincinnati.

Following the AAC Tournament, NCAA Tournament bids are awarded Sunday evening during CBS' Selection Show, which starts at 5 p.m.

GAME DETAILS
No. 2 Memphis Tigers (24-8) vs. No. 3 Tulane (20-10)
2023 American Athletic Conference Championship Semifinals
Saturday, March 11, 2023 | 4 p.m. CT
Dickies Arena (14,000); Fort Worth, Texas
Television: ESPN2 (Kevin Brown, pxp; Jon Crispin, analysis; Myron Medcalf, sideline)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

2013: Memphis' last conference tournament championship, which came in its last season in Conference USA; the Tigers received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 in its last NCAA appearance.
2: Times Memphis has reached the AAC Tournament championship game, going 0-2 in those matchups. The Tigers fell 72-58 to UConn in 2016 and 71-53 to Houston in 2022.
1^st: Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams became the first Tiger teammates since 1971 to each score 30 points in the same game when Larry Finch (34) and Don Holcomb (31) achieved the feat on Jan. 8, 1971.
4^th: Davis and Williams are only the fourth set of teammates to score 30+ in the same game this season across Division I: Malik Miller & Isaiah Burke (Morgan State), Brendan Adams & James Bishop (George Washington), Tre Jackson & Vonterius Woolbright (Western Carolina).
2013: Davis and Williams are the first Tigers to score 30 points in a Memphis postseason game since Chris Crawford in 2013.
74.3: The team's free throw percentage (496-of-669) which is on pace to be the highest in a single season since 1987-88 when the Tigers shot 76.3 percent at the line.
677: Kendric Davis' total points scored this season, which ranks 7^th all-time in a single season. He needs 12 points to pass Keith Lee (688) for sixth. Dajuan Wagner's 762 points in 2001-02 is the most all-time, while Penny Hardaway is second with 729 in 1992-93.

LAST TIME OUT

Friday night at Dickies Arena was one for the record books as the No. 2-seeded Memphis men's basketball team defeated No. 7 UCF, 81-76, in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference championship.
DeAndre Williams and Kendric Davis were the headliners, as the duo combined to score 84 percent of the Tigers' points against the Knights.
Williams finished two points shy of his career high with 35 points while grabbing 13 rebounds. Davis added 33 points, seven assists and three blocks.
After a slow start from Memphis, the two sides traded buckets to a 24-22 score with 6:40 to play in the first half.
From there, Williams knocked down a pair of three-pointers to help send the Tigers into the break with a 40-30 advantage.
Williams (18) and Davis (12) combined for 30 points, seven boards and eight dimes in the first half.
A 9-2 spurt gave UCF a 50-49 lead with 11:21 remaining, but Davis stepped up and nailed back-to-back threes to push the Tigers back in front for good en route to the 81-76 win.
From the 15-minute mark in the second half until 18 seconds left in the game, Davis and Williams combined to score 38-consecutive points for Memphis.
The Tigers shot 47.5 percent in the game (28-59) and 47.4 percent from deep (9-19).
UCF (18-14) was led by C.J. Kelly's 28 points.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.