Memphis, Houston Battle Sunday for the AAC Crown

Sunday, March 12

Fort Worth, Texas / Dickies Arena

2:15 PM

University of Memphis

(1) #1/1 Houston

Mar 12, 2023 | Men's Basketball

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

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Memphis Tigers go for the 2023 American Athletic Conference Tournament championship Sunday afternoon against top-seeded Houston. Tip-off in Fort Worth, Texas, is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on ESPN.

The surging Tigers have won 13 of their last 16 games. Over that stretch, Memphis is outscoring its opponents by an average of 8.4 points per game. The Tigers are shooting seven percent better from the floor than its opponents, 48.7 percent to 41.7 percent, and Memphis has won the battle on the glass by 27 rebounds.

The No. 2-seeded Tigers defeated seventh-seeded UCF (81-76) and third-seeded Tulane (94-54) to reach the title game, where they will face the Cougars for the third time this season.

The Tigers have suffered two losses at hands of the AAC regular-season champions this season, with the Cougars ranked either No.1 or No. 2 at the time of the meetings. Those losses were by eight points on the road (72-64) without Kendric Davis, and by two at home (67-65) on a shot at the final buzzer.

Davis and DeAndre Williams are combining to average 57.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 3.0 blocks and 2.5 steals per game in Fort Worth. The duo have also knocked down 15 of the team's 22 threes in two games.

With a victory Sunday, Memphis would capture its first AAC Tournament title in its 10th season in the league. The title would be Memphis' 13th conference tournament championship in its history, spanning five conferences.

Following Sunday's game, NCAA Tournament bids are handed out during the Selection Show, which begins at 5 p.m. on CBS. The NCAA Tournament starts Tuesday and Wednesday with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, and the first round begins Thursday and Friday.

GAME DETAILS
No. 2 Memphis Tigers (25-8) vs. No. 1 Houston Cougars (31-2)
2023 American Athletic Conference Championship Finals
Sunday, March 12, 2023 | 2:15 p.m. CT
Dickies Arena (14,000); Fort Worth, Texas
Television: ESPN (Kevin Brown, pxp; Jon Crispin, analysis; Myron Medcalf, reporter)
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.
66: Points needed by Kendric Davis to pass Dajuan Wagner for the most all-time in a single-season in program history. He currently has 697 and with 33 points today, he would take over Penny Hardaway's spot for second most.
33-7: Memphis' all-time record in games played in Texas in March (.825); that includes wins in nine of its last 10.
14: 20-point games for Kendric Davis in 14 of the last 16. In the other two, he scored 19 and left the other early after an injury.
31-12: DeAndre Williams is averaging 31.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in his first two games in Fort Worth. He's also totaled 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 57.5 percent.
22: Three-pointers made in the last two games; The most in a two-game stretch for the Tigers since draining 24 on March 27-28, 2021 against Colorado State and Mississippi State en route to winning the NIT championship.

THE LAST TIME OUT

The No. 2 Tigers routed No. 3 Tulane, 94-54, in the semifinals of the AAC Championship.
It is the second-largest margin of victory in postseason play for the Tigers in program history (Mar. 7, 1986 vs South Carolina, W 100-59)
The Tigers (25-8) have their most wins in a season since going 31-5 a decade ago in their final Conference USA season before moving to the AAC in 2013-14.
The Tigers saw contributions from their entire roster, but for the second-straight night, DeAndre Williams was an unstoppable force.
The forward posted another double-double with a game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.
Kendric Davis added 20 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Elijah McCadden scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and dished three assists.
Jayden Hardaway finished with eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes.
Damaria Franklin had eight points and seven boards in 18 minutes off the bench.
Tulane built a 10-5 advantage after hitting 4-of-6 shots to begin the game.
From that point on, Memphis held the Green Wave to just 2-for-25 the rest of the first half to go into the locker room with a 42-17 lead.
The Tigers locked Tulane down to just 19.4-percent from the field (6-31) in the first half.
Jalen Cook and Jaylen Forbes got Tulane back to within 18 after combining for 12 quick points, but the Tigers outscored the Green Wave 42-20 the rest of the way.
Memphis hit 19 of its 21 free throws (.904), drained a season-high 13 threes, outrebounded Tulane 51-41 and outscored the Green Wave 24-5 off the bench.
Tulane (20-11) was led by Jalen Cook's 15 points.

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.