Tigers, No. 1 Houston Clash Sunday Morning at Sold Out FedExForum in Regular Season Finale

Sunday, March 5

Memphis, Tenn.

11 a.m.

University of Memphis

#1/1 Houston

Tickets

Tigers, No. 1 Houston Clash Sunday Morning at Sold Out FedExForum in Regular Season Finale

Mar 04, 2023 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers close the 2022-23 regular season with a showdown with top-ranked American Athletic Conference regular-season champion Houston Sunday morning at FedExForum. Game time is set for 11 a.m. on CBS.

The showdown marks the first time the Tigers have ever hosted a No. 1 team inside FedExForum and only the second time in program history the top team has visited the Bluff City.

The game is sold out and FedExForum will be striped, so fans need to check social media to see which color to wear.

No. 1 Arkansas, the eventual national champion, ventured into the Pyramid on Dec. 8, 1993 and came away with a 96-78 victory over the Tigers.

Winners of 11 of its last 13 games overall, Memphis can pick up a second ranked win of the season after knocking off No. 11 Auburn (82-73) in December. It would also give the Tigers their first-ever win over a No. 1 team in program history.

With Houston having an NCAA NET ranking of 1, Sunday's game is an opportunity for Memphis to log a third Quad I win on the year.

The nine other teams in the AAC not named Houston have combined for eight Quad I wins this season. Of note, should Cincinnati rise four spots in the NET from 79 to 75, Memphis' road win over the Bearcats Jan. 22 would become a Quad I victory.

Memphis is locked into the second seed in next week's AAC Tournament with its current 13-4 conference record. The Tigers cemented its highest tournament seed under head coach Penny Hardaway with Thursday's 81-62 road win at SMU, coupled with Tulane's 83-68 loss at ECU.

Should the Tigers capture a 14th AAC win on the season, it would be their most since joining the conference prior to the 2013-14 season. Memphis went 13-5 in league action last season in 2021-22.

Sunday's game is sponsored by the Memphis Area Toyota Dealers.

Prior to Sunday's game, the Tigers are honoring the contributions of six seniors: Damaria Franklin, Elijah McCadden, Chandler Lawson, Kendric Davis, DeAndre Williams and Malcolm Dandridge.

UP NEXT
After Sunday's game, the Tigers head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the AAC Tournament March 9-12 at Dickies Arena. The tournament bracket will be revealed Sunday evening after the conclusion of all games.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (23-7, 13-4 AAC) vs. #1/1 Houston Cougars (28-2, 16-1 AAC)
Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 11 a.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: CBS (Jim Nantz, pxp; Bill Raftery, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

0-10: Memphis' all-time record against the nation's No. 1 team; the Tigers last faced the top-ranked team, Gonzaga, on March 19, 2022 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and lost 82-78 in Portland, Oregon.
11.5: Damaria Franklin's scoring average over the last four games where he's shooting 58.6 percent overall (17-29) and 53.3 percent from long distance (8-15). He had averaged 4.3 points over his first 16 games of the season.
13-0: Memphis' record this season when holding opponents under 70 points; the Tigers were 17-1 when limiting foes to 69 points or fewer last season.
18.1: Points per game by DeAndre Williams during his current 26-game double-digit streak; the fifth-year is also averaging 7.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game with seven double-doubles during the stretch.
11: For the 11th-straight meeting, the Tigers face a nationally ranked Houston team.
20: Kendric Davis has scored in double figures in 20-straight games entering Sunday. He's reached 20-plus points in 16 of the 20.

THE LAST TIME OUT

The Memphis men's basketball team locked up the No. 2 seed in the AAC Championship with an 81-62 victory late Thursday night at SMU.
Kendric Davis returned to Moody Coliseum and dished out his third double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 assists, while adding four steals.
Damaria Franklin dropped a season high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three triples in 26 minutes off the bench.
DeAndre Williams finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four dimes, while Elijah McCadden added 10 points, four boards and four assists.
Just as anyone would have expected, Davis got the night started with a nothing-but-net triple from the right wing on the game's first shot.
After the sides traded buckets over the next few minutes, SMU held a 16-13 lead at the 14:36 mark. From that point on, it was all Tigers.
Franklin converted an and-one as Memphis reeled off 12-straight points and outscored the Mustangs 17-2 over the next five-plus minutes to take a 30-18 advantage
Jayden Hardaway gave the Tigers their largest lead of the half at 38-24 a few minutes later when he finished a tough baseline drive at the rim.
Memphis went into the break up 50-37 after torching the nets at a 67.9-percent clip (19-28) and draining 6-of-10 threes.
SMU got the game to within six points at the 11:21 mark in the second half, but from that point on, Memphis outscored the Mustangs 19-6 the rest of the way en route to the 81-62 win.

NOTING THE OPPONENT

Coming off an Elite Eight in 2022 and a Final Four appearance in 2021, Houston was picked as American Athletic Conference favorite in 2022-23.
Memphis was second, 13 points behind the Cougars, in the preseason coaches poll.
The Cougars return Marcus Sasser, who was tabbed AAC Preseason Player of the Year, despite Kendric Davis winning the award last season and leading the league in scoring the last two years.
Sasser leads the team in scoring (17.3) and is the top 3-point maker at 81-211 (.384). He was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.
Jarace Walker is averaging 11.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game. He's shooting 47.6 percent from the field.
J'Wan Roberts is the team's top rebounder at 7.3 boards each time out, to go along with 10.8 points. He hauled in a double-double in the first meeting with Memphis behind 20 points and 12 boards.
Jamal Shead, a preseason second team All-AAC nod, is averaging 9.7 points, 5.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in a team-high 32.1 minutes per game. He ranks second in the AAC and 19th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.86. His 160 total assists are 23rd most in the country.
The Cougars own the 2^nd-best scoring defense in the nation at 56.2 points per game allowed and the second-best field goal percentage defense (36.5). Their 20.1 scoring margin, however, is tops nationally.
Houston's three-point defense is holding opponents to just a 27.9-percent clip from deep, the second-best mark in Division I.
The Cougars also rank in the top-10 in the country in turnover margin (4.8 – 6^th), rebounding margin (7.8 – 7^th) and in fewest turnovers per game (9.7 – 9^th).
The Cougars stand tops nationally in block percentage (16.7), while ranking third in offensive efficiency (121.1) and seventh in defensive efficiency (91.4), according to KenPom.com.

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.