No. 21 Tigers, Bulldogs Clash Saturday Morning on CBS

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Riding the momentum of another marquee win, the No. 21/22 Memphis Tigers go for a third-straight victory Saturday morning at FedExForum against No. RV/25 Mississippi State. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m., and the game will be televised on CBS.

A win Saturday would make Memphis 5-0 against the Bulldogs in the last five meetings, which would be the best stretch in series history by either program.

Memphis (9-2) went on the road and took down Virginia, 64-62, in comeback fashion Wednesday night. Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers have a chance to pick up their third win over a power conference program in eight days and their fifth overall this season.

Mississippi State enters the game with a 10-1 overall record and ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. The Bulldogs dropped one spot to No. 26 in the AP Poll despite having won four-straight games. Their last defeat came Nov. 27 against Butler (87-77) in the title game of the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe.

Saturday's game is an opportunity for the Tigers to get to eight wins against Quad 1 & 2 teams and claim their 10th victory in three seasons over an SEC foe.

Memphis has three Quad I wins so far this season (No. 2 UConn, Michigan State, No. 16 Clemson).

The Tigers were 2-3 in Quad I games a season ago.

Only one team in the country have a combined six Quad I & 2 victories this season – Memphis.

Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday's Holiday Game HERE.

GAME DETAILS
No. 21/22 Memphis Tigers (9-2) vs. No. RV/25 Mississippi State (10-1)
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024 | 11:30 a.m.
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: CBS (Chris Lewis, pxp; Steve Lappas, analyst)
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analyst)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com

BY THE NUMBERS

1st: PJ Haggerty is the only player in Division I averaging at least 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He is on pace to becoming the first DI player to record that stat line in a season since Lester Hudson (UT Martin) in 2008-09.
1: Memphis is the only in the nation that has at leas six combined Quad 1 & 2 wins this season.
13: Memphis owns 13 wins against SEC opponents in seven years under Penny Hardaway, his most wins against any power conference as a head coach. The Tigers have defeated eight SEC programs and own a 13-9 record.
17-3: The Tigers' record against Power Five opponents the last three seasons dating back to a Dec. 14, 2021 win over No. 6 Alabama. The only three defeats were at No. 4 Alabama (91-88), at Ole Miss (80-77) and versus No. 4 Auburn (90-76).
84-13: Memphis' record at FedExForum in seven seasons under head coach Penny Hardaway. Against non-conference teams, they are 38-4.

THE LAST TIME OUT

The No. 21/22 Tigers came from behind to take down Virginia, 64-62, Wednesday night on the road.
The Tigers shot 37.5 percent for the game, led by redshirt-sophomore guard PJ Haggerty with a game-high 27 points. He finished 8-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the stripe.
Senior forward Dain Dainja recorded another double-double, grabbing 11 rebounds, seven of them being offensive, and recorded 12 points.
Senior guard Tyrese Hunter chipped in 11 points while also adding three rebounds and three assists.
Memphis struggled from three-point range, converting just 5-of-23 attempts, the fewest of the season.
The Tigers reeled off a 26-9 run to start the second half to turn a 30-21 halftime deficit into a 47-39 lead midway through the period.
The Cavaliers cut it to one possession before PJ Carter and Hunter nailed back-to-back triples and Moussa Cisse slammed home a putback to stretch the advantage out to a game-high nine points.
A three-pointer from Haggerty and four free throws in the final 30 seconds sealed the win for the Tigers.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE

Mississippi State enters the matchup 10-1 on the year, but will enter only its second true road game of the season.
The Bulldogs are ranked 25^th in the Coaches Poll, and just missed the line in the AP (26^th).
Chris Jans is in his third season as head coach of the Bulldogs, holding a 52-28 overall record.
Under Jans, Mississippi State has recorded six victories over AP Top 25 opponents and are 33-5 in non-conference contests.
The Bulldogs take care of the ball as well as any team in the country, ranking second nationally with just 8.9 miscues per game.
They also rank 14^th in turnover margin (+5.5), 14^th in bench points per game (34.36), 20^th in steals per game (9.9) and 29^th in assists per game (17.5).
Josh Hubbard leads a trio of double-figure scorers at 18.0 points per game and leads all of Division I with a 13.0 assist/turnover ratio (39 ast – 3 to).
He's shooting the ball at 44.3 percent overall and paces the squad with 37 made triples (40.7%).
Claudell Harris Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring (10.7), while KeShawn Murphy is just behind with 10.2 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
Cam Matthews is averaging 7.2 points and 7.2 boards, but ranks 16^th in the country with 2.55 steals per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE

Saturday's game will be the 26th all-time meeting between the programs.
The Tigers own a 14-11 advantage in a series that dates back to 1946-47.
Memphis is 7-7 all-time at home against the Bulldogs, having not lost since Dec. 10, 1983.
The two schools, separated by 180 miles, have played just twice since 1984-85.
Both games were postseason matchups - the first saw Memphis defeating the Bulldogs in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Little Rock, Ark., 77-74.
The last meeting also saw Memphis winning (77-64) against MSU in the Championship game of the 2021 NIT in Frisco, Texas.
In the last meeting, Boogie Ellis led the Tigers with 23 points against Mississippi State, while adding four three-pointers and five dimes.
D.J. Jeffries added 15 points and blocked five shots, and DeAndre Williams had 12 points.
Lester Quinones grabbed 16 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and he was named to the NIT All-Tournament Team.
Cam Matthews led Mississippi State with 19 points (8-13 FG), six rebounds and three dimes.
Moussa Cisse finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks for Memphis.

UP NEXT
The Tigers will return from the holiday break to welcome No. 17/16 Ole Miss at 1 p.m. on Dec. 28 in a matchup on ESPN2. Fans can purchase tickets to the game HERE.

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.

No. 21 Tigers, Bulldogs Clash Saturday Morning on CBS

Next Event

Players Mentioned

PJ Carter

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

DeAndre Williams

University of Memphis Athletics

No. 21 Tigers, Bulldogs Clash Saturday Morning on CBS

Next Event

Players Mentioned

PJ Carter

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

DeAndre Williams

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