Tigers Look to Get Back on Track Sunday at SMU

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men's basketball team is in Dallas to take on SMU Sunday afternoon in the final game of its Texas swing. Tip-off at Moody Coliseum is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN.

As the stretch run heats up, Memphis is coming off a 76-66 defeat at North Texas Thursday night that halted the Tigers' three-game win streak. Memphis needs wins as it currently sits sixth place in the American Athletic Conference standings with a 7-5 record with six games remaining in the regular season.

The Tigers enter Sunday two games behind SMU for fourth place. The top-four teams in the conference receive a double-bye in next month's AAC Championship.

Memphis leads the all-time series with the Mustangs 19-15 after taking four-straight meetings, including a 62-59 decision earlier this season at FedExForum. The Tigers trailed by as many as 15 and didn't take their first lead in the game until the 8:19 mark in the second half.

Memphis held the Mustangs to just 25.8-percent shooting after halftime, setting up Jahvon Quinerly's game-winning triple in the final seconds. David Jones led the Tigers with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

The Tigers will look to sweep SMU in the regular season in back-to-back seasons after not having done so prior since 2008-09.

UP NEXT
Memphis returns home for a big week at FedExForum. The Tigers will host two of the top three teams in the AAC standings. Charlotte will visit for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Feb. 21 before No. 24 Florida Atlantic invades the Bluff City for a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, Feb. 25.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (18-7, 7-5 AAC) at SMU (18-7, 9-3 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024 | 3 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum (7,000); Dallas, Texas
Television: ESPN (John Schriffen, pxp; Jon Crispin, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Player in the nation averaging at least 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game this season: David Jones. He would be the first player to record those numbers in Division I since Zion Williamson in 2018-19 and the first Memphis Tiger to do so since Penny Hardaway in 1992-93. In fact, since 1992-93, Memphis would be one of only four teams in the country to have multiple players finish with that line (Memphis, Ball State, VMI, UT-Martin).
5.8: Assists per game for Jahvon Quinerly over his last five contests. He's recorded 6+ dimes in four of the five. His 4.9 assists per game this season would be the highest total by a Tiger since Antonio Burks' 5.5 average in 2003-04.
20-12: Over the last three games, David Jones is averaging 20.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game with three-straight double-doubles. The senior forward has also knocked down 10-19 from distance (52.6) in that span. He has seven double-doubles on the year and leads the AAC with 15 games of 20+ points.
80.2: Memphis' points per game average this season, which would be the highest single-season scoring average since 1985-86 when the Tigers scored 82.4. Only three other teams in that span eclipsed 80.0.
100: Career games played for Nicholas Jourdain when he takes the floor Sunday at SMU. He would be the sixth Tiger on the roster to eclipse the century mark for career games played.

SCOUTING SMU

The Mustangs are 18-7 on the year and are riding a five-game win streak after an 87-79 win at Tulane on Thursday.
SMU is led in scoring by preseason All-AAC selection Zhuric Phelps (14.6) and Chuck Harris (13.5).
Phelps is also averaging 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Harris has a team-best 3.6 assists per game (8^th AAC) with a 1.80 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Samuell Williamson is the team's leading rebounder at 7.6 per contest, which ranks fourth in the league.
In the second season under head coach Rob Lanier, the Mustangs' defense is among the best in the country.
SMU is limiting opponents to 39.4 percent shooting (1^st AAC, 12^th NCAA) from the field.
Their three-point defense (29.3%) leads the league and ranks 15^th in the country.
Opponents are averaging just 65.2 points (3^rd AAC, 28^th NCAA).
The Mustangs are averaging 8.6 steals, 5.1 blocked shots and have a +5.7 in rebound margin.

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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Players Mentioned

David Jones

Nicholas Jourdain

Jahvon Quinerly

University of Memphis Athletics