No. 19 Memphis Prepared for Snowy Showdown against East Carolina on Kids Day

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 19 Memphis Tigers go for a fourth-straight win on a snowy Saturday afternoon at FedExForum in an American Athletic Conference battle against East Carolina on Kids Day. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.

Memphis Athletics asks that fans be careful getting to the arena.

We will still be celebrating Kids Day at FedExForum with face painters, balloon artists, a youth t-shirt giveaway for the first 300 fans (ages 12 & under) and two divisions of halftime baby races presented by the University of Memphis Global.

Memphis (13-2, 2-0 AAC) defeated North Texas 68-64 last weekend to finish off a perfect first week of conference action after opening up at Florida Atlantic with a 90-62 thumping. The Tigers got 27 points from PJ Haggerty, who capped the week with his third AAC Player of the Week honor of the season and a nod on the John Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List.

Haggerty finished the UNT contest 11-of-14 shooting, becoming the first Tiger since DeAndre Williams in 2022 to score at least 25 points and shot 75% in a game.

The Pirates enter the game with just two wins in their last eight games. After losing three-straight, they did get their first AAC victory on Wednesday with an 80-79 win at home over Temple.

East Carolina is led by RJ Felton's 17.4 points per game, which ranks sixth in the league. He is the team's second-leading rebounder (6.8) and owns six games of double-digit points.

On the glass, C.J. Walker leads the Pirates and ranks eighth in the conference at 7.3 boards per outing.

Saturday's meeting is the 32^nd all-time between the programs with Memphis leading 26-5. The Tigers lead the series 15-1 at home and has won nine of the last 10 matchups overall dating back to 2017-18.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (12-3, 2-0 AAC) vs. East Carolina Pirates (9-7, 1-2 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 | 1 p.m.
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Trey Draper, analysis; Matt Infield, sideline)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

1: PJ Haggerty is the only player in the country averaging at least 22.0 points, 5.0 and 2.0 steals per game. His 333 total points are seventh most in DI, while his 30 steals are 54^th.
3-0: Memphis is looking to start 3-0 in conference play for only the second time in the last 12 seasons. Prior to last season, the Tigers had not started 3-0 in league play since 2012-13.
10-0: Record this season when Memphis leads with five minutes remaining in the game. They are 1-3, however, when trailing at that mark. In the last five seasons, the Tigers are 88-12 when ahead at the 5-minute mark and 9-26 when trailing.
16.0: Points per game by Colby Rogers over the last three games; the 2^nd-leading scorer for the Tigers over that stretch. He's scoring at a 53.1% clip from the floor (17-32) and 41.2% from three-point land (7-17).
19.4: Career scoring average for PJ Haggerty, which is the top mark among all active Division I players. Vanderbilt's Jason Edwards is next best at 18.5 points per game.
53.2: Nicholas Jourdain's field goal percentage in the 12 Tiger wins (25-47), compared to 36.8 percent in the team's three losses (7-19).
58-3: Memphis' record under head coach Penny Hardaway when shooting 50% overall in a game, including a perfect 37-0 at home. The Tigers have shot over 50% in two-straight games entering Saturday.
85: Memphis has attempted 85 more free throws and made 66 more than its opponents this season. The Tigers are 280-379 (73.9%) and their opponents are 214-294 (72.8%).

SCOUTING THE PIRATES

East Carolina (9-7, 1-2 AAC) looks to build on the momentum of Wednesday night's 80-79 win over Temple as the team hits the road and faces one of its tallest tasks of the season.
The Pirates are led in scoring by All-AAC Preseason First Team guard RJ Felton's 17.4 points per game and the senior adds 6.8 rebounds per game.
C.J. Walker supplies secondary scoring with 16.8 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 7.4 per game while Jordan Riley averages 14.4 ppg and 6.0 rpg to round out ECU's double figure scorers.
The quartet of Felton, Walker, Riley and Cam Hayes make up 76 percent of the Pirates' point production.
ECU is looking to get its first win over an opponent ranked in the Associated Press poll since Feb. 3, 2021 when the Pirates downed No. 5 Houston, 82-73 inside Minges Coliseum.
It was the highest ranked win for the Pirates and snapped a 35-game losing streak to AP ranked foes.
The Pirates are 4-81 all-time against opponents ranked in the AP poll and have never defeated an AP ranked team on the road with a record of 0-56 against ranked opponents on the road.

UP NEXT
Memphis hits the road for a pair of contests this upcoming week. The Tigers travel to Temple on Thursday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2) and then to Charlotte next Sunday (2 p.m. CT, ESPN2 or ESPNU).

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.

University of Memphis Athletics

No. 19 Memphis Prepared for Snowy Showdown against East Carolina on Kids Day

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Colby Rogers

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