Tigers Host Former Coach Josh Pastner and UNLV Sunday

Sunday, November 16

Memphis, Tenn.

4:00 PM

University of Memphis

UNLV

Tigers Host Former Coach Josh Pastner and UNLV Sunday

Nov 15, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis men's basketball team is back in action Sunday afternoon when the UNLV Runnin' Rebels come to town for a 4 p.m. showdown on ESPN inside FedExForum.

This will be just the seventh meeting all-time between the programs, but only the second in the last 30 years. Memphis went to Las Vegas last season for the first road trip of the year and came away with an 80-74 victory. The Tigers trailed by as many as 12 points, but shot 71.4 percent (20-of-28) after halftime. UNLV has only visited Memphis once on Dec. 5, 1986, where the Runnin' Rebels eeked out an 80-77 victory.

Memphis (1-1) is coming off a narrow road loss at Ole Miss on Tuesday. The Tigers led by five early, but hot shooting from the Rebels in the first half carried them to an 83-77 victory. The Tigers did get a career night from Curtis Givens III, who led the team with 20 points – 15 came after halftime. Ashton Hardaway finished with 16 points, one shy of matching his career high, and Dug McDaniel recorded 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

In the two games, the Tigers have averaged 76.0 points while shooting 42.9-percent from the field and 35.4-percent from three-point range.

UNLV head coach Josh Pastner makes his first return to FedExForum in nearly 10 years when he leads the Runnin' Rebels against the Memphis Tigers on Sunday. Pastner spent seven seasons at Memphis (2009-16), compiling a 167-73 record, the fourth-most wins in program history.

During his tenure, he guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, three conference championships across Conference USA and the American Conference, and two regular-season titles from 2011-13. He produced five 20-win seasons in his first five years as head coach, including a 31-win campaign in 2012-13, and developed several future NBA players, including Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Tarik Black, and Adonis Thomas.

Pastner was also named the 2013 Conference USA Coach of the Year, and now returns to Memphis as an opposing head coach in a familiar - but changed - arena.

Fans can experience Memphis Basketball all season long with several ticket options available now. Visit GoTigersGoTix.com or call the Memphis Ticket Office at (901) 678-2331 for more information.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers vs. UNLV Runnin' Rebels
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025 | 4 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tennessee
Television: ESPN (Mike Corey, pxp; Mark Adams, color)
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Trey Draper, analysis)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Dug McDaniel is the first Tiger in at least the last 30 years (since 1996-97) to have at least 25 points, 15 assists and five steals through his first two games of a season. He is only the second player in American Conference history to do so, joining USF's Laquincy Rideau in 2018-19.

5: In just two outings, there has already been five Memphis players who have scored at least 15 points in a game, the most of any American team this season.
7-2: Memphis' record all-time against the Mountain West Conference (.778). One of those losses came last season to Colorado State in the NCAA Tournament.
11: Memphis is on an 11-game home winning streak, tied for the team's second longest under head coach Penny Hardaway (16 between 2021-22 and 2022-23). Additionally, this is the longest active home win streak by a current American team.
20: Curtis Givens III is coming off a career-high 20 points Tuesday night at Ole Miss. He scored 15 of those points after the break and only had four double-digit cames in his career prior.
38.1: Through two games, Memphis is shooting 38.1% (8/21) from deep during the second half compared to 33.3% (9/27) during the first half. Last season, the Tigers led all of DI with a 42.9% mark from 3-point range in the second half.
94.8: Memphis' percent of scoring this season from Division I transfers (145-of-153), which is the second-highest rate in DI. Only UCF (99.3%) is higher.

SCOUTING THE RUNNIN' REBELS

UNLV will face its first road test of the season under former Memphis head coach Josh Pastner.
The Runnin' Rebels are 1-2 overall, coming off a 102-93 loss to Montana after a 101-69 win over Chattanooga, which marked the program's first 100-point game against a Division I opponent since 2017.
Four players are averaging double figures in scoring: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn with 19.0 points per game, Kimani Hamilton with 16.0, Naas Cunningham with 15.0, and Issac Williamson with 11.0.
Tyrin Jones leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 per game, while Howie Fleming Jr. tops the team in assists at 3.3 per contest.
This is the first season under head coach Josh Pastner, who brings 15 years of collegiate head coaching experience and a 277-189 career record, including seven-year stints at both Memphis and Georgia Tech. During his time at Memphis, Pastner compiled a 167-73 record (.696), led the team to five postseason appearances (2010 NIT; NCAA Tournament 2011-2014), won three Conference USA tournament championships (2011, 2012, 2013), and two regular-season titles (2012, 2013). His Memphis teams also signed the No. 1 recruiting class in 2010 and the No. 2 class in 2013.
UNLV has just one returning player, Jacob Bannarbie, who joins 13 newcomers, including eight Division I transfers, a former international professional, a junior college transfer, and three freshmen.
The Runnin' Rebels rank 42nd nationally in field goal percentage (51.5%), 11th in free throw attempts per game (33.7), and are averaging 91.7 points per game while allowing 85.7.

UP NEXT
Memphis will head to the Bahamas next week for the Baha Mar Championship on Nov. 20-21. The Tigers will play two games in Nassau, facing No. 1 Purdue on Thursday (5 p.m. CT) before getting either No. 11 Texas Tech or Wake Forest on Friday (TBD).

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.