Tigers Prepare for Battle-Tested Privateers

Wednesday, December 3

Memphis, Tenn.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

New Orleans

Dec 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Buy Tickets Live Stats Listen Watch Memphis Game Notes (PDF)New Orleans Game Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis returns to FedExForum Wednesday night looking to build momentum when it hosts New Orleans at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Tigers (2-4) are coming off one of their most complete performances of the year, a 74-58 win over Southern Illinois last Wednesday. After a tough two-week stretch, Memphis used its depth and defensive pressure to get back in the win column, with 14 players seeing time and the bench producing 50 points.

One of the brightest signs was the emergence of 7-foot-1 junior Aaron Bradshaw. After an up-and-down first five games in a Memphis uniform, Bradshaw delivered his best outing of the season, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and a career-high three steals in just 17 minutes. All 14 of his points came in the second half, where he went a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Memphis got production across the roster against SIU. Dug McDaniel and Julius Thedford paced the scoring with 15 points apiece, Quante Berry sparked a key late-first-half run with back-to-back threes, and Hasan Abdul Hakim added quality minutes in his regular-season debut.

The Tigers will now turn their attention to a New Orleans team (2-5) that has proven to be far more dangerous than its record suggests. The Privateers have yet to play a home or neutral-site game this season and arrive in Memphis battle-tested. New Orleans has beaten TCU and rolled past Tulane by 22 points, while also pushing Mississippi State to overtime on Nov. 21, leading by 13 with under six minutes left.

The Privateers' coaching staff also features former Memphis high school standout and rapper Percy "Master P" Miller.

New Orleans is led by one of the most potent guard duos Memphis will see outside conference play. Coleton Benson enters averaging 16.9 points per game and shooting a scorching 41.8% from three-point range (28 made on 67 attempts). Jay Buckley adds 15.3 points per game and leads the team in assists (5.4) while ranking second in rebounding (6.1).

Freshman forward MJ Thomas is the Privateers' top rebounder at 7.4 per game, while 6-10, 260-pound junior Churchill Abass provides physical interior presence with 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in 16.7 minutes.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers vs. New Orleans Privateers
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025 | 7 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Trey Draper, color; Matt Infield, sideline)
Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Ken Moody, analysis)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com

BY THE NUMBERS

2: The number of teams with 14 transfers on its roster this season, which is the most of any team in D I. (Memphis, Southern Miss).
5.7: Dug McDaniel leads the American Conference and ranks 36th in Division I averaging 5.7 assists per game. He has at least five dimes in five of the six games this season.
10.8: Over the last four games, Julius Thedford is second on the team in scoring (10.8) and leads the Tigers in rebounding (5.5). Of his 33 total rebounds this season, 16 have come on the offensive end.
12-0: Aaron Bradshaw's college teams are 12-0 in games when he scores in double figures after putting up 14 against SIU last week. The only active DI player with more wins and zero losses in such games is Terrance Arceneaux (17-0).
16: Consecutive free throws made by Dug McDaniel, who is 19-of-21 at the charity stripe this season (90.5). His last miss was his first of four attempts at Ole Miss (Nov. 11) at the 11:33 mark of the first half.
32.7: Memphis leads the American and ranks 59th nationally with 32.7 bench points per game, after erupting for 50 bench points against SIU. The Tigers averaged only 16.7 points from the bench last season and never scored more than 27 in a game.
41.3: Memphis is getting an average of 41.3 points from its starting unit this season, just 55.9 percent of the team's scoring production. Last season, Memphis' starting five accounted for 78.9 percent of its scoring.

SCOUTING THE PRIVATEERS

Head coach Stacy Hollowell is in his first season at the helm of New Orleans after spending last season as an assistant coach at Texas Southern under Johnny Jones.
Coleton Benson enters Wednesday night's game having made 24-of-24 free throws this season.
- He's one of just six in the country to remain perfect at the free throw line while averaging 2.5 or more made free throws per game.
- The UNO school record for consecutive free throws made is 32 by Terry Gill in December of 1971.
Jakevion Buckley has two double-doubles this season: a 15-point, 12-assist outing at Tulane, and a 25-point and 14-rebound effort at Fresno State.
- His double-double against Tulane was the first points-assists double-double by a Privateer since 2018, and just the seventh since 1996.
- He's one of just 10 in the NCAA with a points-assists double-double this season.
New Orleans is averaging 72.0 points and allowing 81.1, while shooting 41.0 percent from the floor.
The Privateers three-point defense is holding opponents to jus ta 28.2-percent clip, which ranks 46th in Division I.

UP NEXT
Memphis will welcome Baylor to town on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. tip on CBS.

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.