No. 18 Memphis Welcomes Rice to FedExForum on Wednesday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The No. 18 Memphis Tigers close the month of February Wednesday night against Rice, looking to extend their stretch of 13 wins in the last 15 games. Tip-off at FedExForum is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Wednesday's contest marks the third-straight home game that Memphis has played against the 'Owls' - Temple (Feb. 9) and Florida Atlantic (Feb. 23).

With four games remaining in the regular season, Memphis remains in first place in the American Athletic Conference with a 12-2 league record. The Tigers are one game up on North Texas and UAB, who both are 11-3 in conference. Memphis owns the tiebreaker over both teams.

The Tigers officially locked up one of the top-four seeds in next month's AAC Championship in Sunday's 84-65 win over Florida Atlantic to earn a double-bye into the quarterfinals set for Friday, March 14.

Dain Dainja continued his dominance with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in the win, while PJ Haggerty also added 22 points with six rebounds. Colby Rogers finished with 15 points and a team-high three 3-pointers.

Memphis opened the month with an 86-83 victory at Rice behind the 26-point performance from Haggerty in front of nearly 100 friends and family. The Tigers extended their lead in the overall series to 10-2.

The Tigers have won 12-straight games against AAC opponents on their home floor. The last loss came last season against Rice (74-71) on Jan. 31, 2024. Memphis is 4-1 against the Owls at home.

Rice is led by graduate guard Trae Broadnax with 12.9 points per game and 4.3 assists, which is third in the American. He is also second on the team with 5.4 rebounds.

Head coach Rob Lanier is in his first season at the helm of Rice after spending the previous three as head man at SMU. He is 154-150 in nine seasons in his head coaching career.

UP NEXT
Memphis heads to Birmingham for a rematch with the AAC's second-place tea, UAB, on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Tigers will follow with a two-day turnaround to play at UTSA on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (22-5, 12-2 AAC) vs. Rice Owls (13-15, 4-11 AAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 | 7 p.m.
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Trey Draper, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

5th: The Tigers enter Wednesday ranked No. 5 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 39.6% (218-of-551). The school record for a season is 38.8% in 2009-10.
8: Straight games Memphis has recorded a positive assist-turnover ratio. It is the longest stretch since going 10-consecutive over two seasons from
Feb. 28 to Nov. 22, 2016.
9.5: Rebounding average for Moussa Cisse over his last four games. He's also averaging 8.8 points and shooting 66.7% overall during the stretch. He ranks 9th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (16.7), according to KenPom.com.
11: Straight games that PJ Carter has made at least one 3-pointer in. He ranks 2nd on the team in conference play with a 41.7 % mark from 3-point range (25-of-60).
12: Memphis has won 12-straight AAC games at FedExForum, but its last loss came to Rice last season, 74-71, on Jan. 13, 2024 (span of 392 days).
16: Memphis enters the game having pulled down exactly 16 offensive rebounds in three-straight games. They are averaging 17.7 second-chance points in that span. They have 15+ offensive boards in 11 games this year, including in 6-straight entering Rice.
19-0: Memphis' record this season when leading with five minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers are also 14-0 when leading at the half. Memphis is 61-5 the last three years when holding a lead with five minutes to play.
39: PJ Haggerty had attempted a free throw in 39 straight games before not getting one against FAU on Sunday. He is 10th in the NCAA in free throw makes (158) this season. All 11 of his made field goals against FAU came from 2-point range.

SCOUTING RICE

The Owls started AAC play with back-to-back wins at Tulsa (70-64) and at home over Charlotte (68-55), but have since dropped 11 of their last 13 games.
They are, however, coming off a 71-50 win over Tulsa at home on Saturday.
The Owls are scoring 71.5 points per game while allowing just 69.8, good for third in the American.
Rice is connecting on 42.6% from the field and 34.8% from three. It is third in the league in field goal percentage defense (41.7%), while allowing just 32.8% from three.
The Owls are pulling down 38.6 rebounds per game (40th NCAA) while the opposition is grabbing 34.5, which are third and fourth in the conference, respectively.
Junior Denver Anglin is averaging 8.8 points. He is connecting on 39.0% from three, good for ninth in the conference, while hitting 80.0% from the free throw line.
Junior forward Caden Powell is second on the team with 9.9 points per game while grabbing a team-high 7.0 rebounds, good for eighth in the AAC. He's also fifth in the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 59.5% from the floor.

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. 18 Memphis Welcomes Rice to FedExForum on Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

PJ Carter

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Colby Rogers

University of Memphis Athletics

No. 18 Memphis Welcomes Rice to FedExForum on Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

PJ Carter

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Colby Rogers

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