No. 17 Tigers Tussle with Temple Sunday Afternoon at FedExForum

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With only four home games remaining in the regular season, the Memphis Tigers are back at FedExForum Sunday for a 1 p.m. tipoff against Temple on ESPN2 for Superhero Day.

Temple will be the first repeat opponent Memphis has faced this conference season, and it's a game the Tigers have been looking forward to.

The Owls (14-9, 6-4 AAC) handed Memphis its last loss – the only defeat in league play – back on Jan. 16 in Philadelphia, 88-81. The Tigers got outrebounded by 24 and outhustled.

Since that game, however, Memphis has reeled off six-straight wins and climbed to No. 17 in the nation. The Tigers also sit alone atop the conference table at 19-4 overall and 9-1 in The American. North Texas is a game behind at 8-2.

Sunday's contest will likely see plenty of points as Temple ranks third in the league in scoring (80.7) and Memphis is just behind at fourth (79.0). The game also features two of the top four scorers in the country.

The Owls' Jamal Mashburn Jr. enters the weekend No. 2 nationally at 22.1 points per game, while PJ Haggerty is fourth at 21.7.

Memphis is coming off an 83-71 win against Tulsa on Wednesday at FedExForum, where Haggerty and Dain Dainja combined for 44 points and shot 67.0 percent from the floor (20-of-30).

The Tigers recorded 20 assists to only eight turnovers in the contest, their best ratio of the season. They have recorded at least 20 dimes now in three of their last four games after not having done so once in the first 19 games this season.

Haggerty was named to two midseason watch lists this week – the Oscar Robertson Trophy and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award – just a couple weeks after also being named to the Wooden Award midseason top-25 list in January.

He enters the weekend fourth in Division I in scoring (21.7) and in free throws made (145). He is the only player in the nation to rank in the top four of both categories.

Haggerty is on the verge of becoming the first Memphis Tiger since Penny Hardaway in 1992-93 to average at least 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in a single season. He is currently the only player in the nation that has played at least 10 games and putting up those numbers.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Doctor Bradley would join him, but he's only played in nine games this year.

GAME DETAILS
No. 17/15 Memphis Tigers (19-4, 9-1 AAC) vs. Temple (14-9, 6-4 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 | 1 p.m.
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN2 (Mike Corey, pxp; David Padgett, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

1-of-1: The nation's 4^th-leading scorer PJ Haggerty is the only player in the country with at least 130 made field goals, 130 made free throws and 30 made 3-pointers. He is top-25 in the country in all three categories.
1^st: The Tigers are No. 1 in the nation in 3-point percentage at 40.3% (186-of-462) after hitting 9-of-21 (.429) against Tulsa. The school record for a season is 38.8% in 2009-10.
4: Straight games with at least nine made 3-pointers for Memphis entering Sunday. It's only the third time in the last 12 years (since 2013-14) that the Tigers have hit 9+ triples in four consecutive games.
11.2: Average margin of victory for the Tigers in their current six-game win streak. They have a 23-point win, two 12-point victories and three others by single digits.
14-0: Record this season when the Tigers make more 3-pointers than their opponent, matching the wins they had all last season. They are also 11-0 when they win the rebounding battle and 11-0 with more assists dished.
23: Times under Penny Hardaway that his Tigers have shot 50% or better while dishing 20+ assists in a game; all 23 have resulted in Memphis wins. The Tigers hit the 50-20 mark on Wednesday (vs. Tulsa) for the third time in their last four games.
58-6: Overall record the last three seasons when the Tigers are leading with five minutes remaining in the game, including 16-0 this season.
61-3: Memphis' record under head coach Hardaway when shooting 50% overall in a game, including a perfect 39-0 at home. The Tigers are 9-1 this season when hitting 50% and have done so five times in AAC play.
71.7: Field goal percentage (38-53) for Dain Dainja over the last six games, which ranks second in the AAC in that span. He is averaging 14.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the win streak.
82: Total assists (48 turnovers) for Memphis over its last four games. It marks the best 4-game stretch total since Dec. 15-29, 2018 when the Tigers had 87 assists (69 TOs).

SCOUTING THE OWLS

Temple enters Sunday 3-3 in the six games since hosting Memphis in January, after suffering a 100-91 double overtime loss at South Florida Thursday night.
It was their third-straight overtime game.
Temple is 2-6 on the year in true road games, including a 1-4 mark against conference opponents. Its only win was at Rice (73-70) on Jan. 11.
The Owls are the best team in the AAC, and rank fifth nationally, when it comes to earning and making free throws. They average 19.7 makes and 26.8 attempts per game.
Graduate guard Jamal Mashburn, Jr., ranks No. 2 in the country in scoring with 22.1 points per game. He's also leads the league in field goal attempts (369). and is tied with Haggerty for the most 20-point games on the year (16).
Redshirt senior forward Steve Settle III is third on the team with 11.7 points. He leads the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game, and is 10th in the conference with 1.04 blocks per game. He has a team-high four double-doubles on the year.
Sophomore guard Zion Stanford is second on the team in scoring (12.2), while redshirt sophomore guard Quante Berry is averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds, while leading the team with 29 steals.
The Owls enter the game averaging 80.7 points per game (3^rd AAC) and are allowing a league-worst 77.9 to their opponents.

UP NEXT
The Tigers head back out for another two-game road swing. They will travel to Orlando to face South Florida on Thursday (Feb. 13) at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2, before trekking to Wichita State for an 11 a.m. tip on Sunday (Feb. 16).

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. 17 Tigers Tussle with Temple Sunday Afternoon at FedExForum

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

University of Memphis Athletics

No. 17 Tigers Tussle with Temple Sunday Afternoon at FedExForum

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

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