Tigers Head to Tulsa for Strength-on-Strength Matchup Wednesday Night

Wednesday, January 21

Tulsa, Okla.

7:00 PM

University of Memphis

Tulsa

Tigers Head to Tulsa for Strength-on-Strength Matchup Wednesday Night

Jan 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Listen Memphis Game Notes (PDF)Tulsa Game Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Momentum meets measuring stick Wednesday night when the Memphis Tigers travel to Tulsa for a 7 p.m. tipoff against the Golden Hurricane at the Donald W. Reynolds Center on ESPN+.

Memphis (9-8, 4-1 American Conference) enters the road test playing its best basketball of the season, winning five of its last six games and rediscovering its identity on the defensive end. Tulsa (15-3, 3-2 American) presents perhaps the most demanding challenge yet in league play, particularly from beyond the arc.

Simply put, it's strength versus strength.

The Tigers boast one of the nation's best three-point defenses, ranking top-15 nationally and 10th in the country in games holding opponents under 30% from deep (11 times this season). In conference play, Memphis has been even more stingy, limiting American opponents to just 23.2% shooting from three-point range, including 18.6% in first halves.

Tulsa, meanwhile, is elite on the other side of the equation. The Golden Hurricane rank ninth nationally in three-point percentage (39.7%) and lead the American Conference with 10.4 made triples per game.

That collision course figures to define the night.

The Tigers are coming off a season-best offensive performance in a 95-69 win over UTSA on Sunday, a game that featured a season-high 23 assists and four players in double figures. That victory capped a six-game stretch in which Memphis has shown significant growth on both ends of the floor from the first 11 games:

Record: 4-7 → 5-1
3PT%: 30.7% → 37.8%
Opp. PPG: 76.4 → 66.0
Opp. 3PT%: 32.6% → 24.0%
Steals/Gm: 8.7 → 11.3

Penny Hardaway's group has also shown toughness in tight games. Since 2018-19, Memphis ranks fourth nationally in wins in games decided by nine points or fewer.

Senior guard Dug McDaniel continues to set the tone, averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 38.3% from three. He is one of only seven Division I players nationally averaging at least 10.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals and is averaging 7.5 rebounds over his last two games, including a career-high nine against Temple.

But Memphis' offensive resurgence has been fueled by balance.

Sincere Parker is coming off a season-high 22 points against UTSA and has scored 10+ off the bench in eight games this year, tied for second-most in the league. Curtis Givens III is third on the team in scoring (9.2 PPG) and is coming off an American Conference Honorable Mention nod on Monday after averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game last week.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (9-8, 4-1 American) vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (15-3, 3-2 American)
Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Donald W. Reynolds Center (8,355): Tulsa, Oklahoma
Television: ESPN+ (Chad McKee, pxp; Pooh Williamson, color)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Dan O'Brien, color)
Live Stats: www.Memphis.StatBroadcast.com

BY THE NUMBERS

4-1: Memphis is the only American Conference program to start 4-1 or better in league play in each of the last three seasons.
5: Memphis has won five straight vs. Tulsa, including three consecutive on the road. Only three programs this century have won four straight road games at Tulsa: SMU (6 - Jan. 2011 to Feb. 2017), Memphis ( 6 - Feb. 2006 to March 2012), UAB (4 - Feb. 2013 to Jan. 2025).
7: Dug McDaniel is one of only seven Division I players averaging at least 10.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals. Only two American players have finished a season with those averages: Eric Gainer (UAB, 2023-24) & Laquincy Rideau (USF, 2018-19).
8: Sincere Parker has scored 10+ points off the bench in eight games, tied for second-most in the American. He is coming off a season-high 22 points vs. UTSA.
11: Memphis has held opponents under 30% from three in 11 games this season, ranking 10th nationally. The Tigers are holding American Conference opponents to 23.2% shooting from 3-point range overall.
80: Since Penny Hardaway took over prior to the 2018-19 season, Memphis has consistently delivered in tight finishes. The Tigers rank 4th nationally with 80 wins in games decided by nine points or fewer, trailing only Kansas (82), Drake (81) and Virginia (81).
160-70: Memphis has totaled 164 steals and 74 blocks through 17 games this season. The only other time in the last 10 seasons the Tigers reached at least 160 steals and 70 blocks at this point was in 2022-23 (167 steals, 90 blocks).

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE

Tulsa enters Wednesday with 15 wins, already surpassing its total from four of the past five seasons.
Eric Konkol's team recently earned a statement 99-77 road win at UAB, the program's first-ever victory at Bartow Arena.
The Golden Hurricane are dangerous from everywhere on the floor. They have eight players shooting 35.7% or better from three-point range and they rank fifth nationally in free throw percentage (79.0%).
David Green leads the team in scoring (16.7 PPG) and rebounding (5.1 RPG).
Green has been on fire over his last six games, averaging 23.7 points while shooting 53-of-76 (.697) from the field, 14-for-22 (.636) from three and 22-of-30 (.733) from the free throw line.
Green earned American Conference Player of the Week honors Monday after posting 23.5 points per game on 20-for-20 (.667) shooting and hitting 5-of-7 (.714) threes last week. He also grabbed 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to become the first player in the league to earn multiple Player of the Week honors.
Tylen Riley (14.3 PPG, 3.8 APG) and Miles Barnstable (13.7 PPG, 43.2% 3PT) are also averaging double figures.
Tulsa's starting five of Tyler Behrend, Ade Popoola, Barnstable, Green and Riley leads the American Conference lead with a +/- of +87. That ranks them 9th in the country as a group per EvanMiya.com.
Tulsa has shot below 46.2% from three only twice in conference play - both losses to North Texas and South Florida.

UP NEXT
Memphis continues its two-game road swing through the Midwest on Saturday, traveling to Kansas to take on Wichita State at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

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.