Tubby Smith to Take Memphis to Tulsa

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Tigers will look to remain undefeated in the 2017 calendar year when Tubby Smith takes his Memphis Tigers back to Tulsa to face off against the school where he started his head coaching career.

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (12-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference) vs. Tulsa (7-7, 1-1 American Athletic Conference)
When: Wednesday, January 11
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. (CT)
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Arena: Donald W. Reynolds Center
TV: ESPNews
Dave Lamont, play-by-play
Bryndon Manzer, analyst
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC / Rock 103
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame / postgame host
Live Stats: Tulsa Sidearm Live Stats

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE

Tulsa comes into the Wednesday evening game having dropped three of its last four games, with the only win during that span coming via a 61-59 overtime win against UConn.
    In the team's most recent game, a 64-61 loss at Houston, each team led by as many as six points, but nothing more as the entire game was played with both teams being within two possessions of each other. Junior guard Corey Henderson scored a team-high 16 points, including three three-point field goals. Jaleel Wheeler scored 10 points.
    Sterling Taplin, one of two returning players for the Golden Hurricane, dished out a team-best three assists and both of the team's steals. Will Magnay pulled down nine rebounds, as Tulsa was out-rebounded 37-to-33 in the loss.
    This season Wheeler leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points per game while Junior Etou averages 11.2. Pat Birt - the other returner from a season ago - is just off of the double-figure pace at 9.4 points per game.
    Tulsa out-rebounds its opponents by 3.3 rebounds per game, and is led by Etou who pulls down 6.1 rebounds per game. Taplin has dished out 47 assists, while Magnay has 19 blocked shots in 14 games played.

HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN HURRICANES

Current Memphis head coach Tubby Smith received his first-ever collegiate head coaching position at the University of Tulsa in 1991, and roamed the sidelines for four seasons, leading the Golden Hurricane to a 79-43 overall record, including the program's first two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. His four-year tenure with the program has not been matched since he stepped away from the program after the 1994-95 season to take the head coaching position at Georgia. While with the Golden Hurricane he was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year

COACHING TREE IN A SEASON

In Tulsa's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, current Memphis head coach Tubby Smith had a team that knocked off UCLA and Oklahoma State, before ending the team's run against Arkansas. Among those on that team were current Memphis assistant coach Pooh Williamson and Tulsa assistant coach Shea Seals. Also, assisting Smith was current Radford assistant coach and former Georgia and Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa, and current Manhattan assistant coach and former Tulane head coach Shawn Finney.

FACING HIS FORMER TEAMS

Among the five previous stops for Memphis head coach Tubby Smith, he has faced a school he had previously been a head coach at 23 times, and has a 18-5 record in those games. The 1997-98 season at Kentucky was the first time he had faced a previous team, and he beat Tulsa in the regular season, and then two wins over Georgia during the same season. His first trip for an away game at a previous stop came on January 6, 1998 when his squad won at Georgia 90-79.

REVERSE ORDER OF THE FINISH

Last season, the University of Memphis faced off against Tulsa, Tulane, and UConn in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Over the last two games, the Tigers have faced the same three teams in reverse order, beating UConn 70-61 on January 5, and topping Tulane 80-59 on January 8.

THREE "POWER FIVE" WINS

Since the 1996-97 season - when the Big 12 came into existence - there have been five primary "Power Five" conferences in college athletics - Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 10, Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 12, and Pac 12. In those subsequent 21 seasons, the Tigers have beaten teams in the regular season from three different "Power Five" conferences twice - in the 2005-06 season (SEC, Pac 12, and Big 10), and this season (Big Ten, Big 12, SEC). The 2007-08 team, through its NCAA Tournament run beat schools from four different "Power Five" conferences; however, two of those came during the tournament.

BROTHERLY MARK TO HIT

The table above also reveals another mark that the Lawson brothers are aiming to hit. The Memphis brother duo has the second-highest mark among teammates who are brothers, trailing just Oklahoma's Blake (14.4 rebounds per game) and Taylor (5.8) Griffin for the highest combined rebounding total for brothers.

TWO PLAYERS OF THE WEEK IN ONE WEEK

After the team's performances against UConn and Tulane, junior guard Markel Crawford was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, while Dedric Lawson was named to the Honor Roll. Later on Monday, it was announced that the website College Sports Madness had named Lawson its National Player of the Week.

ONE OF THREE IN THE NCAA

Dedric Lawson ranks seventh in the country in rebounds per game, and 36th in the country in points per game. With that, he is currently the one of two players in NCAA Division I to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game, joining Lehigh's Tim Kempton (21.7 points / 10.4 rebounds) and Valparaiso's Alec Peters (24.2 points / 10.4 rebounds). Additionally, since 1993-94, there have been just 33 players in NCAA Division I to average 20+ points and 11+ rebounds per game, with the last time coming last season with Pascal Siakam.

ONE OF A KIND

This season, Dedric Lawson is averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Since 1993-94, there has been no other player in NCAA Division I to put up those numbers.

HIGH UP IN THE CONFERENCE

University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson is one of 11 players in NCAA Division I, and the only one in the American Athletic Conference, to rank inside of the top-10 in their league standings in points, rebounds, and assists. Lawson is joined by UMass-Lowell's Jahad Thomas, New Hampshire's Jaleen Smith, Richmond's T.J. Cline, Villanova's Josh Hart, Brown's Steven Spieth, North Carolina Central's Patrick Cole, Northern Iowa's Jeremy Morgan, Stephen F. Austin's Thomas Walkup, Fort Wayne's John Konchar, and Gonzaga's Nigel Williams-Goss. Additionally, Lawson, Smith, and Morgan are part of an even more prestigious list, as those three rank in the top-10 in the aforementioned stats, and also blocked shots.

LOW, STARTING JERSEY TOTALS

Over the last five games, the University of Memphis' starting lineup has nearly the lowest jersey total allowed. The Tigers have started #0 (K.J. Lawson), #1 (Dedric Lawson), #2 (Jimario Rivers), #3 (Jeremiah Martin), and #5 (Markel Crawford). The jersey total for that group is 11, one higher than the lowest allowed in a college game of 10. The NBA allows a team to have a low of six, as teams can have both a #0 and a #00.

HIGH ESPN PLAYER RANKING

On January 5, ESPN came out with its updated college basketball player ranking, and No. 23 on that list is Memphis' own Dedric Lawson. He is the only member of an American Athletic Conference squad on the list. The list is led by Villanova's Josh Hart.

TWO NEAR DOUBLE-DOUBLE TOP

This season, Memphis sophomore forward Dedric Lawson has 13 double-doubles, which is tied for second-most in the NCAA. Additionally, with K.J. Lawson's six double-doubles, the Tigers are one of three teams (along with LIU Brooklyn and UCLA) with two players on the team squad where each has 6+ double-doubles on the year.

OH, BROTHER

University of Memphis' Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson are one of 17 sets of brothers currently playing together in the NCAA. Of those 17 pairs, the Lawsons have the highest combined scoring average, rebounding average (the highest tandem rebounding average in the country), and assist average. Below is the complete list of brothers playing in NCAA Division I basketball, and their three primary stat totals.

School	Student-Athletes	PPG	RPG	APG
Memphis	Dedric Lawson	20.4	11.1	3.9
	K.J. Lawson	13.1	8.1	3.0
Miami (Ohio)	Michael Weathers	17.9	4.5	5.3
	Marcus Weathers	8.5	5.2	0.7
Northern Colo.	Jordan Davis	20.3	4.9	5.7
	Gerad Davis	4.7	2.8	0.8
Marshall	Jon Elmore	21.1	4.1	6.5
	Ot Elmore	0.0	0.0	0.0
Old Dominion	Brandan Stith	10.5	8.2	1.3
	B.J. Stith	9.1	3.4	0.9
McNeese	Kalob Ledoux	9.7	3.0	0.8
	Jacob Ledoux	4.3	1.8	0.6
Winthrop	Anders Broman	7.1	1.7	1.2
	Bjorn Broman	6.1	1.5	2.3
Idaho	Nate Sherwood	5.6	4.4	1.1
	Chad Sherwood	5.6	1.7	1.1
Incarnate Word	Jorden Kite	7.3	1.1	0.7
	Jerred Kite	1.1	1.2	0.3
TCU	Brandon Parrish	7.1	3.4	0.8
	Josh Parrish	1.6	1.0	0.4
Denver	Thomas Neff	7.6	2.2	1.4
	Luke Neff	0.7	0.3	0.0
Milwaukee	Brett Prahl	4.8	2.8	0.3
	Alex Prahl	2.0	0.0	0.6
Alabama State	Steve Rogers	5.2	1.9	1.3
	Austin Rogers	1.1	1.1	0.7
Army	Scott Mammel	3.6	0.7	0.7
	Ben Mammel	2.0	1.0	1.0
Stanford	Marcus Allen	4.5	2.5	1.5
	Malcolm Allen	0.9	0.3	0.1
Liberty	Ezra Talbert	2.1	1.2	0.1
	Josiah Talbert	1.6	1.2	0.0
UCLA	Isaac Wulff	1.3	0.5	0.0
	Alec Wulff	1.0	0.2	0.2

POSITIVE RATIO

This season the Memphis Tigers are setting new standards for assists, while also cutting down on the turnovers. As such, the Tigers rank 12th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. Memphis has dished out 286 assists this season against just 184 turnovers. Of the 11 teams immediately ahead of the Tigers, seven nationally ranked including four inside of the top-10. Below are the top 12 in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, with their national ranking noted as well.

Rk.	School	Ast.	TO	Ratio
1.	#20 Notre Dame	285	151	1.89
2.	#4 UCLA	387	210	1.84
3.	#10 West Virginia	284	160	1.78
4.	#6 Kentucky	282	164	1.72
5.	RV Iowa State	226	137	1.65
6.	#8 Creighton	294	179	1.64
7.	#19 Virginia	230	141	1.63
8.	Northwestern	297	184	1.61
9.	Michigan	231	146	1.58
10.	Portland State	263	168	1.57
11.	#21 St. Mary's (Calif.)	263	168	1.57
12.	Memphis	286	184	1.55

ALL-TIME SERIES VS TULSA

The all-time series between the Tigers and Golden Hurricane has been one of runs in the series, as Tulsa opened the series with 11 consecutive wins; however, Memphis answered with runs of eight straight wins and nine straight wins. Tulsa swept the season series two seasons ago, the first time the Golden Hurricane has won more than one game in a row in the series since 1971, and Memphis won both meetings last season.

Series Statistics

Overall Series: Memphis leads 22-15 *
Games in Memphis: Memphis leads 11-8 *
Games at Tulsa: Memphis leads 10-6 *
Games at Neutral Site: Series tied 1-1
Current Series Win Streak: Memphis 2 wins
Longest Memphis Win Streak: 9 games *
Longest Tulsa Win Streak: 11 games
Largest Memphis Victory: 30; February 2, 2013
Largest Tulsa Victory: 18; February 21, 2015
Most Memphis Points: 99; January 15, 1972
Fewest Memphis Points: 43; January 14, 1967
Most Tulsa Points: 94; February 25, 1971
Fewest Tulsa Points: 37; February 11, 2009

Dec. 19, 1964	Tulsa 80, Memphis 63	Tulsa, Okla.
Jan. 14, 1967	Tulsa 54, Memphis 43	Memphis, Tenn.
Dec. 20, 1967	Tulsa 64, Memphis 47	Memphis, Tenn. %
Feb. 3, 1958	Tulsa 52, Memphis 48	Tulsa, Okla. %
Jan. 18, 1969	Tulsa 70, Memphis 69	Tulsa, Okla. %
Feb. 27, 1969	Tulsa 62, Memphis 56	Memphis, Tenn. %
Dec. 11, 1969	Tulsa 82, Memphis 72	Memphis, Tenn. ^
Jan. 17, 1970	Tulsa 77, Memphis 61	Memphis, Tenn. %
Feb. 26, 1970	Tulsa 87, Memphis 78	Tulsa, Okla. %
Jan. 16, 1971	Tulsa 90, Memphis 85	Tulsa, Okla. %
Feb. 25, 1971	Tulsa 94, Memphis 91 (2ot)	Memphis, Tenn. %
Jan. 15, 1972	Memphis 99, Tulsa 72	Memphis, Tenn. %
Feb. 26, 1972	Memphis 91, Tulsa 90	Memphis, Tenn. %
Feb. 10, 1973	Memphis 91, Tulsa 87 (ot)	Tulsa, Okla. %
Jan. 26, 1974	Memphis 67, Tulsa 64	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 20, 1975	Memphis 88, Tulsa 80	Tulsa, Okla.
Feb. 19, 1976	Memphis 91, Tulsa 83	Memhis, Tenn.
Jan. 25, 1989	Memphis 77, tulsa 59	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 27, 2001	Tulsa 72, Memphis 64	New York, N.Y. +
Feb. 1, 2006	Memphis 84, Tulsa 61	Tulsa, Okla. ~
Feb. 25, 2006	Memphis 78, Tulsa 67	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Jan. 24, 2007	Memphis 72, Tulsa 59	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Feb. 14, 2007	Memphis 69, Tulsa 52	Tulsa, Okla. ~
Jan. 23, 2008	Memphis 56, Tulsa 41	Tulsa, Okla. ~ **
Feb. 27, 2008	Memphis 82, Tulsa 67	Memphis, Tenn. ~ **
Mar. 15, 2008	Memphis 77, Tulsa 51	Memphis, Tenn. * **
Jan. 13, 2009	Memphis 55, Tulsa 54	Tulsa, Okla. ~
Feb. 11, 2009	Memphis 63, Tulsa 37	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Mar. 14, 2009	Memphis 64, Tulsa 39	Memphis, Tenn. *
Feb. 13, 2010	Memphis 93, Tulsa 86	Tulsa, Okla. ~
Mar. 6, 2010	Memphis 75, Tulsa 53	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Feb. 2, 2011	Tulsa 68, Memphis 65	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Mar. 3, 2012	Memphis 78, Tulsa 66	Tulsa, Okla. ~
Feb. 2, 2013	Memphis 94, Tulsa 64	Memphis, Tenn. ~
Mar. 15, 2013	Memphis 85, Tulsa 74	Tulsa, Okla. *
Jan. 21, 2015	Tulsa 73, Memphis 55	Tulsa, Okla. v
Feb. 28, 2015	Tulsa 74, Memphis 72 (ot)	Memphis, Tenn. v
Feb. 28, 2016	Memphis 92, Tulsa 82	Memphis, Tenn. v
Mar. 11, 2016	Memphis 89, Tulsa 67	Orlando, Fla. &

% Missouri Valley Conference Game
^ Liberty Bowl Tournament
+ Owens Corning NIT
~ Conference USA Game
* Conference USA Tournament
v American Athletic Conference Game
& American Athletic Conference Tournament
** Win vacated by the NCAA

* Does not include two Memphis win from 2007-08 that were later vacated by the NCAA.

TWO TIME PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After setting an American Athletic Conference record last season by being named the Conference Rookie of the Week six times, two more than the previous high mark, Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson has earned back-to-back Conference Player of the Week honors, the first two of his collegiate career. He is one of three active players to have won two Player of the Week honors in their career.

TEAMING UP ON THE BOARDS

This season Memphis' Lawson duo of Dedric and K.J. combine to average 19.2 rebounds per game. That is the highest teammate average in the country. Dedric Lawson ranks eighth, while K.J. Lawson ranks 94th. Below are the top ten teammate rebounding totals in the NCAA this season.

Rk.	School	Student-Athletes	Rebs.
1.	Memphis	Dedric Lawson (11.1)	19.2
		K.J. Lawson (8.1)
2.	Seton Hall	Angel Delgado (11.7)	18.8
		Ismael Sanogo (7.1)
3.	Purdue	Caleb Swanigan (12.9)	18.4
		Isaac Haas (5.5)
4.	UCF	Tacko Fall (10.7)	18.2
		A.J. Davis (7.5)
	Hofstra	Rokas Gustys (12.8)	18.2
		Ty Greer (5.4)
6.	Toledo	Steve Taylor Jr. (11.8)	18.1
		Jordan Lauf (6.3)
7.	UCLA	Thomas Welsh (9.1)	17.9
		TJ Leaf (8.8)
8.	LIU Brooklyn	Jerome Frink (9.1)	17.7
		Nura Zanna (8.6)
8.	Georgia Tech	Ben Lammers (9.9)	17.6
		Quinton Stephens (7.7)
	California	Ivan Rabb (10.8)	17.4
		Kingsley Okoroh (6.8)

PUSHING TOWARDS A RECORD

Memphis head basketball coach Tubby Smith is tied for the NCAA all-time record, having taken five schools (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas Tech) to the NCAA Tournament. He is tied with Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger.

NOVEMBER WINS

Memphis ended the month of November with a 6-1 record, which ties the program record for the most wins in the month. The six victories ties the mark set by the 2007-08 season for wins in the 11th month of the calendar year.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Markel Crawford

Dedric Lawson

K.J. Lawson

Jeremiah Martin

Jimario Rivers

University of Memphis Athletics