University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Tigers Host Pirates in Weekend Meeting
Jan 27, 2017 | Men's Basketball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Tigers will look to shake off its loss at Temple from Wednesday evening, with a 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon game against the East Carolina Pirates at FedExForum.
GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (15-6, 5-3Â American Athletic Conference) vs. East Carolina (10-11, 2-6Â American Athletic Conference)
When: Saturday, January 28, 2017
Tip-Off: 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Arena: FedExForum
TV: ESPNews
  Greg Gaston, play-by-play
  Stephen Howard, analyst
Radio:Â Memphis Radio Network / 600 WRECÂ / Rock 103
  Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
  Matt Dillon, analyst
  Forrest Goodman, pregame / postgame host
Live Stats: Memphis Sidearm Live Stats
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East Carolina comes into the game after snapping a six-game American Athletic Conference losing skid with a 69-66 home win over Tulsa on January 25.
   In the win over the Golden Hurricane, Kentrell Barkely had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, as Andre Washington (8 points, 12 rebounds) and Deng Riak (6 points, 11 rebounds) narrowly missed double-doubles themselves. Elijah Hughes scored 12 points, as Jeremy Sheppard had nine points and a game-high seven assists off of the bench.
   East Carolina out-rebounded Tulsa 49-to-39, and had six blocked shots - three from Washington - and five steals - three coming from Barkley.
   For the season the team is led by injured guard B.J. Tyson, who averages 11.9 points per game; however, has not played in the last three contests. Barkley stands second on the team in scoring (11.6 points per game), rebounding (7.1 rebounds per game), and assists (57). Caleb White is the third and final Pirate player to average in double-figures at 10.7 points per game, although Hughes (9.3) and Sheppard (8.0) are just off of the plateau.
   East Carolina out-rebounds its opponents by a rebound and a half per game, as Washington pulls down 7.4 rebounds to go with his 7.2 point per game average. Washington also leads the team with 59 blocked shots, a total that ranks 11th in NCAA Division I. Sheppard has a team-high 58 assists, as Barkley leads the team with 23 steals.
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Dedric Lawson stands tied for eighth in school history in career double-doubles with 31, and has 14 this season. That total has him ranking fifth in the country. Below are the top five double-double leaders in NCAA Division I this season.
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University of Memphis sophomore guard Jeremiah Martin has become one of the country's leaders in steals, and has pilfered 42 total steals this season, and averages 2.0 steals per game, which ranks 35th in the country.
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When K.J. Lawson earned the Player of the Week honor, he became the third different Tiger to be named Player of the Week this season. That figure ties an American Athletic Conference record for the most different players from one school to earn the award in a year. The Tigers join Tulsa from last season, and SMU and UConn from the 2014-15 season.
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New University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith has opened his Memphis career with a 15-6 overall record, which stands as the fourth-best record among coaches in their first year at the current school. Below is a list of the top 14 such coaches, ranked by winning percentage.
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University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson has scored 930 points over his one-plus seasons with the program, and is one of a small number of sophomores at or near the 1,000-point plateau. Below is a list of the top 10 sophomore career scorers in the country.
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East Carolina comes into the game with the eighth-best opponent field goal percentage in NCAA Division I. Of the top eight teams, the Tigers will have five games against those squads. Of those include two total games against UCF (first), one game against Cincinnati (second), one game against South Carolina (fourth), and one game against East Carolina (eighth). Additionally, Memphis has seven games against teams ranked in the top-20 in scoring defense, including four total games against UCF and SMU, whom Memphis faces twice each and rank second and third in the country.
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This season Memphis ranks in the top-100 in 22 team categories, including total blocks (16th), assist-to-turnover ratio (19th), blocked shots per game (20th), total assists (20th), and assists per game (23rd). For a full breakdown of where Memphis ranks in the country, and the American Athletic Conference, see page 12 of this notes package.
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On January 13 it was announced that East Carolina head coach Jeff Lebo would undergo hip surgery, and be sidelined indefinitely. Pirate assistant coach Michael Perry is currently serving as acting head coach in Lebo's absence. Perry is in his 10th season with ECU, and came to the Pirates after five years as head coach at Georgia State.
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University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith has strong ties to the state of North Carolina, including spending four years in the state as a member of the High Point basketball program - a tenure that netted him University Hall of Fame honors this past summer. Despite being in the same state, Greenville, N.C. (home of ECU) and High Point, N.C. (home of HPU) are on in different quadrants of the state, High Point being more centralized in the state while East Carolina being located, obviously, in the eastern part of the state.
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The University of Memphis is the only school in the American Athletic Conference with two players ranking inside of the top-10 in points, rebounds, and assists (p-r-a). Dedric Lawson and Markel Crawford rank 2nd and 8th in the league in scoring. Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson rank second and third in the conference in rebounding, while Jeremiah Martin and Dedric Lawson rank fourth and tenth, respectively in assists.
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The majority of student-athletes on the East Carolina squad are from North Carolina; however, one of the outliers on the team is freshman guard Shawn Williams, who is from nearby Little Rock, Arkansas. Williams is not playing this season having to complete one year of academic residency before starting his career next year. He played his high school at Maumelle High School.
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This season, East Carolina came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, and opened the season with a 7-2 record through nine games. Those seven wins came over Grambling State, North Carolina A&T, Stetson, Florida A&M, Air Force, Hampton, and North Carolina Central. ECU also got a jump in the conference season, winning the opener over USF 60-49, before falling in six straight conference games, eventually snapping that skid on the 25th with a win at home against Tulsa.
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Of East Carolina's 10-11 overall record, the squad is 9-4 when playing in Greenville, North Carolina, and 0-6 in true road games. They are also 1-1 in neutral site games (loss over Mercer and win over Air Force).
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When Markel Crawford scored 30 at home against the USF Bulls on Saturday, January 14, he became the second member of the Tigers to score 30+ points in a game. At the time, it gave the Tigers the only sets of teammates on the list; however, during the previous mid-week game, UCF's Matt Williams drained 11 three-pointers to join Tacko Fall on the list.
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Memphis stands with a 206-113 record all-time against the other 10 teams in the American Athletic Conference. New Memphis head coach Tubby Smith is 16-6 all-time against teams from the league.
* Does not include wins vacated by the NCAA from the 2007-08 season: Connecticut 1; Cincinnati 1; East Carolina 1;Houston 2; SMU 2; Tulane 2; Tulsa 3; UCF 1
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The Memphis Tigers have climbed into 20th place in Division I in blocked shots per game. Additionally, Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson has moved into 19th place individually in the same category. Below are the top three teams, and the two surrounding Memphis; and the top three individuals and the two surrounding Lawson in the NCAA standings in blocked shots per game.
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Memphis has faced off against East Carolina 19 times, with the Tigers holding a commanding 16-3 all-time advantage. In the series, the winning margin has been within seven points just five times.
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There are 18 schools within the state of North Carolina that play athletics in NCAA's top division. That stands as the fourth-most Division I schools within a state border, behind only California (24), New York (22), and Texas (21). Against those 18 schools, Memphis has faced half, to a 27-15 all-time record.
* Does not include a win from 2008-09 that was vacated by the NCAA.
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GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (15-6, 5-3Â American Athletic Conference) vs. East Carolina (10-11, 2-6Â American Athletic Conference)
When: Saturday, January 28, 2017
Tip-Off: 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Arena: FedExForum
TV: ESPNews
  Greg Gaston, play-by-play
  Stephen Howard, analyst
Radio:Â Memphis Radio Network / 600 WRECÂ / Rock 103
  Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
  Matt Dillon, analyst
  Forrest Goodman, pregame / postgame host
Live Stats: Memphis Sidearm Live Stats
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SCOUTING THE PIRATES
East Carolina comes into the game after snapping a six-game American Athletic Conference losing skid with a 69-66 home win over Tulsa on January 25.
   In the win over the Golden Hurricane, Kentrell Barkely had a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double, as Andre Washington (8 points, 12 rebounds) and Deng Riak (6 points, 11 rebounds) narrowly missed double-doubles themselves. Elijah Hughes scored 12 points, as Jeremy Sheppard had nine points and a game-high seven assists off of the bench.
   East Carolina out-rebounded Tulsa 49-to-39, and had six blocked shots - three from Washington - and five steals - three coming from Barkley.
   For the season the team is led by injured guard B.J. Tyson, who averages 11.9 points per game; however, has not played in the last three contests. Barkley stands second on the team in scoring (11.6 points per game), rebounding (7.1 rebounds per game), and assists (57). Caleb White is the third and final Pirate player to average in double-figures at 10.7 points per game, although Hughes (9.3) and Sheppard (8.0) are just off of the plateau.
   East Carolina out-rebounds its opponents by a rebound and a half per game, as Washington pulls down 7.4 rebounds to go with his 7.2 point per game average. Washington also leads the team with 59 blocked shots, a total that ranks 11th in NCAA Division I. Sheppard has a team-high 58 assists, as Barkley leads the team with 23 steals.
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DOUBLE-DOUBLING UP
Dedric Lawson stands tied for eighth in school history in career double-doubles with 31, and has 14 this season. That total has him ranking fifth in the country. Below are the top five double-double leaders in NCAA Division I this season.
Rk. | Student-Athlete | Cl. | School | D-D |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Caleb Swanigan | So. | Purdue | 17 |
2. | Bryce Washington | Jr. | Louisiana | 16 |
3. | Angel Delgado | Jr. | Seton Hall | 15 |
Steve Taylor | Sr. | Toledo | 15 | |
5. | Dedric Lawson | So. | Memphis | 14 |
THIRD PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Monday, January 23, K.J. Lawson was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Lawson averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
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On Monday, January 23, K.J. Lawson was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Lawson averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
STOP, THIEF
University of Memphis sophomore guard Jeremiah Martin has become one of the country's leaders in steals, and has pilfered 42 total steals this season, and averages 2.0 steals per game, which ranks 35th in the country.
Rk. | Student-Athlete | Cl. | School | SPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Joseph Chartouny | So. | Fordham | 3.6 |
... | ||||
31. | Tim Bond | Jr. | Eastern Mich. | 2.1 |
J.J. Frazier | Sr. | Georgia | 2.1 | |
Jahvaughn Powell | Jr. | Nicholls | 2.1 | |
34. | Donovan Mitchell | So. | Louisville | 2.1 |
35. | Jeremiah Martin | So. | Memphis | 2.0 |
Six Others | 2.0 |
THREE TIMES AWARD WINNERS
When K.J. Lawson earned the Player of the Week honor, he became the third different Tiger to be named Player of the Week this season. That figure ties an American Athletic Conference record for the most different players from one school to earn the award in a year. The Tigers join Tulsa from last season, and SMU and UConn from the 2014-15 season.
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FIRST-YEAR SUCCESS
New University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith has opened his Memphis career with a 15-6 overall record, which stands as the fourth-best record among coaches in their first year at the current school. Below is a list of the top 14 such coaches, ranked by winning percentage.
Rk. | Coach | School | Record |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Paul Weir * | New Mexico St. | 18-2 |
2. | Tim Jankovich | SMU | 18-4 |
3. | Matt Lottich * | Valparaiso | 16-4 |
4. | Tubby Smith | Memphis | 15-6 |
5. | Jamie Dixon | TCU | 14-6 |
Chris Beard | Texas Tech | 14-6 | |
Johnny Dawkins | UCF | 14-6 | |
Grant McCasland * | Arkansas State | 14-6 | |
9. | Kyle Smith | San Francisco | 14-7 |
Scott Nagy | Wright State | 14-7 | |
Allen Edwards * | Wyoming | 14-7 | |
12. | Ryan Odom * | UMBC | 13-7 |
13. | Kevin Stallings | Pittsburgh | 12-8 |
14. | Reggie Witherspoon | Canisius | 12-9 |
* First Time Head Coaches | As of games on 1/25/2017 |
YOUNG AND (NEAR A) GRAND
University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson has scored 930 points over his one-plus seasons with the program, and is one of a small number of sophomores at or near the 1,000-point plateau. Below is a list of the top 10 sophomore career scorers in the country.
Rk. | Student-Athlete | School | Games | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
172. | Tyler Hall | Montana State | 52 | 1,064 |
188. | Mike Daum | South Dakota St. | 57 | 1,049 |
189. | Marcus Evans | Rice | 52 | 1,048 |
206. | Chris Clemons | Campbell | 50 | 1,012 |
253. | Derick Newton | Stetson | 56 | 937 |
259. | Dedric Lawson | Memphis | 54 | 930 |
269. | Tookie Brown | Georgia Southern | 51 | 921 |
294. | Dwayne Bacon | Florida State | 55 | 895 |
286. | Nick Emery | BYU | 57 | 889 |
352. | Nick Mayo | Eastern Kentucky | 53 | 830Â |
GETTING DEFENSIVE AGAINST THE TIGERS
East Carolina comes into the game with the eighth-best opponent field goal percentage in NCAA Division I. Of the top eight teams, the Tigers will have five games against those squads. Of those include two total games against UCF (first), one game against Cincinnati (second), one game against South Carolina (fourth), and one game against East Carolina (eighth). Additionally, Memphis has seven games against teams ranked in the top-20 in scoring defense, including four total games against UCF and SMU, whom Memphis faces twice each and rank second and third in the country.
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TOP-100 IN THE COUNTRY
This season Memphis ranks in the top-100 in 22 team categories, including total blocks (16th), assist-to-turnover ratio (19th), blocked shots per game (20th), total assists (20th), and assists per game (23rd). For a full breakdown of where Memphis ranks in the country, and the American Athletic Conference, see page 12 of this notes package.
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ACTING HEAD COACH
On January 13 it was announced that East Carolina head coach Jeff Lebo would undergo hip surgery, and be sidelined indefinitely. Pirate assistant coach Michael Perry is currently serving as acting head coach in Lebo's absence. Perry is in his 10th season with ECU, and came to the Pirates after five years as head coach at Georgia State.
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NORTH CAROLINA TIES
University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith has strong ties to the state of North Carolina, including spending four years in the state as a member of the High Point basketball program - a tenure that netted him University Hall of Fame honors this past summer. Despite being in the same state, Greenville, N.C. (home of ECU) and High Point, N.C. (home of HPU) are on in different quadrants of the state, High Point being more centralized in the state while East Carolina being located, obviously, in the eastern part of the state.
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TWO IN TOP-10 OF P-R-A
The University of Memphis is the only school in the American Athletic Conference with two players ranking inside of the top-10 in points, rebounds, and assists (p-r-a). Dedric Lawson and Markel Crawford rank 2nd and 8th in the league in scoring. Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson rank second and third in the conference in rebounding, while Jeremiah Martin and Dedric Lawson rank fourth and tenth, respectively in assists.
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LOCAL FLARE FOR ECU
The majority of student-athletes on the East Carolina squad are from North Carolina; however, one of the outliers on the team is freshman guard Shawn Williams, who is from nearby Little Rock, Arkansas. Williams is not playing this season having to complete one year of academic residency before starting his career next year. He played his high school at Maumelle High School.
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HOT START FOR THE PIRATES
This season, East Carolina came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, and opened the season with a 7-2 record through nine games. Those seven wins came over Grambling State, North Carolina A&T, Stetson, Florida A&M, Air Force, Hampton, and North Carolina Central. ECU also got a jump in the conference season, winning the opener over USF 60-49, before falling in six straight conference games, eventually snapping that skid on the 25th with a win at home against Tulsa.
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HOME COOKING
Of East Carolina's 10-11 overall record, the squad is 9-4 when playing in Greenville, North Carolina, and 0-6 in true road games. They are also 1-1 in neutral site games (loss over Mercer and win over Air Force).
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2x 30+
When Markel Crawford scored 30 at home against the USF Bulls on Saturday, January 14, he became the second member of the Tigers to score 30+ points in a game. At the time, it gave the Tigers the only sets of teammates on the list; however, during the previous mid-week game, UCF's Matt Williams drained 11 three-pointers to join Tacko Fall on the list.
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MEMPHIS FIRST THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Memphis stands with a 206-113 record all-time against the other 10 teams in the American Athletic Conference. New Memphis head coach Tubby Smith is 16-6 all-time against teams from the league.
SCHOOL | Memphis | Smith |
---|---|---|
Cincinnati | 32-40 * | 1-0 |
UConn | 3-6 * | 1-1 |
East Carolina | 15-3 * | 1-0 |
Houston | 29-14 * | 3-1 |
SMU | 10-9 * | 0-1 |
Temple | 8-9 | 0-1 |
Tulane | 47-11 * | 3-0 |
Tulsa | 22-16 * | 2-1 |
UCF | 19-1 * | 3-0 |
USF | 23-4 | 1-0 |
Totals | 207-113 * | 16-6 |
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BLOCKING THE LEADERS
The Memphis Tigers have climbed into 20th place in Division I in blocked shots per game. Additionally, Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson has moved into 19th place individually in the same category. Below are the top three teams, and the two surrounding Memphis; and the top three individuals and the two surrounding Lawson in the NCAA standings in blocked shots per game.
Rk. | School | G | Blks | BPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Oregon | 20 | 153 | 7.7 |
2. | Washington | 20 | 133 | 6.7 |
3. | Georgia Tech | 20 | 130 | 6.5 |
... | ||||
18. | Oakland | 21 | 116 | 5.5 |
Florida State | 21 | 116 | 5.5 | |
20. | Memphis | 21 | 114 | 5.4 |
21. | Eastern Washington | 20 | 108 | 5.4 |
22. | Penn State | 21 | 113 | 5.4 |
Michigan State | 21 | 113 | 5.4 | |
Syracuse | 21 | 113 | 5.4 |
Rk. | Student-Athlete | Cl. | School | BPG |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Liam Thomas | Sr. | Nicholls | 4.10 |
2. | Ben Lammers | Jr. | Georgia Tech | 3.35 |
3. | Justin Tuoyo | Sr. | Chattanooga | 3.25 |
... | ||||
17. | Tacko Fall | So. | UCF | 2.50 |
Kingsley Okoroh | Jr. | California | 2.50 | |
19. | Dedric Lawson | So. | Memphis | 2.48 |
20. | Joniah White | Jr. | Louisiana Tech | 2.45 |
21. | Dominic Robb | So. | Niagara | 2.43 |
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST EAST CAROLINA
Memphis has faced off against East Carolina 19 times, with the Tigers holding a commanding 16-3 all-time advantage. In the series, the winning margin has been within seven points just five times.
Overall Series: Â Memphis leads 16-3
Games in Memphis: Memphis leads 8-1
Games in Greenville, N.C.:Â Memphis leads 7-2
Games at Neutral Site: Memphis leads 1-0
Current Series Win Streak: Memphis, one game
Longest Memphis Win Streak: nine games
Longest East Carolina Win Streak: Â two games
Largest Memphis Victory: 41; January 9, 2008
Largest East Carolina Victory: 11; Two Times
Most Memphis Points: 99; January 9, 2008
Fewest Memphis Points: 53; February 10, 2015
Most East Carolina Points: 84; January 24, 2016
Fewest East Carolina Points: 44; February 27, 1984
Games in Memphis: Memphis leads 8-1
Games in Greenville, N.C.:Â Memphis leads 7-2
Games at Neutral Site: Memphis leads 1-0
Current Series Win Streak: Memphis, one game
Longest Memphis Win Streak: nine games
Longest East Carolina Win Streak: Â two games
Largest Memphis Victory: 41; January 9, 2008
Largest East Carolina Victory: 11; Two Times
Most Memphis Points: 99; January 9, 2008
Fewest Memphis Points: 53; February 10, 2015
Most East Carolina Points: 84; January 24, 2016
Fewest East Carolina Points: 44; February 27, 1984
Feb. 4, 2003 | Memphis 74, East Carolina 49 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Feb. 11, 2004 | Memphis 79, East Carolina 73 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Feb. 2, 2005 | Memphis 72, East Carolina 66 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Jan. 11, 2006 | Memphis 77, East Carolina 67 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Jan. 20, 2007 | Memphis 61, East Carolina 44 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Jan. 9, 2008 | Memphis 99, East Carolina 58 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ ** |
Jan. 28, 2009 | Memphis 85, East Carolina 64 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Jan. 13, 2010 | Memphis 77, East Carolina 57 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Jan. 8, 2011 | Memphis 61, East Carolina 58 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Mar. 2, 2011 | East Carolina 68, Memphis 57 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Mar. 11, 2011 | Memphis 76, East Carolina 56 | El Paso, Texas * |
Feb. 8, 2012 | Memphis 70, East Carolina 59 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Feb. 22, 2012 | Memphis 70, East Carolina 47 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Jan. 9, 2013 | Memphis 67, East Carolina 54 | Memphis, Tenn. ~ |
Jan. 30, 2013 | Memphis 75, East Carolina 68 | Greenville, N.C. ~ |
Jan. 28, 2015 | Memphis 70, East Carolina 58 | Memphis, Tenn. v |
Feb. 10, 2015 | East Carolina 64, Memphis 53 | Greenville, N.C. v |
Jan. 24, 2016 | East Carolina 84, Memphis 83 | Memphis, Tenn. v |
Mar. 6, 2016 | Memphis 83, East Carolina 53 | Greenville, N.C. v |
~ = Conference USA Game | * = Conference USA Tournament | ||
v = AAC Game | ** = Win vacated by the NCAA |
MEMPHIS VS SCHOOLS IN NORTH CAROLINA
There are 18 schools within the state of North Carolina that play athletics in NCAA's top division. That stands as the fourth-most Division I schools within a state border, behind only California (24), New York (22), and Texas (21). Against those 18 schools, Memphis has faced half, to a 27-15 all-time record.
SCHOOL | Memphis | Smith |
---|---|---|
Appalachian State | 0-0 | 2-0 |
Campbell | 0-0 | 1-0 |
Charlotte | 8-6 | 0-0 |
Davidson | 0-1 | 0-0 |
Duke | 0-1 | 1-3 |
East Carolina | 15-3 * | 1-0 |
Elon | 1-0 | 0-0 |
Gardner-Webb | 0-0 | 0-0 |
High Point | 0-0 | 5-0 |
NC State | 1-3 | 0-0 |
North Carolina | 0-0 | 5-4 |
North Carolina A&T | 0-0 | 0-0 |
North Carolina Central | 1-0 | 0-0 |
UNC Asheville | 0-0 | 1-0 |
UNCG | 1-0 | 0-0 |
UNC Wilmington | 1-0 | 0-0 |
Wake Forest | 1-1 | 0-0 |
Western Carolina | 0-0 | 1-0 |
Totals | 29-15 | 17-7 |
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