Tigers Host Tulane on Senior Night

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In its final regular season home game of the 2016-17 season, the Memphis basketball team will honor its three seniors: Christian Kessee, Chad Rykhoek, and Jake McDowell, prior to its game on Thursday night, which tips off at 8 p.m. CT.

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (18-11, 8-8 American Athletic Conference) vs. Tulane (5-23, 2-14 American Athletic Conference)
When: Thursday, March 2, 2017
Tip-Off: 8:00 p.m. (CT)
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Arena: FedExForum
TV: ESPNU
Richard Cross, play-by-play
JReid Gettys, analyst
Radio: Memphis Radio Network / 600 WREC / Rock 103
Dave Woloshin, play-by-play
Matt Dillon, analyst
Forrest Goodman, pregame / postgame host
Live Stats: Memphis Sidearm Live Stats

SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE

Tulane comes into the game riding a two-game losing skid; however, of the team's last three total losses, the team fell by just five at nationally ranked SMU, by three against East Carolina, and in double overtime on the road at Temple.
    In the loss at Temple - 86-76 - Cameron Reynolds played 48 of a possible 50 minutes, scoring a team-high 21 points while pulling down 11 rebounds. Malik Morgan also had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Melvin Frazier had eight points and eight rebounds, while Morgan led the team with four assists.
    For the season, two players average in double-figure scoring, led by Reynolds' 16.6 points per game, while Frazier averages 11.0. Three others - Morgan (9.9), Kain Harris (9.6), and Ryan Smith (8.5) average between eight and ten points per game.
    Reynolds also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.8 boards per game for a Green Wave team that is out-rebounded by an average of 4.1 boards per contest. Morgan has dished out 118 assists in 28 games, and is second on the team - behind Frazier's 48 - with 30 steals. Smith, one of three players to have played and started in all 28 games during the season, leads the team with 39 blocked shots over 28 games on the season, while also pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game.

SOUTHERN HOSPITATLITY

This season, each of the team's that Tulane has beaten this season, has "South" in its name. The first win of the season came on November 14 against Southeastern Louisiana (93-76). The Green Wave won back-to-back games on December 7 against Southern, 84-75, followed by a 71-75 win at Southern Miss on December 10. The program's last two wins - both in conference - have come against South Florida, on January 11 in an 82-67 win, and on February 18 in a 94-71 victory.

HISTORY WITH THE GOLDEN HURRICANE

Despite having spent 18 seasons as an NBA head coach, 2016-17 is the first season where current Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy has been the head coach at the collegiate level. He has been a part of 1,266 wins as an NBA assistant coach, head coach, general manager, player, and collegiate student-athlete.

1973 REVISITED

During Memphis' run to the 1973 NCAA Championship Game, the squad beat two teams along their run whose players ended up having a big impact on the collegiate game. In the first game of the tournament, the Tigers faced off and defeated South Carolina 90-76. A member of that team, along with future NBA star Alex English was Mike Dunleavy Sr., who scored 12 points while picking up three fouls in the losing effort. Two days later the team topped Kansas State 92-72, and the second-leading scorer for the Wildcats was Lon Kruger, current head coach at Oklahoma.

HIGH AND LOW IN THE CONFERENCE

The Thursday evening meeting between Memphis and Tulane features the coaches in the league that have the most college coaching wins (Tubby Smith, 575 wins), and the fewest wins (Mike Dunleavy, 5 wins).

Rk.	Coach	Yr.	School	Record
1.	Tubby Smith	26	Memphis	575-287 (.667)
2.	Kelvin Sampson	28	Houston	555-307 (.644)
3.	Fran Dunphy	28	Temple	539-298 (.644)
4.	Jeff Lebo	19	East Carolina	323-272 (.543)
5.	Murray Bartow	19	USF	318-251 (.559)
6.	Mick Cronin	14	Cincinnati	301-157 (.657)
7.	Frank Haith	13	Tulsa	244-166 (.595)
8.	Tim Jankovich	10	SMU	191-125 (.604)
9.	Johnny Dawkins	9	UCF	175-125 (.583)
10.	Kevin Ollie	5	UConn	111-58 (.657)
11.	Mike Dunleavy	1	Tulane	5-23 (.179)

SPECIAL GAME AGAINST THE BEARCATS

On Thursday, February 23, Memphis point guard Jeremiah Martin did something that only 17 other players in the country this season have done. Martin scored 23 points - two off of his career-high - and dished out a career-high 11 assists. All of that, and he committed just one turnover in the game makes him one of 17 players to score 20+ points with 10+ assists and one or fewer turnover in a game. Of that group, two players' games came in overtime contests, and another came against a NCAA Division II opponent. He is one of two players in the American Athletic Conference to have done it this season, as Jalen Adams had 25 points, 11 assists and 1 turnover against NCAA Division II opponent Chaminade.

HIGH-QUALITY COMPANY

Through 29 games during the season, and at least three more this season - two in the regular season and one conference tournament game - sophomore Dedric Lawson has season totals of 560 points, 295 rebounds, 97 assists, and 64 blocked shots. Those four totals put Lawson with an elite group of former student-athletes - just seven others since 1992-93 - who have put up similar total numbers over the course of an entire season. Joining Lawson with similar numbers is Chris Webber (1992-93) and Tim Duncan (1995-96 and 1996-97).

TWO OF A KIND

There have been two occurrences in University of Memphis history where a player had 500+ points, 300+ rebounds, and 75+ assists. This season's Dedric Lawson total has him as one of the two, with his sophomore totals of 521 points, 307 points, and 84 assists as the only other occurrence in program history.

CLIMBING THE SCORING LIST

On Tuesday, February 7, Memphis forward Dedric Lawson became the 51st member of Memphis' 1,000-point club. His two-year career total now stands at 1,081, which is the 41st-most in a career in school history. Below is where Lawson stands in the career record books, and the five players immediately ahead of the sophomore, and the amount needed to catch each.

Rk.	Rebs	Student-Athlete	Date	Needs
36.	1,143	James Douglas	1968-71	62
37.	1,122	Ernest Smith	1988-92	41
38.	1,118	Don Holcomb	1969-71	37
39.	1,117	Bob Neumann	1961-64	36
40.	1,112	Baskerville Holmes	1982-86	31
41.	1,081	Dedric Lawson	2015-pres.	-
42.	1,072	Omar Sneed	1997-99
43.	1,062	Will Barton	2011-12

HIGH IN CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES

University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson's 36 career double-doubles have him standing sixth in career double-doubles among players currently active, and the most among sophomores. Below is the list of the top six career double-double leaders currently active.

Rk.	Student-Athlete	Cl.	School	DD
1.	Josh Hawkinson	Sr.	Washington St.	54
2.	Tim Kempton	Sr.	Lehigh	51
3.	Angel Delgado	Jr.	Seton Hall	46
4.	Alec Peters	Sr.	Valparaiso	37
	Ryan Taylor	Sr.	Marshall	37
6.	Dedric Lawson	So.	Memphis	36
7.	James Thompson IV	So.	Eastern Mich.	35
8.	Rokas Gustys	Jr.	Hofstra	34
	Jimmy Hall	Jr.	Kent State	34
10.	Antonio Campbell	Sr.	Ohio	32

LAST TIME AGAINST TULANE

Just under two months ago, the Tigers and Green Wave met for the first time on January 8 in New Orleans for what ended up as an 80-59 Memphis win. In the game, both Dedric Lawson and Markel Crawford scored 24 points. Dedric Lawson added 10 rebounds, five blocked shots, and three assists in 29 minutes of action, while Crawford hit 8-of-11 of his shots from the field and 5-of-6 from long range. K.J. Lawson scored 13 points with eight rebounds, as Memphis out-rebounded Tulane 43-to-32. Tulane's Melvin Frazier and Kain Harris each scored 15 points to lead the squad in scoring.

NEARLY ONE OF A KIND

This season, University of Memphis sophomore Dedric Lawson is averaging 193 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game. He is just the second player since the 1992-93 season (24 seasons) to average such numbers, joining future NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan of Wake Forest (20.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.3 blocked shots) in that grouping. Additionally, there are just two players in that same time span to average at least 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game, and is joined by Houston's Bo Outlaw from the 1992-93 season.

FIRST-TIME COACHES

Both Memphis head coach Tubby Smith and Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. are two of the four coaches that are in their first year at their respective school. Smith and Dunleavy Sr. are joined by UCF's Johnny Dawkins, and SMU's Tim Jankovic.

FIRST YEAR SUCCESS

New University of Memphis head coach Tubby Smith has opened his Memphis career with a 18-11 overall record, which stands as the ninth-best record among coaches in their first year at the current school.

Rk.	Coach	School	Rec. (Pct.)
1.	Tim Jankovich	SMU	25-4 (.862)
2.	Paul Weir *	New Mexico St.	24-5 (.828)
3.	Matt Lottich *	Valparaiso	24-7 (.774)
4.	Grant McCasland *	Arkansas State	20-9 (.690)
5.	Brad Underwood	Oklahoma State	20-9 (.690)
	Johnny Dawkins	UCF	19-10 (.655)
7.	Scott Nagy	Wright State	20-11 (.645)
	Kyle Smith	San Francisco	20-11 (.645)
9.	Tubby Smith	Memphis	18-11 (.621)
	Ryan Odom *	UMBC	18-11 (.630)
11.	Chris Beard	Texas Tech	17-12 (.586)
	Jamie Dixon	TCU	17-12 (.586)
	Allen Edwards *	Wyoming	17-12 (.571)
14.	Josh Pastner	Georgia Tech	16-13 (.552)
15.	Reggie Witherspoon	Canisius	17-14 (.548)
* First Time Head Coaches \| As of games on 2/27/2017

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. An NCAA berth this season would also have him become the first-year coach in program history to reach the NCAA Tournament.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST TULANE

Memphis and Tulane have met 60 times on the basketball court, with the Tigers holding a 47-11 all-time lead (not counting two Memphis wins vacated during the 2008-09 season). The two teams split the season series, with each team winning on its home court. Below is the breakdown of the all-time series between the two programs.

Series Statistics

Overall Series: Memphis leads 47-11 *
Games in Memphis: Memphis leads 27-3 *
Games at New Orleans: Memphis leads 17-8
Games at Neutral Site: Memphis leads 3-0
Current Series Win Streak: Memphis 2 wins
Longest Memphis Win Streak: 22 wins
Longest Tulane Win Streak: 2 wins
Largest Memphis Victory: 40, February 18, 2006
Largest Tulane Victory: 16, February 7, 1991
Most Memphis Points: 105, February 18, 2006
Fewest Memphis Points: 51, March 12, 2009
Most Tulane Points: 97, February 13, 2016
Fewest Tulane Points: 41, March 12, 2009

Jan. 10, 1977	Memphis 78, Tualne 64	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 3, 1977	Memphis 94, Tulane 80	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 28, 1978	Memphis 86, Tulane 78	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 4, 1978	Memphis 101, Tulane 91	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 20, 1979	Memphis 87, Tulane 81 (ot)	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 3, 1979	Memphis 89, Tulane 82 (ot)	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 12, 1980	Memphis 82, Tulane 79	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 23, 1980	Tulane 86, Memphis 74	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 9, 1981	Memphis 67, Tulane 55	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 19, 1981	Memphis 91, Tulane 79	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 21, 1982	Tulane 58, Memphis 54 (ot)	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 25, 1982	Memphis 62, Tulane 60	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 8, 1983	Tulane 58, Memphis 56	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 12, 1983	Tulane 59, Memphis 57	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 7, 1984	Memphis 67, Tulane 65	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 23, 1984	Memphis 57, Tulane 50	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 14, 1985	Memphis 56, Tulane 52	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 20, 1985	Memphis 60, Tulane 49	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 11, 1990	Tulane 81, Memphis 80	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 8, 1990	Memphis 85, Tulane 74	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 12, 1991	Memphis 66, Tulane 64	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 7, 1991	Tulane 85, Memphis 69	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 7, 1991	Memphis 84, Tulane 77	Roanoke, Va.
Mar. 4, 1992	Memphis 68, Tulane 67	New Orleans, La.
Dec. 9, 1992	Tulane 86, Memphis 85	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 2, 1996	Memphis 86, Tulane 75	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 16, 1997	Memphis 62, Tulane 56	New Orleans, La.
Dec. 27, 1997	Memphis 64, Tulane 59	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 18, 1998	Memphis 83, Tulane 77	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 14, 1999	Memphis 83, Tulane 68	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 24, 1999	Tulane 85, Memphis 79	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 9, 2000	Tulane 64, Memphis 63	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 1, 2000	Memphis 77, Tulane 49	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 24, 2001	Memphis 91, Tulane 69	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 10, 2001	Memphis 91, Tulane 64	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 12, 2002	Memphis 78, Tulane 72	New Orleans, La.
Feb. 4, 2002	Memhis 78, Tulane 72	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 7, 2003	Memphis 85, Tulane 73	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 13, 2003	Memphis 58, Tulane 57	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 20, 2004	Memphis 85, Tulane 71	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 12, 2005	Memphis 103, Tulane 71	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 18, 2006	Memphis 105, Tulane 65	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 9, 2006	Memphis 75, Tulane 56	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 20, 2008	Memphis 97, Tulane 71	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 13, 2008	Memphis 75, Tulane 56	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 7, 2009	Memphis 74, Tulane 47	Memphis, Tenn. *
Mar. 12, 2009	Memphis 51, Tulane 41	Memphis, Tenn. *
Feb. 17, 2010	Memphis 77, Tulane 64	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 5, 2011	Memphis 66, Tulane 61	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 15, 2011	Memphis 66, Tulane 61	New Orleans, La.
Jan. 22, 2013	Memphis 71, Tulane 60	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 14, 2013	Memphis 81, Tulane 68	Tulsa, Okla.
Jan. 3, 2015	Tulane 74, Memphis 66	Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 24, 2015	Memphis 57, Tulane 55	New Orleans, La.
Dec. 30, 2015	Memphis 77, Tulane 65	Memphis, Tenn.
Feb. 13, 2016	Tulane 97, Memphis 87 (ot)	New Orleans, La.
Mar. 12, 2016	Memphis 74, Tulane 54	Orlando, Fla.
Jan. 8, 2017	Memphis 80, Tulane 59	New Orleans, La.

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

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Markel Crawford

Christian Kessee

Dedric Lawson

K.J. Lawson

Jeremiah Martin

Jake McDowell

Chad Rykhoek

University of Memphis Athletics