University of Memphis Athletics
Thursday, November 28
Brooklyn, N.Y.
3 PM
University of Memphis
vs
NC State
Sophomore guard Alex Lomax (2) leads the American Athletic Conference with 4.8 assists per game.
Photo by: Matthew Smith
Tigers, Wolfpack meet at Barclays Center Classic
Nov 27, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Thanksgiving Day matchup in Brooklyn, N.Y. tips off at 3 p.m.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For the second time this season, the University of Memphis will travel to a neutral site to play a formidable opponent in a NBA arena.
On Thanksgiving Day at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the 16th-ranked Tigers (5-1) will play North Carolina State (5-1) in a game that tips off at 3 p.m. (CT). The UofM has won three straight since dropping an 82-74 decision Nov. 12 to Oregon at Portland's Moda Center, home to the NBA's TrailBlazers.
North Carolina State has won five straight after dropping its opener, 82-81, in overtime to Georgia Tech.
The Tigers will be playing in New York for the first time since meeting Louisville in December 2017 at Madison Square Garden. The game is part of the Barclays Center Classic.
This trip will be a homecoming for two Tigers – freshmen Precious Achiuwa and Lester Quinones – who played high school basketball in the area. Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9 forward, and Quinones, a 6-foot-5 guard, played at the same high school – St. Benedict's Prep.
Achiuwa will be coming off back-to-back double-doubles in victories over Little Rock and Ole Miss, performances that earned him the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor. Quinones, unfortunately, will miss the game after breaking two bones in his right hand during first-half action last weekend against Ole Miss. He is out at least three weeks, but will not require surgery.
"Actually, I feel very, very bad for Lester, it hurts me a lot," Achiuwa said of Quinones being sidelined for Thursday's game. "This is a game we both talked about a lot before coming to Memphis . . . going back home and playing on a big stage in front of our families."
Achiuwa ranks second on the team in scoring (15.0) and rebounding (8.3) to 7-foot-1 All-America center James Wiseman, who is out until Jan. 12 per a recent NCAA ruling. Reserve forward D.J. Jeffries is averaging 14 points per game and shooting 56.7 percent.
"(Losing Quinones) hurts us because we (were already) down a man with James (Wiseman) being out," said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. "It makes the other guys step up and they did a pretty good job against an Ole Miss team at home.
"We'll have to play their hearts out in New York against North Carolina State."
The Wolfpack boasts one of most experienced backcourts in the Atlantic Coast Conference. C.J. Bryce, a 6-foot-5 guard, leads NC State with a 17.7 average, one of four averaging double figures. The redshirt senior returned as the program's leader in rebounds and steals from a season ago.
"They have four guys averaging double digits and another three or four who are averaging eight or nine points," Hardaway said. "They are deep. They are eight or nine (players) deep. They are guard-oriented and their guards score at a high level. We'll have our work cut out for us."
NOTES
On Thanksgiving Day at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., the 16th-ranked Tigers (5-1) will play North Carolina State (5-1) in a game that tips off at 3 p.m. (CT). The UofM has won three straight since dropping an 82-74 decision Nov. 12 to Oregon at Portland's Moda Center, home to the NBA's TrailBlazers.
North Carolina State has won five straight after dropping its opener, 82-81, in overtime to Georgia Tech.
The Tigers will be playing in New York for the first time since meeting Louisville in December 2017 at Madison Square Garden. The game is part of the Barclays Center Classic.
This trip will be a homecoming for two Tigers – freshmen Precious Achiuwa and Lester Quinones – who played high school basketball in the area. Achiuwa, a 6-foot-9 forward, and Quinones, a 6-foot-5 guard, played at the same high school – St. Benedict's Prep.
Achiuwa will be coming off back-to-back double-doubles in victories over Little Rock and Ole Miss, performances that earned him the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor. Quinones, unfortunately, will miss the game after breaking two bones in his right hand during first-half action last weekend against Ole Miss. He is out at least three weeks, but will not require surgery.
"Actually, I feel very, very bad for Lester, it hurts me a lot," Achiuwa said of Quinones being sidelined for Thursday's game. "This is a game we both talked about a lot before coming to Memphis . . . going back home and playing on a big stage in front of our families."
Achiuwa ranks second on the team in scoring (15.0) and rebounding (8.3) to 7-foot-1 All-America center James Wiseman, who is out until Jan. 12 per a recent NCAA ruling. Reserve forward D.J. Jeffries is averaging 14 points per game and shooting 56.7 percent.
"(Losing Quinones) hurts us because we (were already) down a man with James (Wiseman) being out," said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. "It makes the other guys step up and they did a pretty good job against an Ole Miss team at home.
"We'll have to play their hearts out in New York against North Carolina State."
The Wolfpack boasts one of most experienced backcourts in the Atlantic Coast Conference. C.J. Bryce, a 6-foot-5 guard, leads NC State with a 17.7 average, one of four averaging double figures. The redshirt senior returned as the program's leader in rebounds and steals from a season ago.
"They have four guys averaging double digits and another three or four who are averaging eight or nine points," Hardaway said. "They are deep. They are eight or nine (players) deep. They are guard-oriented and their guards score at a high level. We'll have our work cut out for us."
NOTES
- Memphis and NC State will be playing for the fifth time and for the first time since 1998. The lone Memphis victory in the series came during the 1982-83 season when the Tigers posted a 57-53 victory in Raleigh, N.C.
- The Tigers are playing a game in Brooklyn for the first time since the 1952-53 season against St. Francis of New York.
- The UofM is ranked 16th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second straight week.
- Memphis is averaging 16,132 through five home games to lead the American Athletic Conference.
- Tigers reserve guard Alex Lomax leads the conference in assists (4.8 per game) and ranks third in field goal percentage (64.3 percent; 18 of 28).
Players Mentioned
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