Tigers Welcome No. 16 Ole Miss Saturday for White Out Game on ESPN2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Refreshed from a holiday break, the Memphis Tigers look to get back on the winning track Saturday at 1 p.m. when No. 16 Ole Miss visits FedExForum for a showdown on ESPN2 in the nonconference finale.

Saturday's is a white out, so fans are encouraged to show up in your white Memphis gear.

The Tigers (9-3) are coming off a 79-66 home loss to Mississippi State last weekend in Memphis. PJ Haggerty scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting while going 8-for-11 at the line.

Senior guard Tyrese Hunter contributed 19 points on four triples while also adding three rebounds and three assists.

Memphis has already played three games against SEC programs this season, earning an 83-75 win over Missouri in the season opener. The Tigers are 11-3 against Power Five programs the last two seasons and 5-3 against the SEC.

In a series that dates all the way back to 1922-23, Saturday will mark the 46^th meeting all-time between Memphis and Ole Miss, with the Tigers leading 29-16.

Just 85 miles separate Memphis and Ole Miss, and five of the last six meetings between the programs have been decided by single digits. In the last meeting in Memphis, the Tigers knocked off the Rebels, 68-57, on Dec. 3, 2022 behind a monster double-double from DeAndre Williams with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kendric Davis and Alex Lomax each added 14 points.

Memphis leads the all-time series 21-3 at home, with Ole Miss' last win in Memphis coming in 2015.

A win for the Tigers would give them 10 nonconference wins for the fourth time in seven seasons under Penny Hardaway, including the third-consecutive year.

A key to success for Memphis this season has been its ability to make three-pointers and get to the free throw line. The Tigers are 10^th in the nation in 3-point percentage (40.5) and have six games with eight or more makes. They also enter the contest 12^th in the country in free throws made per game (19.1) and 14^th in free throws attempted per game (25.8).

Their 19.1 makes per game would rank seventh all-time in program history, and the most since 1971-72 (20.6).

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (9-3) vs. #16 Ole Miss (11-1)
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN2 (John Schriffen, pxp; Daymeon Fishback, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
Satellite: SiriusXM 382 / SXM App 972

BY THE NUMBERS

1st: PJ Haggerty is the only player in Division I averaging at least 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He is on pace to becoming the first DI player to record that stat line in a season since Lester Hudson (UT Martin) in 2008-09.
1: Memphis is the only in the nation that has at least seven combined Quad 1 & 2 wins this season. The Tigers' four Q2 wins are the most in the country.
6-0: Memphis' record this season when it pulls in more rebounds than its opponent.
13: Memphis owns 13 wins against SEC opponents in seven years under Penny Hardaway, his most wins against any power conference as a head coach. The Tigers have defeated eight SEC programs and own a 13-10 record.
73.1: Points per game allowed by the Tigers in the team's nine wins. In their three losses, that number jumps to 84.7 points per game. Memphis is also shooting 47.2 percent from the floor in the wins and 40.5 percent in the defeats.
98: The number of three-pointers Memphis has this season, which are the most by any Tiger team through the first 12 games of the season since at least 2010-11.

SCOUTING OLE MISS

Ole Miss enters the matchup 11-1 on the year, but will enter only its second true road game of the season. The other was Dec. 3 at Louisville, winning 86-63.
The Rebels are ranked 16^th in both the AP and the Coaches polls. It's the highest they've reached in 12 seasons in the AP poll.
Chris Beard is in his second season at the helm of the program, holding a 31-13 record.
Under Beard, Ole Miss owns a non-conference record of 24-1 over the past two seasons, which is the best in all of college basketball.
Ole Miss has dominated the turnover battle this year, leading the nation with a turnover margin of +7.8 while ranking third in turnovers per game (8.8).
The Rebels are forcing nearly twice as many turnovers than they commit, with an average of 16.7 per contest which ranks 12th in the NCAA.
They've also been a force on the defensive end with an average of 10.4 steals per game (No. 8 in NCAA), paced by Sean Pedulla, who ranks No. 14 in steals per game nationally.
Ole Miss has held opponents to 60 points or less in four games this season, allowing an average of just 63.6 per contest.
Pedulla leads four double-digit scorers for the Rebels at 14.8 points per game. He is also tied for the team-lead with 30 triples.
Jaylen Murray is next on the team at 13.3 points, followed by Matthew Murrell's 12.3 and Dre Davis' 11.7 clip.

SERIES HISTORY VS. OLE MISS

In a series that dates all the way back to 1922-23, Saturday will mark the 46th meeting all-time between Memphis and Ole Miss, with the Tigers leading 29-16, including a 21-3 mark in Memphis.
Just 85 miles separate Memphis and Ole Miss, and five of the last six meetings between the programs have been decided by single digits.
In the last meeting in Memphis, the Tigers knocked off the Rebels, 68-57, on Dec. 3, 2022 behind a monster double-double from DeAndre Williams with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Kendric Davis and Alex Lomax each added 14 points.
Memphis leads the all-time series 21-3 at home, with Ole Miss' last win in Memphis coming Dec. 18, 2015 (85-79).
Last season, Memphis lost its fourth-straight in Oxford (80-77), despite leading by seven at the half.
David Jones led the team with 22 points, while Nicholas Jourdain added 10 points and 7 rebounds.

UP NEXT
Memphis gears up for AAC action as the Tigers head to Florida Atlantic on January 2 for a 6 p.m. CT tilt on ESPN2 against the Owls. The Tigers will then return home for a pair of contests against North Texas (Jan. 5 – 4 p.m.) and East Carolina (Jan. 11 – 1 p.m.)

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.

Tigers Welcome No. 16 Ole Miss Saturday for White Out Game on ESPN2

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kendric Davis

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

David Jones

Nicholas Jourdain

Alex Lomax

DeAndre Williams

University of Memphis Athletics

Tigers Welcome No. 16 Ole Miss Saturday for White Out Game on ESPN2

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kendric Davis

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

David Jones

Nicholas Jourdain

Alex Lomax

DeAndre Williams

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