No. 21 Tigers Look to Continue Momentum Sunday Afternoon Hosting North Texas

No. 21 Tigers Look to Continue Momentum Sunday Afternoon Hosting North Texas

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The No. 21 Memphis Tigers look to continue its momentum and extend their two-game win streak Sunday afternoon when North Texas visits FedExForum for an American Athletic Conference showdown on ESPN at 4 p.m.
Memphis (11-3, 1-0 AAC) routed Florida Atlantic 90-62 Thursday night in Boca Raton in its conference opener behind 20 points from Tyrese Hunter, 19 from PJ Haggerty, 16 from Dain Dainja and 11 from Colby Rogers, while Moussa Cisse grabbed 11 rebounds for the second-straight game.

The 28-point victory was the largest for the Tigers since a 94-54 win over Tulane in the 2023 AAC Championship, and the largest in a conference opener since defeating East Carolina 99-58 on Jan. 9, 2008.

The Tigers return to the building where they've enjoyed a plethora of success under head coach Penny Hardaway. In seven seasons at the helm, Memphis is 85-14 inside FedExForum and has not lost three games at home since the 2019-20 campaign. The Tigers are 4-2 at home this season.

In a series that dates all the way back to 1959, Sunday's meeting will be the 25th all-time between Memphis and North Texas, with the Tigers owning a 17-7 advantage.

However, the two schools have not played in the Bluff City since Nov. 26, 1983. Both programs were in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1966-74.

The Tigers lead the series 10-3 at home and have outscored the Mean Green 85.4 to 73.2 in those contests.

North Texas beat Memphis, 76-66, last season in Denton in their only meeting of the year and the first as AAC opponents.

North Texas is aiming for the program's first road win over an AP Top 25 opponent since Feb. 27, 1971 when the Mean Green beat No. 15 Louisville on the road, 79-73.

GAME DETAILS
No. 21/25 Memphis Tigers (11-3, 1-0 AAC) vs. North Texas (10-3, 1-0 AAC)
Sunday, January 5, 2025 | 4 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN (Kevin Brown, pxp; Jon Crispin, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

1: PJ Haggerty is the only player in Division I averaging at least 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
4: Memphis enters Sunday having scored at least 100 points in four-straight home games against North Texas. The Tigers are 10-3 at home in the series and have not lost at home since 1970.
5th: According to KenPom.com, Memphis is the fifth-most experienced team in the country with an average of 3.17 years of Division I experience. Only Kansas (3.54), Xavier (3.47), Ole Miss (3.38) and Kentucky (3.27) are more experienced. The Tigers have combined for 860 career games at the Division I level, with four Tigers having played at least 120 games and six with 80+.
7: Straight games with 5+ rebounds for Nicholas Jourdain, bringing his season total to 10. Over the last seven outings, he's averaging 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.
9: The total number of Quad 1 & 2 victories for Memphis this season, which is the most in the country. Marquette is second with seven wins. The Tigers are also tops in the nation with a 6-0 Q2 record. No other team has more than four wins.
9-1: Record this season when Memphis wins the tip. The only loss was against Mississippi State. The Tigers are 40-12 the last three seasons when winning the tip.
11.0: Rebounding average for Moussa Cisse over the last two games, pulling down 11 in each against Ole Miss and FAU. It marks the first time in 58 games that Cisse grabbed double-digit boards in consecutive outings (Dec. 17-20, 2023).
14th: Tyrese Hunter's national rank in 3-point percentage (46.7), which leads the AAC. He already has six games on the year with at least four triples. Entering the season, he only had four such games in his first 106 career outings.
20: The number of points PJ Haggerty needs on Sunday to eclipse 1,000 for his career. He has 306 on the year after collecting 657 at Tulsa last season and 17 at TCU in 2022-23. He would join Tyrese Hunter and Colby Rogers as 1K scorers on the Tigers.
29-5: Record in last 34 home games against AAC opponents dating back to Dec. 2020.
55.9: Field goal percentage at FAU on Thursday, the sixth game this season shooting at least 50%. Memphis only had seven such games last year. The 55.9% was the 13th best shooting percentage under Coach Hardaway and the seventh best against AAC competition.
57-3: Record under Penny Hardaway when shooting 50% in a game, including 36-0 on their home floor. The Tigers have won 20 of their last 21 overall with the only loss coming to No. 4 Auburn in Maui this season.
2016: The 28-point victory at FAU on Thursday was the largest road victory for Memphis since March 6, 2016 at East Carolina (83-53). It is also the fifth-largest road win for the program dating back to 1938-39.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS

North Texas enters the game with 10-3 overall after coming back from 18-points down to knock off UAB, 78-75, in its conference opener on Tuesday.
Senior Atin Wright sank the game winner at the buzz to give the Mean Green their fourth-straight victory.
Head coach Ross Hodge enters his second season at the helm of the Mean Green.
UNT's roster features 10 newcomers (seven transfers and three freshmen).
The Mean Green are replacing their top six scorers from last season and four starters.
Moulaye Sissoko is the team's top returning scorer (103 points) and its only returning starter (34 starts).
The Mean Green have featured one of the nation's top defenses over the last five seasons. Since 2020, North Texas is giving up on average just 59.1 points per game. Only Houston is giving up fewer points per game in that span (57.8).
They rank fifth in the country this season, allowing 57.9 points to their opponents. Just two teams have reached 70 points in a game – High Point (76) and UAB (75).
Wright leads the squad in scoring (13.5) minutes (27.6), three-pointers (32) and free throws (41).
Sissoko is the team's top rebounder at 5.5 boards per game, along with 4.9 points.

UP NEXT
Memphis gets the week off before welcoming East Carolina next Sunday (Jan. 11) to FedExForum for a 1 p.m. clash on ESPN+.

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.

No. 21 Tigers Look to Continue Momentum Sunday Afternoon Hosting North Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

Nicholas Jourdain

Colby Rogers

University of Memphis Athletics

No. 21 Tigers Look to Continue Momentum Sunday Afternoon Hosting North Texas

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Moussa Cisse

Dain Dainja

PJ Haggerty

Tyrese Hunter

Nicholas Jourdain

Colby Rogers

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