Monday's game is a rescheduling of a game postponed in Orlando on Jan. 5 due to COVID-19-related issues involving the Knights. This stretch of the schedule will be the first time the Tigers (9-6, 5-3 AAC) have played four-straight conference games at home since Feb. 2-13, 2008 as part of Conference USA.
UCF (4-7, 2-6 AAC) is the second-straight opponent Memphis has played in back-to-back games, as the Tigers split meetings with SMU last week. Because one SMU game and one UCF game were rescheduled after their postponements earlier in January, the Tigers are in the middle of a stretch of six games in 14 days from Jan. 24 at East Carolina through this coming Saturday against the Pirates.
In their last outing, the Tigers erased a 16-point second-half deficit in just eight minutes of game action Thursday night at SMU, but the Mustangs escaped with a 67-65 win. DeAndre Williams had his first double-double as a Tiger Thursday night with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Landers Nolley II finished with a game-high 19 points, and he was 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Four of Nolley II's 3-pointers came in the second half Thursday night.
UCF enters the game with a 4-7 overall record and a 2-6 mark in league play. After starting the season 3-1 with wins over Auburn, at Florida State, and against Cincinnati, the Knights have lost six of their last seven games.
The Knights have the ninth-best scoring offense in the AAC at 66.7 points per game, and UCF is allowing the second-most points per outing in the conference at 71.1 per game. UCF is led in scoring by Brandon Mahan at 14.6 points per game, which ranks ninth in the AAC.
Mahan scored 32 points in the Knights' win at Florida State on Dec. 19, which is the second-highest scoring output in the AAC this season.
Monday's game is presented by i-bank Mortgage.
Game Details
Memphis (9-6, 5-3 AAC) vs. UCF (4-7, 2-6 AAC)
Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 | 7 p.m. CT
FedExForum; Memphis, Tenn.
Broadcast: ESPN+ (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Jon Albright, analysis)
Radio: 102.7 FM/600 AM (Jeff Brightwell, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)
By The Numbers
- .488: Memphis' 3-point percentage in the last four games (41-84, 10.3/gm); the Tigers shot 30.2 percent from distance in the first 11 games of the season (70-232, 6.4/gm).
- 3: Memphis losses out of six that have come by one possession (Dec. 12 vs. Auburn, 3 pts; Jan. 17 at Tulsa, 1 pt; Jan. 28 at SMU, 2 pts); the average margin of defeat in the six Tiger losses this season is 5.0 points.
- 5-1: Memphis' record in games immediately after a loss this season; the Tigers have only lost back-to-back games once (Nov. 26-27).
- 40.2: Percent shooting from 3-point range this season for Landers Nolley II, which would be the best by a Tiger since Avery Woodson finished the 2015-16 season shooting 43.0 percent.
The Last Time Out
- The Tigers wiped out a 16-point second-half deficit in just eight minutes of game action, but SMU escaped with a 67-65 win over the Tigers Thursday night in Dallas.
- The Tigers (9-6, 5-3 AAC) were down 54-38 with 11:56 left in the game, but Memphis clawed back to take a 59-58 lead just eight minutes later.
- That go-ahead basket was a DeAndre Williams dunk, and the Tigers had a 64-63 lead a couple of minutes later after a Landers Nolley II 3-pointer.
- After that, however, SMU (9-3, 5-3 AAC) hit four free throws and re-took a 67-64 lead with 31 seconds left.
- Memphis drove down and Boogie Ellis was fouled trying a 3-pointer, and he headed to the line to potentially tie the game with three seconds left.
- He made the first and missed the second, but Memphis secured a jump ball and got possession after he missed the third on purpose.
- But the Tigers could not convert on their last try and fell by two on the road.
- The 16-point comeback came on the heels of completing a 13-point comeback win against SMU two nights prior in Memphis.
- The Tigers limited the AAC's leading scorer, Kendric Davis, to six points Thursday night, 12 below his season average.
- This was after Memphis held him to eight points Tuesday night.
- The Tigers shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the first half, but that was only 9-for-19 after committing 12 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
- Those miscues led to 11 SMU points, which were the difference in Memphis' 33-23 halftime deficit.
- But to help facilitate the comeback, the Tigers only committed five turnovers in the last 20 minutes.
- The Tigers had 19 assists on their 23 baskets.
- The loss snapped a three-game Memphis winning streak.
Noting the Knights
- UCF was picked to finish eighth in The American's preseason coaches poll.
- The Knights return Darin Green, Jr., who shot 41.7 percent from behind the arc and averaged 10.1 points per game last season as a freshman.
- Alex Lomax has played four games against UCF in his career, and he is averaging 4.5 points and 2.0 assists per game in an average of 18.0 minutes per contest.
Looking Ahead
After Monday's game, the Tigers and Knights square off again Wednesday night at FedExForum. Wednesday's game is also at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. The Tigers will finish the week Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against East Carolina on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. The final game on Memphis' four-game homestand is next Thursday, Feb. 11, against Cincinnati at 6 p.m. on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
A limited number of tickets are available for home games with the same social distancing safety guidelines in place as earlier this season. Tickets may be purchased online at www.GoTigersGoTix.com or by calling (901) 678-2331. Fans with existing season tickets or ticket packages can use their current tickets for upcoming games. More information can be found at www.GoTigersGo.com.
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Tigers start four-game home stretch Monday night against UCF - Memphis Official Athletic Site
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