It will be a battle between American Athletic Conference opponents when the Memphis Tigers (15-13) welcome the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (19-9) to the FedExForum. The game gets underway at 4:00 pm ET on Sunday, Feb. 28 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Tigers were beaten by SMU 69-62 on Thursday. Ricky Tarrant Jr. was one of the best players for the Tigers, contributing 15 points, seven assists, and four steals. The Golden Hurricane are coming off a 74-55 win against Temple on Tuesday. Pat Birt shot 7 for 15 and led in scoring with 23 points.
Over the last five games, Dedric Lawson has really been playing well for the Tigers, averaging 18.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 three-pointers. On the other side, the Golden Hurricane have been led by Birt. He has been on fire, averaging 20.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.6 steals, and 3.6 three-pointers in the same time frame.
The Tigers enter the game with records of 15-13 Straight Up (SU) and 9-15-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Tigers are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 19.0 per game. The rebounding edge goes to the Tigers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.2 boards per game. As for the Memphis defense, teams have to fight for open shots against the Tigers, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .399. An area where the Tigers are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 5.8 blocks per game, seventh in Division I.
On the other side, the Golden Hurricane head into the game with records of 15-10-2 ATS and 19-9 SU. Tulsa has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 3-7 record. The Tulsa defense has allowed an average of 78.3 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 68.0.
Memphis and Tulsa will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Golden Hurricane were winners, but the win was not enough to overtake Memphis in their recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 3-7 SU over the most recent meetings. The Tigers also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. Memphis held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times, while Tulsa was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Mem, ATS Winner – Mem
Notes
The Memphis Tigers average 76.6 points per game, ranking 83rd in the nation. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane rank 72nd in points allowed with 68.0.
Tulsa averages 72.8 points per away game (ranked 91st). Memphis allows 65.5 points per home game (ranked 76th).
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a defensive rating of 99.3 (ranked 68th), while the Memphis Tigers have an offensive rating of 103.6 (ranked 218th).
The Memphis Tigers average 73.9 possessions per game and 1.036 points per possession, while the Tulsa Golden Hurricane earn fewer possessions (68.5) but more points per possession (1.075).
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane average an effective field goal percentage of 50.6% this season. The Memphis Tigers have an abysmal record of 2-7 when opponents have an eFG% of 50.6% or greater.
On average, Memphis attempts 18.0 three pointers and Tulsa attempts 21.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Memphis Tigers have a 5-10 record while the Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a solid 11-7 record.
Tulsa ranks 70th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.25. Memphis is ranked lower at 105th with an A/TO of 1.18.
The Memphis Tigers are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.2 per game (ranked 15th). The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are outside the top 100 with 35.1 rebounds per game (ranked 239th).
Tulsa ranks 231st in offensive rebounds, while Memphis ranks at 38th in defensive rebounds.
Tulsa has forced an average turnover percentage of 21.3% this season. Memphis has a losing 1-4 record when its TO% is 21.3% or higher.
