TV: ESPNU Alex Faust, play-by-play and Brooke Weisbrod, analyst
Radio: 600 WREC
Game notes: Memphis
Season Records:
Memphis: 14-9, 5-4 in the AAC (tied 7th)
Houston: 16-7, 6-5 in the AAC (6th)
Last Meeting: January 11, 2015 won by Memphis 62-44.
Scoring:
Memphis offense 76.6 ppg (79) vs. Houston Defense 69.2 ppg (113)
Houston offense 77.6 ppg (63) vs. Memphis defense 69.3 ppg (114)
Starters :
#21 Damyean Dotson, 6'5" 210lb Jr G averaging: 30.4 mpg., 12.7 ppg., 7.1 rpg., 1.3 apg., 0.8 spg., shooting 46% FG, 83% FT, 32% 3pt
#3 Ronnie Johnson, 6' 180lb Jr G averaging: 23.2 mpg., 10 ppg., 2.7 rpg., 3 apg., 0.7 spg., shooting 41% FG, 83% FT, 40% 3pt
#25 Galen Robinson Jr., 6' 170lb Fr G averaging: 24.9 mpg., 7.9 ppg., 2.3 rpg., 3.5 apg., 1.1 spg., shooting 45% FG, 68% FT, 33% 3pt
#0 Danrad Knowles, 6'10" 190 Jr F averaging: 18.3 mpg., 6.3 ppg., 4 rpg., 0.3 apg., 0.2 spg., shooting 52% FG, 46% FT, 14% 3pt
#33 Kyle Meyer, 6'10" 225lb Jr C averaging: 14 mpg., 2.7 ppg., 2.9 rpg., 0.3 apg., 0.3 spg., shooting 43% FG, 73% FT, 11% 3pt
Reserves :
#24 Devonta Pollard, 6'8" 200lb Sr F averaging: 29 mpg., 12.7 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 1.3 apg., 1 spg., shooting 51% FG, 71% FT, 100% 3pt
#4 LeRon Barnes, 6'5" 195lb Sr G averaging: 24.5 mpg., 6 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 1.3 apg., 0.6 spg., shooting 50% FG, 56% FT, 43% 3pt
#12 Wes VanBeck, 6'2" 180lb So G averaging: 8.7 mpg., 4.1 ppg., 1.5 rpg., 0.5 apg., 0.3 spg., shooting 46% FG, 73% FT, 40% 3pt
Injuries:
Houston's leading scorer is questionable with sprained ankle, Rob Gray Jr., 6'2" 190lb So G averaging: 28.2 mpg., 17.3 ppg.
Scouting:
Houston is a very odd team. They blow hot and cold. They start out 3-0 in conference before losing 4 straight games. They nearly beat SMU on the road and do beat them at home and then lose to USF at home. They follow up their home win against SMU with a 14 point road loss to Tulsa. From looking at the roster with all of their guards you would expect them to be pretty good at turning the other team over and they are averaging 5.2 steals per game and 13 turnovers per game. Another thing you might expect is for Houston to not be a very good rebounding team but that would be partially true. They are one of the best offensive rebounding teams (9th in offensive rebounding %) but don't do a good job on the defensive boards (278th in defensive rebounding %).
Should be an interesting game. Hopefully the bad Houston team shows up with the good Memphis team.
Trivia:
Devonta Pollard, one of Houston's key reserves played at Alabama but not when Tarrant was there. His mom kidnapped a girl in a dispute and was later sentenced to 25 years in prison. Devonta said he didn't know about the plot until it was too late and was able to avoid prosecution if he stayed out of trouble for 2 years. He also testified against his mom. Memphis at one time was recruiting him. He transferred out of Alabama to East Miss CC before going to Houston.