Dedric Lawson drives to the hoop for the score. The Tigers will play Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
The University of Memphis Tigers (1-0) will take on the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (1-0) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the FedexForum, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
Series Record
The two teams have met three times – all of which took place in Memphis – with the Tigers winning all three. The most recent meeting came during the 2005-06 season when the Tigers won 79-52..
What’s at Stake
The Tigers are fresh off a season-opening 94- 75 win over University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and they’ll look to continue the Tubby Smith era unbeaten. The Tigers need the valuable game experience as they continue to work new players into a new system. With each early season win, Memphis will build confidence and momentum which will materialize in a rise in attendance.
The Panthers are coming off of a season-opening 88-58 win of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Like the Tigers, Milwaukee has a new head coach, LaVall Jordan, who’s been an assistant the last 12 seasons at Butler, Iowa and Michigan. Jordan and the Panthers will try to get an early signature win in Memphis against arguably their toughest non conference opponent in the Tigers.
Key Matchup
The key will be can Memphis take advantage of its discernable size advantage. The Tigers starting lineup features three players listed at 6-foot-7 seven or taller. Milwaukee played six players at least 20 minutes in their season opener, and of those six, the tallest was 6-foot-7 and the rest were 6-foot-4 or shorter. In fact, if you look at their 10-man rotation, it only features one other player taller than 6-foot- 7. The Tigers should be much bigger than Milwaukee, but they also run into the risk of having matchup problems with the smaller, presumably, quicker Panthers. It will be a contrast of styles, and whoever can impose their will stylistically should come out on top.
Players to Watch
-Dedric Lawson, forward, Memphis
The preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year picked up right where he left off last season, posting 19 points and 15 rebounds in 28 minutes and making it look effortless. With Milwaukee’s lack of size and skill on the interior, Lawson could be in for a monster game against the Panthers.
-Jeremiah Martin, guard, Memphis
One of the biggest questions facing the Tigers coming into the 2016-17 season was who would play point guard? Jeremiah Martin was given the starting nod at point guard against UTRGV, and he didn’t disappoint, finishing with 13 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds in 31 minutes. Martin will be facing a Milwaukee team that’s deep at the guard positions, so he will need to keep up that level of play for the Tigers.
-Brock Stull, guard, Milwaukee
Milwaukee plays small most of the time, and while Stull is only 6-foot-4, he posted 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Panthers’ season opener. Stull was used sparingly last season as freshman on a deep Milwaukee team, but after playing 21 minutes in the season opener, it looks like he will be relied upon heavily this season.
Cody Wichmann, guard, Milwaukee
Wichmann, one of just two seniors on the roster, has played a rotation role the last two season for Milwaukee, averaging 15 minutes per game during his career, and he has one elite skill – shooting. Wichmann is a career 42.3 percent three-point shooter and is making three threes per-40 minutes. The Wisconsin native went three-for-six from three in the season opener, scoring 13 points in just 17 minutes. The Tigers will need to make sure they have a defender close to Wichmann, who has 34 career games where he hit at least two threes, at all times.
