After two dominating exhibition wins, the Memphis Tigers will tip the regular season off at home against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at FedEx Forum. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3. This is the 50th meeting between the two schools and will be the first game they have played since the 2009 season.
Memphis has a 26-23 record against TTU. New head coach Penny Hardaway is determined to lead the Tigers to their first victory of the season and achieve his first career win as a Division I head coach.
Steve Payne will begin his eighth season as the Golden Eagles’ head coach when they play Memphis on Nov. 6. Payne coached TTU to a 19-14 record last season, finishing fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Experience advantage
The Golden Eagles’ top five scorers from last season are no longer with the team, and they will return one starter from last season, 6-foot-8 senior forward Courtney Alexander II. Alexander started 32 of 33 games for TTU. The Golden Eagles have 11 newcomers with zero college ball experience.
The Tigers are a young team, too, but with five returning seniors, Memphis can exploit the inexperience of TTU by starting strong and applying pressure early in the game. The Tigers used this tactic in both exhibition games, and neither LeMoyne-Owens nor CBU were able to climb out of the early deficit.
Memphis’ turnover issues
The Tigers had issues turning over the ball in both exhibition games, with a collective 31 turnovers in both games. Hardaway said turnovers are an issue they are working on daily after the Tigers 95-68 win over CBU.
“We’ve really been addressing that every day,” Hardaway said. “These are unforced turnovers from our guards we really can’t have. Its a lot of pressure on them to take care of the basketball.”
The Tigers will need to handle the ball better against a team like TTU, which averaged 7.8 steals per game last season.
TTU players to watch
Alexander led TTU with 7.9 rebounds per game last season and can be a force defensively, as he also led the team with 26 blocks and 29 steals last season. The Tigers will need to be aware of where Alexander is at all times on the court.
Alexander can slam it down when he needs to, as he totaled 34 slam dunks for TTU as a junior. Memphis will need to be able to contest him at the rim.
The Tigers will need to lock up the Golden Eagles’ 6-foot-9 center Micaiah Henry, who could create issues for the Tigers defensively. Henry had 20 blocks and six steals last season for TTU. Henry is a consistent shooter, leading the team with 61.5 percent from the floor in the 2017-18 season.
The Tigers’ backcourt
The Tigers’ young backcourt has been proficient in their exhibition showings and will look to have a solid game against TTU. Freshman guard Tyler Harris totaled 41 points after both exhibition performances, shooting 14-29 from the field for 48 percent and knocking down 7-18 beyond the arc for 39 percent. Harris can expect to have another solid night shooting against a TTU defense that gave up 32.5 percent shooting for opponents from three last season.
Alex Lomax, 5-foot-10 freshman guard, has shown he can do everything on the court. Lomax totaled 17 assists and 11 steals in exhibition. Lomax can take advantage of a Golden Eagles team that allowed opponents six steals per game last season and averaged 14.3 turnovers.
Injury report
Hardaway addressed the media in Memphis on Monday and said forward Mike Parks is out for Tuesday’s matchup against TTU unless he hears otherwise before tip-off. Yet, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told The Daily Helmsman Parks would be available for tomorrow’s game, but it is unclear if Parks will be limited. Hardaway said last week after the exhibition win against CBU that they would take their time with Parks, as he was not needed until the regular season.
Expectations
The Tigers should have a solid night offensively and continue to distribute the rock, as Memphis totaled 55 assists in exhibition play. Defensively, the Tigers should frustrate the largely inexperienced TTU offense.
Basketball coach Penny Hardaway instructs the team. The Tigers finishing the season with a 21-13 record.
