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Memphis Basketball Goes Up Against Iowa State for the NIT Season Tip-Off Title

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Basketball

After a 69-61 win over RV/RV Virginia Tech Wednesday night, the No. 9/10 Memphis Tigers go for an NIT Season Tip-Off title against Iowa State Friday night in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

The Tigers and Iowa State are two of 36 teams still unbeaten in Division I basketball, with Memphis and UCF the only two remaining unbeatens in the American Athletic Conference.
 
Memphis took care of the Hokies Wednesday night in what is shaping up to be a Quad I win, despite an off night of sorts from four of its starters. Emoni Bates, Jalen Duren, Landers Nolley II and Lester Quinones combined to go 8-for-28 from the field. But the Tiger bench came up big against Virginia Tech, scoring 26 of the 69 points, and the defense held an eighth-straight opponent to less than 50.0 percent shooting.
 
For the second-straight game, a Memphis player will be matching up against a former team. After Nolley II played his former Virginia Tech teammates Wednesday night, Tyler Harris will square off against his former Iowa State mates. Harris spent the 2020-21 campaign in Ames, where he averaged 23.0 minutes per game over 24 appearances and 11 starts. His season included a 22-point outing against eventual national champion Baylor in Waco on Feb. 23.
 
Following Friday's game, the Tigers remain away from home for two games next week, playing at Georgia Wednesday night and at Ole Miss next Saturday morning.
 
Memphis' next home games are Dec. 10 against Murray State and Dec. 14 against Alabama.
 
GAME DETAILS
#9/10 Memphis Tigers (5-0) vs. Iowa State (5-0)
NIT Season Tip-Off Championship
Friday, Nov. 26, 2021 | 8:30 p.m. CT
Barclays Center (19,000); Brooklyn, N.Y.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

  • 8-7: Memphis' all-time record in the Preseason NIT/NIT Season Tip-Off, with its most recent participation coming in 2005.
  • 0: Teams that have won the postseason NIT and then the Preseason NIT/NIT Season Tip-Off the following season; Tigers can become the first with a win.
  • 1st: Memphis' national rank in adjusted defensive efficiency (86.6 points allowed per 100 possessions against the average Division I offense); Tigers were also No. 1 in 2020-21.
  • 7.5: Points per game averaged by Memphis senior guard Tyler Harris over 24 games as a junior at Iowa State in 2020-21.
  • 9: Straight wins by Memphis dating back to last season, and a 10th in a row would match the same in 2019-20 for its longest since 2013-14.

THE LAST TIME OUT

  • The No. 9/10 Tigers improved to 5-0 on the season, their best start since 2010-11, with a key 69-61 win over RV/RV Virginia Tech in the NIT Season Tip-Off Wednesday night in Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Memphis faced challenges from the Hokies (5-1) throughout the night but locked down down the stretch to secure the win.
  • The Tigers committed only four turnovers in the second 20 minutes, and after a 7-0 Hokie run gave Virginia Tech a 56-55 lead with 4:41 to play the Tigers ripped off 10-straight points to regain a nine-point advantage.
  • The Hokie run was stopped by a Landers Nolley II 3-pointer, with the redshirt-junior playing against his old school Wednesday night.
  • Additionally, after Virginia Tech went 5-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half, the Tigers held them to 2-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half.
  • DeAndre Williams led the Tigers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Malcolm Dandridge added eight points and eight rebounds in 17 stellar minutes off the bench.
  • Alex Lomax added seven points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 20 minutes in reserve.
  • Twenty-six of Memphis' 69 points came from the bench.
  • The Tigers outrebounded Virginia Tech, 45-33, with 15 coming on the offensive end.
  • Memphis was 16-for-20 from the free throw line (.800).
  • Virginia Tech was led by Nahiem Alleyne's 21 points.

NOTING THE CYCLONES

  • Iowa State arrives in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off after an 82-70 win over No. 25/RV Xavier in the semifinals.
  • Already 5-0 on the season, the Cyclones went just 2-22 a season ago.
  • The last time the Cyclones started the season 5-0 was in 2016-17.
  • Along with a new coaching staff, Iowa State returned just five players (three scholarship) from last season's team.
  • The Cyclones have 20 total starts back from last season and no player with double-digit starts.
  • Of the 12 players on ISU's roster, seven are newcomers in 2021-22, and of those seven, four joined the Cyclones in the form of power conference transfers.
  • That total is tied for the most nationally.
  • Iowa State's four power conference transfers added significant experience to the roster to the tune of more than 2,000 points and 315 games played.