Tigers will Close November Against North Alabama

Following a 2-1 finish in the ESPN Events Invitational over the weekend, Memphis will host North Alabama on Wednesday in its final game of the month. Although the Tigers suffered a heartbreaking loss in Orlando to Seton Hall, they rebounded with back-to-back wins over Nebraska and Stanford.

“You can’t do anything but tip your hats to these kids because they’re working hard for us,” Hardaway said after the win against the Cardinal. “This group is so connected out there on the floor, and they’re always talking about the next best thing to do.”

With consecutive wins, Memphis now has an opportunity to secure its most lopsided victory of the season. The Tigers are currently favored by 26.5 points against the Lions and have a 94.1 percent chance of winning according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

North Alabama is 4-3 on the season with losses against Mississippi Valley State, UC-Santa Barbara and Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Lions 81-60 in its latest game on Saturday night. On the season, the Lions are averaging 81 points per game and allowing its opponents to score a whopping 72.3 points per contest.

Needless to say, Memphis will have an opportunity to put up points in bunches. Penny Hardaway’s offense has been up and down thus far this season, but they should be able to find a rhythm inside FedExForum on Wednesday. With the Lions defensive deficiencies and the Tigers talent advantage, it shouldn’t be a tightly contested matchup.

The Lions leading scorer – Daniel Ortiz – is averaging 15.4 points per game, but he is the only player averaging double figures for North Alabama this season. With seven players averaging more than eight points per contest, this is clearly a team that prioritizes moving the ball and getting open shots. Damian Forrest and Daniel Braster lead the Lions on the glass with 6.2 and 5.0 rebounds per game, respectively.

Against North Alabama, it will be interesting to see what Hardaway and the staff do – if anything – with the starting lineup. Memphis has rolled out Kendric Davis, Alex Lomax, Jayden Hardaway, Chandler Lawson and DeAndre Williams as the starters over the last four games to mixed results. On the defensive end of the floor, this group has been tremendous as the Tigers have only allowed 56.5 points per game over that stretch. Despite the defensive dominance, the offense has sputtered at the beginning of all these games with limited impact scorers on the floor.

Hardaway clearly trusts this lineup due to its defensive prowess, but will he and the staff be searching for a quicker start offensively against the Lions? Memphis should be able to score early and often in this game regardless, but it will be intriguing to see if Hardaway tweaks with this lineup going into a game the Tigers should dominate.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (4-2) vs. North Alabama (4-3)
Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022 | 7 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPN+ (Greg Gaston, pxp; Jon Albright, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)