Nov. 23, 2012
SETTING THE SCENE
• Memphis (2-2) meets Northern Iowa (3-2) in the Battle 4 Atlantis (B4A) 7th/8th-place contest Saturday, Nov. 24 at 12 p.m. (CT).
• The Tigers dropped their B4A consolation semifinal game to Minnesota 84-75 Friday. The Panthers fell to Stanford 66-50 in their consolation semifinal encounter.
MEMPHIS-NORTHERN IOWA SERIES
• Saturday's contest is the first between the two basketball programs.
MEMPHIS VERSUS FIRST-TIME FOES
• Northern Iowa is the second of five first-time opponents Memphis faces in 2012-13.
• The Tigers have already played North Florida (an 81-66 win Nov. 12) and will meet Ohio Dec. 5, Loyola (Md.) Dec. 30 and Harvard Jan. 19.
• Memphis has an all-time record of 152-70 (.685 winning percentage) when facing first-time foes.
• Since 2000-01, the Tigers are 25-2 (.926 winning percentage) when facing first-time opponents. The only two setbacks against first-time opponents since 2000-01 were against Stanford (2000 Puerto Rico Shootout) and Duke (2005 Preseason NIT).
• Under head coach Josh Pastner, Memphis is 4-0 against first-time foes.
MEMPHIS VERSUS THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
• The Tigers have an overall record of 32-32 versus current members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
• The last time Memphis played a Missouri Valley Conference program was in the 2006 NCAA Tournament (2005-06 season). The Tigers defeated Bradley 80-64 in the NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal round (Sweet Sixteen) in Oakland, Calif.
MEMPHIS PART OF MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE HISTORY
• Memphis was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) from 1967-73.
• Memphis represented the MVC in the 1973 NCAA Final Four, advancing to the title game. The 1973 NCAA championship game was the first televised in prime time.
• The Tigers took back-to-back MVC Player of the Year awards in 1972 (Larry Finch) and 1973 (Larry Kenon).
• Gene Bartow was voted the 1972 MVC Coach of the Year.
STEPHENS SETS CAREER SCORING HIGH
• Senior forward/guard D.J. Stephens netted a career-high 15 points versus Minnesota Friday. He scored the 15 points on 5-of-7 FG, 3-of-3 treys and 2-of-4 FT.
• The three treys made were a career best, and his five FG made and three trey attempts tied career highs.
• Stephens' previous career scoring high was 13 points versus Western Kentucky in the 2010-11 season (Dec. 4, 2010).
JOHNSON SUSPENSION OVER
• For the first time in regular-season action, junior Geron Johnson suited up for the Blue and Gray Friday versus Minnesota. He had four points and one board against the Golden Gophers.
• Johnson had to sit the first three games as a result of an NCAA-imposed suspension. The suspension was the result of extra benefits received by Johnson from a family friend who assisted the family with his educational expenses prior to his enrollment at the University of Memphis.
