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Welcome to this week’s Tigers Basketball Insider. Below you’ll find the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Parth Upadhyaya, John Martin, Tim Buckley and Geoff Calkins.
As if another crack at his former team wasn’t enough fuel for South Florida’s Tyler Harris, he now has more.
After being denied revenge by Memphis in its seven-point win over USF in late December, the former Tigers guard will be eager to have the last laugh Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN+/98.9 FM) when coach Penny Hardaway’s group visits Tampa for a rematch.
TIGERS NEXT GAME
Teams: Tigers at USF
Time: 6 p.m. CT, Feb. 8
Place: USF Sun Dome, Tampa
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 98.9 FM
But, this time, history will be on the line for Harris. The 5-foot-9 Cordova High alum is three 3-pointers away from breaking the American Athletic Conference’s all-time record for career 3s.
Harris has 263 while in the AAC so far — the 2020-21 campaign he spent at the Big 12’s Iowa State doesn’t count in this case — and has inched closer all season to cracking the record of 265. It’s a mark set by former UConn guard Mark Vital in 2020.
It isn’t hard to imagine Harris might still have some hard feelings toward Hardaway after the Tigers coach pushed the Memphis native out of the program last offseason.
“I loved being a Memphis Tiger, so of course I wish I could’ve played it out here,” Harris said after the Tigers’ 93-86 win over the Bulls on Dec. 29, the sharpshooter’s first game back at FedExForum since transferring to USF. “But, hey, God had another plan for me.”
Now, the possibility of him breaking the AAC’s all-time 3-pointers made record against his hometown team will likely serve as even more motivation for Harris to shine Wednesday.
Harris leads the AAC this season with 70 made 3-pointers. His 39.8% mark from deep is good for second in the conference (behind former Tiger Landers Nolley II’s mark of 44.4%, funny enough).
While Harris hit just one triple in his first matchup with Memphis, it would be surprising to see the Bulls’ leading scorer (17 points per game) being held to just one make from beyond the arc again — especially with Tigers defensive anchor Alex Lomax still sidelined with a groin injury.
Harris has hit at least five 3s in five of his last seven games. He went 5-10 from downtown in the Bulls’ past two contests (a loss to SMU on Jan. 29 and a win versus East Carolina on Feb. 1).
Memphis has shown improvement in its ability to guard the perimeter since the last time it played USF, but it has still been susceptible to teams — or individual players — getting hot against it from 3.
The Tigers rank No. 74 in the country in 3-point percentage defense (31.6%).
More from your Insider:
Memphis fans thronged to FedExForum to celebrate Lorenzen Wright, Larry Finch and the Memphis Tigers. Then the game happened. For reasons that are becoming all too familiar, it did not go well.
Coach Penny Hardaway’s squad had four players score in double-digit points, but its lackluster defensive effort, 22 turnovers and missed free throws ultimately allowed the Green Wave (15-7, 8-3 AAC) to come out on top.
The University of Memphis Tigers point guard scored a game-high 26 points but made a miscue late in an overtime loss to Tulane.
NCAA men’s basketball box score for the Saturday, Feb. 4 game between the Memphis Tigers and the Tulane Green Wave played at FedExForum in Memphis.
Duren has averaged 8.4 points and 8.5 rebounds through 44 games played for Detroit this season.
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