Memphis basketball preview: Tigers travel to Houston for first C-USA road game

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this season to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA sports coverage. Today, our Memphis Correspondent previews the basketball game between Memphis and Houston.

The No.19 Tigers (11-3,1-0) ride the tails of an 88-55 victory over archrival Cincinnati on their first Conference USA road trip Thursday to Houston. The Cougars (5-7,0-0) are coming off of a 77-70 road loss to Kentucky. Their last home game resulted in a 78-62 loss to UNLV on December 30.

The Cougars have a lot of firepower with four players averaging in double figures. Juniors Rob McKiver and Dion Dowell are scoring over 17 points per contest, boasting averages of 17.7 and 17.5, respectively. Senior Oliver Lafeyette is third on the team in scoring with 16 points per contest while junior Robert Lee rounds out the ground with an 11.8 mark.

Dowell and Lafayette are threats for the Cougars from 3-point range and under the glass, as both are averaging over 37% from beyond the arch, while combining for 14.5 rebounds as well. Their consistency from beyond the arch could likely prove the difference maker in this one, as Memphis has just one player averaging higher than them--senior Jeremy Hunt at 42 percent.

Meanwhile, Memphis is just 0-2 on the road this year, with losses at No.8 Arizona (12-2) and No.20 Tennessee. (13-2). Key to a victory over Houston Thursday will be the Tigers’ ability to guard the potent Cougar offense and out hustle them for the loose balls.

The Tigers will look to junior Joey Dorsey (9.5rpg) and sophomores Kareem Cooper (6.2rpg), and Robert Dozier (6.1rpg) to win the battle under the glass.

Offensively, the Tigers would like to repeat their performance against Cincinnati, in which they shot 59 percent from the field. Memphis has three players averaging in double figures: sophomore Chris Douglas-Roberts (15.1 ppg), Jeremy Hunt (13.8 ppg), and sophomore Robert Dozier (11.2 ppg).

Senior guard Andre Allen and sophomore guard Antonio Anderson will help lead the Memphis attack against the Cougars. Freshman guard Willie Kemp, who had career high 21 points against the Bearcats, could also contribute significantly off John Calipari’s bench.

Memphis leads the series 15-10; however the last two games have been dogfights, with Memphis pulling away late.

Tip-off is at 9:00pm CT at Hofheinz Pavilion. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.