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2014–15 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

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2014–15 Memphis Tigers men's basketball
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record18–14 (10–8 The American)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFedExForum
Seasons
2014–15 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 SMU 15 3   .833 27 7   .794
Tulsa 14 4   .778 23 11   .676
Temple 13 5   .722 26 11   .703
Cincinnati 13 5   .722 23 11   .676
UConn 10 8   .556 20 15   .571
Memphis 10 8   .556 18 14   .563
Tulane 6 12   .333 15 16   .484
East Carolina 6 12   .333 14 19   .424
UCF 5 13   .278 12 18   .400
Houston 4 14   .222 13 19   .406
South Florida 3 15   .167 9 23   .281
The American Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2014–15 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 94th season of Tiger basketball. The Tigers, led by sixth year head coach Josh Pastner, played their home games at the FedExForum. The 2014–15 season was the second season the Tigers participated in the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers didn't play in a postseason tournament, the first time in 15 years.

Previous season

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The 2013–14 Memphis Tigers finished the season with an overall record of 24–10 and 12–6 in AAC play to finish in a three way tie for third place in conference. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to eventual national champion UConn. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament's East Region as an 8 seed where they defeated 9 seed George Washington in the second round before losing in the third round to 1 seed Virginia.

Off-season

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Departures

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Chris Crawford G 6' 3" 222 Senior Memphis, TN Graduated
Michael Dixon G 6' 1" 190 Senior Kansas City, MO Graduated
Joe Jackson G 6' 0" 174 Senior Memphis, TN Graduated
Geron Johnson G 6' 3" 203 Senior Dayton, OH Graduated
David Pellom F 6' 8" 220 Senior Wilmington, NC Graduated
Damien Wilson G/F 6' 5" 195 Junior Atlanta, GA Transfer to Kennesaw State
Dominic Woodson C 6' 10" 300 Sophomore Round Rock, TX Transfer to Tennessee

Transfers

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Calvin Godfrey F 6' 8" 233 Senior Milwaukee, WI Transfer from Southern University
Kedren Johnson G 6' 4" 229 Junior Lewisburg, TN Transfer from Vanderbilt University

Recruiting

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dominic Magee
point guard
Gretna, LA Helen Cox High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sep 8, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN grade: 84
Chris Hawkins
Small forward
Memphis, TN Southwest Tennessee Community College 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Nov 13, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: JC
Trahson Burrell
Small forward
Albany, NY Lee College 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 13, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN grade: JC
Avery Woodson
Shooting guard
Waynesboro, MS East Mississippi Community College 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Nov 13, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: JC
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.

Season summary

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The Tigers entered the 2014-15 season with only one senior, incoming transfer Calvin Godfrey. The young Tigers toured Canada in August 2014 and were thus permitted extra practice time. The Tigers faced teams from the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and McGill University on the trip in exhibition matches. Immediately before the Canadian tour, guard/forward Damien Wilson then center Dominic Woodson successively announced that they were transferring away from Memphis. However, upon the team's return from Canada, former Vanderbilt point guard Kedren Johnson announced his intention to transfer to Memphis.

At the AAC media day on October 29, Memphis was picked to finish third in the league behind UConn and SMU. Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols were both named to the preseason all-AAC first team.[1]

The Tigers lost their sole exhibition game against Division 2 Christian Brothers, marking the first exhibition game loss for the team since 1996.[2] On November 24, after the team's second game of the season, true freshman point guard Dominic Magee announced his intent to transfer.[3] Magee did not any playing time for the Tigers before his transfer. The Tigers dropped 4 of their first 7 games of the year, starting the year with their worst record since 2000.

On January 6, sophomore Kuran Iverson was suspended for the team's next two games against SMU and Houston, marking Iverson's second suspension of the season.[4] After his suspension and subsequent actions, including using Twitter to make negative statements about Coach Pastner, it was reported that Iverson was not expected to return to the team and the University subsequently announced Iverson's dismissal from the basketball program.[5] Junior forward Trahson Burrell was suspended for the team's January 8 game against SMU, reportedly in part for supporting Iverson's actions prior to his suspension.

On February 7 against Temple, Austin Nichols injured his ankle and had to be helped off the floor. The Tigers went on to lose the game without Nichols, who was later diagnosed with a moderately sprained ankle which was expected to prevent him from playing for the next two weeks. However, Nichols was able to return on February 19 at home against UConn before injuring the ankle again on February 28 early in the second half against Tulsa. The second ankle injury caused Nichols to miss the remainder of the season. Despite his injury and subsequent absence, Nichols finished the season with 93 blocks, the 5th highest single season block total all time for a Tiger.

The Tigers finished the regular season in 5th place in the American. Austin Nichols was named to the All-AAC first team. In the AAC tournament, the Tigers lost their opening matchup to 4 seed Temple.

Roster

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2014–15 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 11 Chris Hawkins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Chicago, Illinois
F 0 Trahson Burrell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Albany, New York
G 20 Avery Woodson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So Waynesboro, Mississippi
F 2 Shaq Goodwin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Jr Atlanta, Georgia
F 4 Austin Nichols 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So Eads, Tennessee
F 5 Nick King 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 226 lb (103 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee
G 1 Markel Crawford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 197 lb (89 kg) RS Fr Memphis, Tennessee
G 3 Pookie Powell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Orlando, Florida
F 23 Kuran Iverson (S) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Windsor, Connecticut
F 40 Calvin Godfrey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Sr Milwaukee, Wisconsin
G 15 Kedren Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Jr Lewisburg, Tennessee
G/F 42 Jake McDowell (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 211 lb (96 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee
G 14 Jordan Manse (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Fr Austin, Texas
G 12 D'Marnier Cunningham (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Chicago, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 08/14/2014

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/12/2014*
7:00 pm
Christian Brothers L 70–74 OT  
FedEx Forum 
Memphis, TN
Regular season
11/18/2014*
1:00 pm, ESPN
vs. No. 11 Wichita State
ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon
L 56–71  0–1
Sanford Pentagon (3,250)
Sioux Falls, SD
11/24/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Prairie View A&M
Las Vegas Invitational
W 77–49  1–1
Fedex Forum (14,412)
Memphis, TN
11/27/2014*
11:00 pm, FS1
vs. Baylor
Las Vegas Invitational semifinals
L 47–71  1–2
Orleans Arena (N/A)
Paradise, NV
11/28/2014*
7:00 pm, FS1
vs. Indiana State
Las Vegas Invitational 3rd Place Game
W 72–62  2–2
Orleans Arena (N/A)
Paradise, NV
12/02/2014*
6:00 pm, ESPNews
Stephen F. Austin
Las Vegas Invitational
L 52–64  2–3
Fedex Forum (13,201)
Memphis, TN
12/06/2014*
8:30 pm, ESPNU
Bradley W 73–45  3–3
Fedex Forum (13,807)
Memphis, TN
12/13/2014*
5:00 pm, ESPN2
Oklahoma State L 55–73  3–4
FedEx Forum (14,501)
Memphis, TN
12/15/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
NC Central W 81–47  4–4
Fedex Forum (13,126)
Memphis, TN
12/17/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
USC Upstate W 83–73  5–4
FedEx Forum (13,020)
Memphis, TN
12/20/2014*
2:00 pm, CBSSN
Oral Roberts W 78–63  6–4
FedEx Forum (13,084)
Memphis, TN
12/23/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Illinois W 78–51  7–4
FedEx Forum (12,995)
Memphis, TN
12/31/2014
1:00 pm, ESPNU
Houston W 73–54  8–4 (1–0)
FedEx Forum (13,415)
Memphis, TN
01/03/2015
5:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulane L 66–74  8–5 (1–1)
FedEx Forum (13,914)
Memphis, TN
01/08/2015
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at SMU L 59–73  8–6 (1–2)
Moody Coliseum (6,807)
Dallas, TX
01/11/2015
3:00 pm, CBSSN
at Houston W 62–44  9–6 (2–2)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,697)
Houston, TX
01/15/2015
6:00 pm, ESPN
Cincinnati W 63–50  10–6 (3–2)
FedEx Forum (14,916)
Memphis, TN
01/17/2015
1:00 pm, ESPNews
UCF W 99–79  11–6 (4–2)
FedEx Forum (14,027)
Memphis, TN
01/21/2015
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at Tulsa L 55–73  11–7 (4–3)
Reynolds Center (5,303)
Tulsa, OK
01/24/2015
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulane W 57–55  12–7 (5–3)
Smoothie King Center (3,109)
New Orleans, LA
01/28/2015
8:00 pm, CBSSN
East Carolina W 70–58  13–7 (6–3)
FedEx Forum (13,335)
Memphis, TN
01/31/2015*
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 3 Gonzaga L 64–82  13–8
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)
Spokane, WA
02/04/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Jacksonville State W 74–48  14–8
FedEx Forum (13,385)
Memphis, TN
02/07/2015
12:00 pm, ESPNews
Temple L 60–61  14–9 (6–4)
FedEx Forum (14,381)
Memphis, TN
02/10/2015
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at East Carolina L 53–64  14–10 (6–5)
Williams Arena (4,519)
Greenville, NC
02/14/2015
11:00 am, ESPNU
at South Florida W 75–48  15–10 (7–5)
USF Sun Dome (3,288)
Tampa, FL
02/19/2015
8:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2
UConn W 75–72  16–10 (8–5)
FedEx Forum (14,652)
Memphis, TN
02/22/2015
1:00 pm, CBSSN
at UCF W 75–65 OT 17–10 (9–5)
CFE Arena (4,543)
Orlando, FL
02/26/2015
8:00 pm, ESPN/ESPN2
No. 21 SMU L 57–66  17–11 (9–6)
FedEx Forum (14,523)
Memphis, TN
02/28/2015
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulsa L 72–74 OT 17–12 (9–7)
FedEx Forum (15,784)
Memphis, TN
03/05/2015
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at UConn W 54–53  18–12 (10–7)
Gampel Pavilion (10,167)
Storrs, CT
03/08/2015
11:00 am, CBS
at Cincinnati L 65–77  18–13 (10–8)
Fifth Third Arena (12,358)
Cincinnati, OH
American Athletic Conference tournament
03/13/2015
1:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. Temple
AAC Quarterfinal
L 75–80  18–14
XL Center 
Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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