After beating UAB on the road earlier this week, Memphis returns to FedExForum on Sunday to host Charlotte. The Tigers have had a lot of success at home in conference games, but they lost their most recent home game a week ago against Tulane.
Charlotte enters the game with a 13-10 record, currently sitting in fourth place in the conference standings with a 7-3 record in conference play. Earlier this week, the 49ers suffered their first loss since January 14 in a road matchup against Wichita State.
Aaron Fearne is in his third season as Charlotte’s head coach, and his team hasn’t lost back-to-back games since December 7 and December 14, when they lost at home to Utah State, who Memphis will play next Saturday, and on the road to Charleston. Fearne’s team averages 74.2 points per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the field, 36.1 percent from three-point range and 71.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Three players average more than 10 points per game for the 49ers, and sophomore guard Ben Bradford leads the team with 13 points per game. Bradford is one of only three players who returned from last year’s roster, but he’s the only returner who has played significant minutes this season.
Point guard Dezayne Mingo has also been a massive weapon this season, and he’s averaging 12.1 points per game and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game.
In the frontcourt, 7-foot-2 center Anton Bonke averages 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and he has recorded seven or more rebounds in four of his last five games. As a team, the 49ers average 34.7 rebounds per game, and they have a plus-3.5 rebounding margin.
Charlotte turns the ball over 12 times per game, and they only force 9.7 turnovers per game, which results in 12.6 points off turnovers.
Defensively, Charlotte allows 73.3 points per game, and opponents shoot 44.7 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from three-point range.
While the 49ers have played well in conference play, they’ve played a lot of close games, and five of their conference wins have come by four points or less, including a pair of overtime games.