Lamar turns the calendar to 2009 and will travel to Memphis this weekend for its third meeting with the Tigers in the last four seasons. The Cardinals will then have a week off before opening defense of its 2008 Southland Conference regular-season title at home on Jan. 10 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Lamar-Memphis Series History Saturday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Lamar and Memphis. The Tigers are holding a 3-1 edge following wins in two of the last three seasons. All four contests have taken place in Memphis. Date W/L Score Location 12/15/59 L 45-67 Memphis 12/2/68 W 82-69 Memphis 11/28/05 L 83-108 Memphis 12/28/06 L 62-87 Memphis 1/3/09 Memphis

About Memphis Memphis enters the game with a 9-3 record and is 7-1 in home games. The Tigers, who are receiving votes in both polls, are in the midst of a seven-game homestand and have wins this week over Cincinnati (60-45) and Northeastern (80-48). The Tigers have 113 wins since the 2005-06 season, which is the most in the country, while their 243 since 2000-01 rank fifth nationally. Freshman Tyreke Evans leads the squad in scoring at 16.3 ppg. He had a career-high 27 against Northeastern on Wednesday. Robert Dozier Memphis has a strong defense which allows 65.3 ppg and ranks in the top 10 in the nation in blocked shots and steals. Lamar-Memphis Statistical Comparison Lamar Memphis Overall Record 9-3 9-3 Scoring 852 916 Points Per Game 77.5 76.3 Opponent Points 755 730 Opponent Scoring Average 68.6 60.8 Scoring Margin +8.8 +15.5 Field Goal Pct. .456 .415 Opponent Field Goal Pct. .430 .369 3-Point FG Pct. .276 .275 Opponent 3-Point FG Pct. .311 .296 Free Throw Pct. .738 .681 Rebounding Average 37.5 42.0 Opponent Rebounding Avg. 32.7 36.2 Rebounding Margin +4.7 +5.8 Assists Per Game 14.5 14.3 Turnovers Per Game 13.1 14.1 Opponent Turnovers PG 16.4 18.9 Turnover Margin +3.3 +4.8 Steals Per Game 8.8 10.3 Blocks Per Game 3.7 6.9

Roccaforte, Price Return To Memphis Saturday's game will mark a return to Memphis for two members of the Lamar coaching staff - head caoch Steve Roccaforte and assistant coach Tic Price. Roccaforte spent three years as an assistant to John Calipari from 2000-03, while helping the Tigers to 71 victories, one NCAA Tournament and two NIT Final Fours, including the 2002 NIT Championship. He also served as the recruiting coordinator and brought in top-10 classes all three years, highlighted by the 2001 class that was rated No. 1. This is his third visit with Lamar, following games in 2006 and 2007 as an assistnt for coach Billy Tubbs and a head coach, respectively. Price is making his first trip back since serving as the head coach for two years. His went 30-27 at UM as the Tigers reached the second round of the NIT with a 17-12 mark in 1997-98, his first season.

National Media Taking Notice As a result of its fast start and strong non-conference schedule, Lamar has grabbed the attention of national basketball writer Kyle Whelliston. Whelliston, who is the national mid-major reporter for Basketball Times and a regular contributor to ESPN.com, listed the Cardinals on his Dec. 24 blog as part of his "fifth annual Not-So-Fearless Predictions for the 20 leagues fighting over a single ticket (to the NCAA Tournament)." "There are a lot of SLC teams with winning records, but none has hung as tough with superior competition as Lamar has. While the Cardinals are as guilty of beating up on Division II and NAIA teams as anyone in this conference, they've also taken out Rice and Texas Tech." -- Kyle Whelliston

Winning In November AND December College football coaches will tell you that much of their success can be measured by winning in November. While that may be true on the gridiron, the coaches on the hardwood will say they want to win over a five month stretch and especially in March. With its win over St. Gregory's on Monday, this Lamar team posted a winning record in the months of November (5-0) AND December (4-3) in the same season for the first time in 10 years, when Grey Giovanine's 1998-99 team went 2-1 in Nov. and 5-2 in Dec.

Home-Court Winning Streak Moves To 19 Lamar has now won 19-consecutive home games, a figure that ranks as the eighth-longest active skein in the nation. The win streak is now over one year old since starting with a 95-59 win over St. Gregory's on Dec. 4, 2007.