Tulsa Hosts Memphis in Key AAC Matchup After David Green’s 26-Point Performance Against UAB

Game setup: conference implications and timing

Tulsa will host Memphis on Wednesday night in an American Athletic Conference matchup at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time) on January 21, 2026. The meeting is the teams’ first conference game against each other this season.

Tulsa enters the game at 15-3 overall and 3-2 in AAC play, while Memphis is 9-8 overall and 4-1 in conference. The contest arrives at a moment when both teams are building position in the league standings ahead of the stretch run of conference play.

Green’s scoring surge sets pace for Tulsa

Tulsa’s most recent outing featured a 99-77 win over UAB, led by forward David Green’s 26-point performance. Green has been a focal point of Tulsa’s production in recent weeks, and he also contributes on the glass, pacing the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game.

Green joined Tulsa for the 2025-26 season as part of a large influx of newcomers brought in by head coach Eric Konkol. Before arriving in Tulsa, Green played under Konkol earlier in his career and was named to the AAC Preseason Second Team entering the season.

Stat profile: Tulsa’s offense vs. Memphis’ defense

Through the season to date, Tulsa has been one of the conference’s highest-scoring teams, averaging 88.3 points per game. That output stands in contrast to a Memphis defense allowing 72.7 points per contest, setting up a clear stylistic test: Tulsa’s pace and perimeter shot-making against Memphis’ ability to control possessions.

• Tulsa: 88.3 points per game; 33.9 rebounds per game (fifth in the AAC).
• Memphis: 72.7 points allowed per game; 11.4 offensive rebounds per game (third in the AAC).

From a perimeter standpoint, Tulsa has allowed 8.3 made 3-pointers per game, while Memphis averages 7.3 made 3s per game. Tulsa’s Miles Barnstable has been one of the team’s key long-range threats, averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers per game while scoring 14.3 points per contest and shooting 45.6% from beyond the arc.

What Memphis brings: second-chance offense and a new contributor

Memphis has built a conference record above .500 largely by generating extra possessions. The Tigers’ offensive rebounding rate has been a defining metric, with Julius Thedford— a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard from Memphis who previously played at Western Kentucky—leading the team at 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.

Wednesday’s game pairs one of the AAC’s most productive offenses with a Memphis team that has relied on offensive rebounding to create second chances.

With both teams still early in their conference slates, the matchup offers a measuring stick: Tulsa’s ability to sustain high-end scoring against a physical opponent, and Memphis’ ability to translate rebounding advantages into enough offense on the road.