• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

No. 19 Memphis looks for fourth straight victory vs. Houston

Jan 11, 2007 - 5:43 PM No. 19 Memphis (11-3) at Houston (5-7) 9:00 pm EST

HOUSTON (Ticker) - Jeremy Hunt flirted with perfection in his last game. He will try to keep Memphis perfect in Conference USA.

A 6-5 senior guard, Hunt will try to lead the 19th-ranked Tigers to their fourth consecutive victory Thursday when they play their first league road game of the season against Houston.

Averaging 13.8 points this season, Hunt made 7-of-8 shots, including 6-of-7 from the arc, and all four free throws for a career-high 24 points in last Thursday's 88-55 victory over Cincinnati. For that performance, he was named Conference USA Player of the Week.

The Tigers (11-3, 1-0 C-USA) have won five of their last six games, scoring more than 80 points in each victory. They have won their last three contests by an average of nearly 33 points.

Houston has lost four in a row and six of seven as it enters its conference opener. The lone victory in that stretch was a 68-46 triumph over Charlotte in the Rainbow Classic on December 21.

In last Wednesday's 77-70 loss to Kentucky, Oliver Lafayette scored 19 points, Dion Dowell added 18 and Robert McKiver 16 for the Cougars, who shot just 35 percent (27-of-75) from the field.

Memphis won both meetings against Houston last season and has captured nine of the last 12 matchups.