MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis Tiger men’s basketball center Jalen Duren earned his sixth American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week award and fourth in the last five weeks, and guard Tyler Harris has been named to the conference’s weekly Honor Roll for the second time this season.
The duo helped Memphis (19-9, 13-5 AAC) to two wins last week, including a resounding 75-61 win over No. 14/14 Houston Sunday morning at FedExForum. With the victories, the Tigers have won 10 of their last 11 games entering the AAC Tournament, which begins later this week in Fort Worth, Texas.
Duren averaged 12.0 points and 9.0 rebounds last week, and nine of his rebounds came on the offensive end. Duren was 10-for-18 from the floor (.556) over the two games, including 7-for-13 en route to 16 points at South Florida Thursday night. His game against the Bulls also including 10 rebounds for his team-best sixth double-double of the year. Duren closed the week with eight points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s win over Houston.
The Sharon Hill, Pa., native was also named the AAC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 22, Dec. 20, Feb. 7, Feb. 14 and Feb. 28.
Harris led the Tigers in scoring on the week at 14.5 points per game, and he was 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Harris had 14 points at South Florida and 15 points against Houston, including hitting a trio of triples against the Cougars. The Memphis, Tenn., native has topped the Tiger scoresheet a team-high eight times this year, and Memphis is 26-11 when the senior has at least three 3-pointers in a game.
Harris also earned a place on the weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 24.
The Tigers are seeded third in the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship and will take the court at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Friday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
By virtue of earning a first-round bye, the Tigers will start in the quarterfinals against the winner of Thursday’s first-round matchup between sixth-seeded UCF and 11th-seeded South Florida. With a win Friday, the Tigers would play in the semifinals Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN2, and the championship game is Sunday at 2:15 p.m. on ESPN.
