MEMPHIS VS. HOUSTON

When, where: 6 p.m. today, Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston TV, radio: ESPNU; WREC-AM 600, WKBQ-FM 93.5 Records: Memphis 14-9, 5-5 American Athletic Conference; Houston 16-7, 6-5 Coaches: Memphis, Josh Pastner (162-67 at school and overall); Houston, Kelvin Sampson (29-26 at school, 529296 overall) Series: Memphis leads 30-13

LINEUPS

Memphis: Sr. G Ricky Tarrant Jr. (6-2, 184, 12.3 ppg, 3.4 apg), Fr. G Craig Randall II (6-4, 173, 1.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg), So. G Markel Crawford (6-5, 205, 5.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg), Fr. F Dedric Lawson (6-9, 228, 14.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg), Sr. F Shaq Goodwin (6-9, 229, 15 ppg, 8.1 rpg).

Houston: Fr. G Galen Robinson Jr. (6-0, 170, 7.9 ppg, 3.5 apg), Jr. G Ronnie Johnson (6-0, 180, 10 ppg, 3 apg), Jr. G Damyean Dotson (6-5, 210, 12.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Jr. F Danrad Knowles (6-10, 190, 6.3 ppg, 4 rpg), Jr. C Kyle Meyer (6-10, 225, 2.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg).

THE SKINNY

Houston sophomore guard Rob Gray Jr. (17.3 ppg), the AAC’s leading scorer, is questionable with a sprained ankle that’s kept him out of the last two contests. Houston went 1-1 without him, beating No. 16 SMU 71-68 at home last week before losing 77-63 at Tulsa on Sunday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Cougars, who are ranked 30th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (scoring 112.9 points per 100 offensive possessions) and 13th in offensive rebounding percentage (37.7). ... Houston is one of two AAC teams Memphis will face just once during the regular season as part of its 18-game conference schedule. The other is Tulsa, which visits FedExForum on Feb. 28. ... After shooting just 30.3 percent in its win over Cincinnati on Saturday, Memphis ranks 325th out of 351 Division 1 teams in effective field-goal percentage (.450), which also accounts for made 3-pointers. The national average is 49.7 percent. ... After starting Randall for the first time this season in the Tigers’ 63-59 home win over Cincinnati last Saturday — he finished with two points, two rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes — Pastner indicated this week that there could be more lineup changes or other adjustments as he looks to get the most out of his team over the final eight games of the regular season. “(Senior walk-on) Caleb Wallingford could start on Wednesday. I could start Caleb Wallingford and (freshman walk-on) Dante Scott as my backcourt,” Pastner said. “That’s our mentality moving forward. We’re going to take it one day at a time, have fun with it and see where it all falls.”