MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford University basketball team will face back-to-back top-20 ranked opponents for the first time since 2005 on Saturday as the Bulldogs challenge the 16th-ranked Memphis Tigers in an early-season non-conference showdown to be held at the FedExForum at 7 p.m. (CST).
 
The game can be heard locally on ESPN 107.3 FM.
 
Samford (1-2) is coming off a tough 80-54 loss at No. 2-ranked Louisville on Thursday in an inaugural matchup between the teams held at the pristine KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Ky.
 
In the loss, true freshman Tim Williams paced the Bulldogs in scoring for a third straight game as he tallied 15 points and six rebounds. Samford also received 11 points and three assists from point guard Raijon Kelly.
 
In back-to-back games, the Bulldogs will have faced No. 2-ranked Louisville and No. 16-ranked Memphis (1-0). This occurrence will mark the first time that Samford has played consecutive games against top-20 ranked opponents since the Bulldogs squared off against No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Oklahoma in back-to-back meetings in the winter of 2005.
 
Memphis opened its 2012-13 season Monday with an 81-66 home triumph against the North Florida Ospreys. In the victory, the Tigers finished with three players scoring in double figures. Junior forward Tarik Black led the way for Memphis with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Joe Jackson and Antonio Barton followed with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
The Bulldogs will square off against the Tigers for only the fifth time in school history Saturday. Memphis currently owns a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with Samford's lone victory occurring Feb. 27, 1948, in Birmingham, Ala.
 
In the most recent meeting held Dec. 22, 2003, the Bulldogs nearly upset the Tigers, 63-62, in Memphis. Late in the game held at the Pyramid, the Tigers' Sean Banks converted a layup with 19.3 seconds remaining and Samford's Jerry Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.6 seconds as Memphis escaped with a 63-62 victory.
 
Samford held a six-point lead, 59-53, with 2:57 left to play. The Bulldogs' Tyson Dorsey missed the front end of a one-and-one and Memphis' Antonio Burks nailed a 3-pointer with 2:23 to play to cut the Bulldog lead in half. Burks then made a steal and a layup at the 1:46 mark to make it a one-point game.
 
After a five-second call on the Bulldogs, Banks drained a 3-pointer with a 1:33 left to cap an 8-0 run and give Memphis a 61-59 lead.
 
Smith answered with a clutch 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Bulldogs up one with 1:04 remaining. After a missed 3-pointer by the Tigers and a turnover by the Bulldogs, Samford called a timeout with 24.8 second remaining.
 
Out of the timeout, Banks found a way open on the baseline and Burks found him with a pass for the game-winner at the 19-second mark.
 
Burks committed a foul on a steal attempt to send the freshman Smith to the line. Samford was 8-of-14 from the line in the game. Smith missed the front end and Banks grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 3.5 left. He then missed both of his free-throw attempts as Memphis finished 9-of-19 from the stripe. Dorsey grabbed the rebound but lost control of the ball as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 628-consecutive games. The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA.
 
The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 848-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (840) and Kentucky (833) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
The Bulldogs will face one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation this season. Four of Samford's 13 out-of-conference games are against opponents ranked in the top-20. Two of those opponents are currently ranked in the top five.
 
On Thursday, the Bulldogs played in Louisville, Ky., and were defeated in by the No. 2-ranked Louisville Cardinals, 80-54. Just two days later, Samford will face another top-15 opponent as the Bulldogs square off against the 15th-ranked Memphis Tigers at the FedExForum on Saturday.
 
In December, Samford is slated to play yet another pair of top-20 opponents with road games at Kentucky and Wisconsin. Heading into the 2012-13 campaign, the defending national champion Kentucky was the No. 4-ranked team in the nation, while Wisconsin was ranked No. 17 in the preseason polls. The Bulldogs will play at Kentucky on Dec. 4 and at Wisconsin on Dec. 29.
 
Samford's 2012-13 roster is not only one of the youngest in the Southern Conference, but one of the youngest in the nation as well. A total of nine of the Bulldogs' 14 players are underclassmen this season, and Samford is just one of two teams in the SoCon that doesn't have a single senior on its roster.
 
The 2012-13 Bulldogs are comprised of five juniors: Levi Barnes (C), Will Cook (G), Gregg Wooten (G), Hamilton Bailey (G) and Tony Thompson (G). Samford boasts a talented sophomore class this season in Brandon Hayman (G), Connor Miller (G), Kelly (G) and Tyler Hood (F).
 
Last season, Samford's Kelly and Hood were both named to the prestigious SoCon All-Freshman Team. Despite last year's successful freshman class, the Bulldogs' 2012-13 incoming freshman class might be just as good, if not better. This year's talented freshman class includes Russell Wilson (PG), Clide Geffrard, Jr. (F), Mike Fitzpatrick (G), Jaylen Beckham (PG) and Williams (F).
 
Following Saturday's game at No. 16 Memphis, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Toledo Rockets in the opening round of the Atlantis on the Mainland Tournament hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla.