MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Wichita State couldn't buy a three and host Memphis couldn't miss – a combination proved too much for the Shockers to overcome in a 72-52 loss Thursday evening at FedExForum.
 
Ricky Council IV finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Wichita State (8-4, 4-2 American), which shot a season-low 29.4 percent from the field and missed 21 of its 23 attempts from beyond the arc.
 
Morris Udeze (10 points on 5-of-7 shooting) finished in double-figures for the third-straight game, and Alterique Gilbert added nine points and a team-high four assists plus two steals.
 
Landers Nolley III knocked down 4-of-5 from three and freshman Moussa Cisse added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Memphis (7-5, 3-2), which hit 11 threes on 61.1 percent accuracy – both season-highs for a Shocker opponent.
 
WSU had held its first 11 foes to just 27 percent from three (12^th-best nationally), while Memphis came into the night ranked among the bottom-50 in three-point accuracy (.302).
 
The Memphis trio of Alex Lomax, Damian Baugh and Deandre Williams had been a combined 0-for-13 from deep this season but finished 4-for-5 on Thursday.
 
WSU's Tyson Etienne – the conference's second-leading scorer – missed his first seven tries and ended the night with just three points on 1-for-12 shooting.
 
A Tiger defense that ranked among the nation's top-10 in steals managed just three. WSU won the turnover battle, 16-10, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.
 
Memphis had the edge in overall rebounds (47-39) and tallied 22 assists on 28 baskets.
 
WSU led 15-14 with just under 6:00 to go in the first half before an 8-0 Memphis run, fueled by three-pointers from Lomax and Baugh. The Tigers never trailed again.
 
The Shockers faced a 25-19 deficit at the intermission after the worst three-point shooting half in school history (0-for-12). The previous mark came Dec. 19, 2007 WSU missed all 11 first-half tries in an eventual 67-47 win over LSU.
 
Gilbert and Trey Wade made back-to-back triples to stop the slide early in the second, but the Shockers finished the game with another nine-straight misses.
 
Memphis had its own early struggles. The Tigers cashed in 6-of-9 threes before halftime but committed 10 turnovers while missing 16 of their 19 attempts from inside the arc.
 
The Tigers were much sharper in the second half, making 10 of their first 12 shots out of the locker room to pull away. The 6-foot-10 Cisse supplied six of those makes on four dunks and a layup.
 
Lomax's second three of the night gave Memphis 48-32 lead at the 12:18-mark.
 
Council scored five-straight points for the Shockers to cut the lead to single-digits, 50-41, with 8:51 to play.
 
WSU had a chance to get within seven a minute later but missed a pair of free throws.
 
Memphis protected and rebuilt its lead by hitting 4-of-5 threes over the last 8:00.
 
The Shockers lost their third-straight to Memphis at FedExForum. The teams will meet again Feb. 18 in Wichita.
 
With the postponement of Sunday's home game against South Florida, WSU now faces another long, six-day layoff. The Shockers return to the floor next Wednesday, Jan. 27 at Cincinnati (5 p.m. CT, ESPN+).