WICHITA STATE (13-11, 4-8 AAC) at MEMPHIS (16-9, 10-5)
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022 | 1:35 p.m. CT
Memphis, Tenn. | FedExForum
 
Tickets: gotigersgo.com
TV: ESPN w/ Mike Corey & Sean Harrington
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
Series: MEM leads 15-12 (10-3 in Memphis); Last: Jan. 1, 2022 in Wichita (MEM, 82-64)
 

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OPENING TIPS:

• The Wichita State Shockers invade FedExForum Sunday afternoon for an American Athletic Conference matchup against the Memphis Tigers on ESPN.
• WSU is coming off a 76-74, double-overtime loss to No. 14 Houston last Sunday in Wichita. Craig Porter Jr. and Ricky Council IV scored 17-each. Council added 10 rebounds to notch his second double-double. Porter sank a game-tying three-pointer with 5 seconds to play in the second OT, but UH went the length of the floor for a game-winning dunk with 1.2 seconds on the clock.
• Memphis (10-5) has won seven of its last eight games and sits alone in third-place in the AAC standings. The Tigers are 11-2 at home this year.
• KenPom has WSU 36th and Memphis 38th in its defensive efficiency rankings.
• WSU has struggled offensively in its last two meetings with the Tigers, shooting 29.4% in its most-recent visit to FedExForum (Jan. 21, 2021) and 29.5% in last month's game in Wichita (Jan. 1, 2022).
• The Tigers have won three-straight and five of the seven AAC era meetings between the schools and lead the all-time series 15-12.
• WSU looks to snap a three-game losing streak at Memphis and notch its first win over the Tigers on their home floor since Feb. 21, 2018.
• The Shockers captured non-conference road wins over a pair of 2021 NCAA tournament teams (Mizzou and Oklahoma State) but are still in search of their first AAC road victory (0-4).
• Third-year guard Tyson Etienne needs just two more points to become the 48th member of WSU's 1,000-point club.
• Fourth-year guard Dexter Dennis is 29 points shy and would be just the eighth guard in school history with the combo of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Council has led the Shocker scoring in three-straight and six of the last eight games. Over that stretch he's averaging 15.6 points.
• Porter celebrates his 22nd birthday Saturday. He leads the team in the unusual combo of assists (3.6), blocks (1.1) and steals (1.4).
• Morris Udeze (10.5 ppg) is the team's top rebounder at 5.8-per-contest.
• WSU is making free throws at a school-record pace (.750) and is shooting a league-best .784 in AAC play. The 2011-12 Shockers made 74.8% of their free throws to set the current mark.

 
ON THIS DATE IN SHOCKER HISTORY: FEB. 27
1982 -- In his final game in a Shocker uniform, Cliff Levingston tallied 12 points and 13 rebounds to help WSU to a 92-72 win at Indiana State in its season finale (the Shockers were not postseason eligible that year). His last basket -- a dunk -- capped a 30-10 second-half run. Four months later, Levingston was drafted ninth overall by the Detroit Pistons.
1983 – With a 72-62 home win over Illinois State, WSU clinched the Missouri Valley Conference title and avenged an earlier loss to the Redbirds. Xavier McDaniel paced the Shockers with 17 points.
2015 -- The All-American duo of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet played their final home game (a 74-58 win over Illinois State). The Shockers were an incredible 57-3 at home over their four seasons (2012-16).
 
ON THE WAY TO 1K:

• WSU is close to adding two new members to its 1,000-point club. Dexter Dennis is 29 points shy and Tyson Etienne needs just two more.
• They would be Nos. 48 and 49.
• It's been 38 months since a Shocker last reached that milestone (Markis McDuffie became No. 47 on Dec. 8, 2018). It will be the widest gap between 1,000-point scorers in school history. Prior to it, the lengthiest lull was three years and one day between Jason Perez (Jan. 9, 1999) and Terrell Benton (Jan. 10, 2002).
• The shortest gap? WSU welcomes three members to the club in a span of 41 days during the 2014-15 season with Ron Baker (Feb. 7, 2015), Tekele Cotton (Mar. 6, 2015) and Fred VanVleet (Mar. 20, 2015). In 2003-04, juniors Randy Burns (Jan. 17, 2004) and Jamar Howard (Jan. 28, 2004) both made it over a 12-day period. HOWEVER, the title goes to Xavier McDaniel (Jan. 30, 1984) and Aubrey Sherrod (Feb. 5, 1984) who both did it in the same week during the 1983-84 campaign.
• Dennis grabbed his 500th career rebound on Jan. 16 against Cincinnati and is looking to become just the eighth Shocker guard with the combo of 1,000 points and 500 boards. Baker was the last to do it back in 2016.

 
TRENDING:

• Craig Porter Jr. has posted a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in just one of WSU's 11 conference games -- Jan. 1 against Memphis. Porter had missed the two previous weeks with an ankle injury and managed just one assist with three turnovers in his return against the Tigers. He's dropped four-or-more dimes in nine of the 10 games since.
• Morris Udeze needs just one more field goal make to qualify for WSU's career field goal percentage list. His .560 would put him second on the list between a couple of Shocker legends, Xavier McDaniel (.564) and Antoine Carr (.557).
• Udeze draws an average of 4.6 fouls-per-40-minutes -- seventh-best among AAC regulars. Houston's Josh Carleton (5.4) and Memphis' Jalen Duren (4.6) are the only big men ahead of him on the list.
• Ricky Council IV not only rejoined the Shocker starting lineup in last Sunday's double-OT thriller (his first start since Jan. 16), he played 48:27 out of a possible 50 minutes. That's the most by a WSU player since Feb. 17, 1990 when John Cooper (now an assistant coach at SMU) played all 50 in a double-OT loss at Creighton.
• Dexter Dennis' 10 rebounds vs. UH were a season-high and his eighth-career game with double-digit boards.
• Porter shared high-scoring honors against UH. It was the first time in 41 career games that Porter has led the team in that category. He also set or matched career-highs for minutes (43), field goals (6), field goal attempts (11) and free throw attempts (6).
• Porter did much of his damage late. 13 of his 17 points came in the final 2:00 of regulation plus overtime.
• KenPom rates Qua Grant second in the AAC and among the top-100 nationally in steal percentage (3.74). Only USF's Javon Greene (3.76) has been better.
• Grant's steal percentage would be the highest by a Shocker since 2015 when All-American and current Toronto Raptors all-star Fred VanVleet posted a 3.89.
• The Shockers have held double-digit leads in five of their 11 losses this year; three of them in AAC play.
• WSU is 7-1 when scoring at least 70 points in regulation and 19-1 in parts of two seasons under Isaac Brown.
• WSU has taken two of the NCAA NET's top-4 teams to overtime this year (No. 2 Arizona and No. 4 Houston).

 
SHOCKERS ON THE LEADERBOARDS:

• WSU's Ricky Council IV has been one of the AAC's best offensive weapons during league play. Per KenPom, he's second in offensive rating among the conference's high-usage players (utilized on at least 24% of possessions), trailing only Houston's Josh Carlton.

KenPom // Offensive Rating // AAC Games Only // Min. 24% Possessions Utilized:
1.Josh Carlton (Houston) -- 119.3 (26.0%)
2.Ricky Council IV (Wichita St.) -- 114.2 (24.8%)
3.David DeJulius (Cincinnati) -- 111.0 (26.0%)
4.Kendric Davis (SMU) -- 107.9 (27.3%)
5.Jalen Cook (Tulane) -- 107.1 (26.9%)

• Tyson Etienne ranks sixth on the AAC scoring chart (15.1 ppg) and is second in threes-per-game (2.83).
• Etienne got out to a slow three-point shooting start (31-of-104, .298 in his first 13 games) but has connected on 36.6%  (34-of-93) in the 10 games since.
• Craig Porter Jr. leads the team and ranks among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (5th, 1.90), assists (8th, 3.64), blocks (8th, 1.09) and steals (15th, 1.36).
• Per College Basketball Reference's Play Index, Porter enters the weekend as one of just four Division I players averaging at least 3.0 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal.Only one player in AAC history has done it over a full season (Memphis' Dedric Lawson in 2016-17).

 
TYSON 333333333333333333333TIENNE:

• Tyson Etienne has connected on at least one triple in 21-straight contests. That's tied for the fifth-longest streak in school history.

WSU All-Time // Consecutive Games w/ a 3-Point Field Goal:
40 -- Conner Frankamp (1/1/2017 to 1/28/2018)
29 -- Landry Shamet (12/17/2016 to 11/22/2017)
27 -- Ron Baker (11/18/2014 to 2/22/2015)
25 -- Ron Baker (4/6/2013 to 2/5/2014)
21 -- Dexter Dennis (2/2/2019 to 11/19/2019)
21 -- Tyson Etienne (11/16/2021 to Current)

 
THREES COMPANY:

• Tyson Etienne (192 career threes) and Dexter Dennis (174) are both in the top-10 on WSU's career triples list. Etienne needs four more to break into the top-5.

WSU Career Leaders // 3-Point Field Goals Made:
1.Randy Burns (2001-05) -- 248        
2.Ron Baker (2012-16) -- 242
3.Sean Ogirri (2004-07) -- 200           
4.Terrell Benton (1998-02) -- 197      
5.Jason Perez (1996-00) -- 196          
6.Tyson Etienne (2019-Pr.) -- 192      
7.Dexter Dennis (2018-Pr.) -- 174     

 

• Much like the groundog, Dennis slumbers through the early months of the season before busting out in February. In his first three seasons, he averaged 2.4 threes on 42.5% accuracy in February/March/April. That trend continues in 2022 where Dennis is 13-for-29 (.448) after hitting just 27% through the first three months.

 
JOINING THE DRAMA CLUB:

• 13 of WSU's 24 games this year have been decided by two-possessions. The Shockers are 6-7 under those circumstances, compared to 10-3 a year ago.
• In parts of two seasons under Isaac Brown, the Shockers have 16 wins by six-points-or-less (tied for first nationally since the start of the 2020-21 season).
• WSU is 307th out of 358 teams in KenPom's "luck" rankings, meaning the Shockers are one of the unluckiest teams in American when comparing their expected win total to their actual record. A year ago, they ranked 23rd.

 

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SCOUTING MEMPHIS:

• With a veteran core returning from last year's NIT Championship squad and the nation's top recruiting class, Memphis entered the season with heavy fanfare, including a preseason top-10 ranking. The talented Tigers struggled to put the pieces together in the early weeks of the season, but have won seven of their last eight, highlighted by a 69-59 road win at nationally-ranked Houston.
• The Tigers are led by fourth-year head coach Penny Hardaway, a former Memphis great and NBA All-Star.
• 6-10 five-star freshman Jalen Duren is the team's leading scorer (11.9 ppg on 64% shooting) and the conference's top rebounder (7.4) and shot-blocker (2.3).
• 6-9 forward DeAndre Williams was an impact transfer for the Tigers last season out of Evansville and is averaging 11.1 points in his second go-around along with 5.9 rebounds.
• Another five-star freshman, Emoni Bates (10.4 ppg) has taken a leave of absence from the team, but don't feel too sorry for Memphis. The Tigers have a large stable of veteran guards.
• 6-foot-7 junior guard Landers Nolley II was a first team All-AAC choice last spring after leading the Tigers in scoring. He's averaging 9.9 points this year.
• 6-5 junior Lester Quinones (9.6 ppg), 5-9 senior Tyler Harris (9.5 ppg, 42% 3-Pt) and 6-0 senior point guard Alex Lomax (5.8 ppg). Lomax leads the team in assists (4.0) and steals (1.6).
• Memphis plays fast (70.9 possessions ranks 31st nationally per-KenPom) and loose (23.0 turnover percentage ranks 352nd out of 358) but still piles up points through free throws and second-chance opportunities. The Tigers rank 10th nationally in free throw attempts-per-game (22.1) and are sixth in offensive rebound percentage (.368).
• Memphis also ranks fourth nationally in blocks (6.1) and is holding foes to just 39.6% from the field (21st).

 
MATCHUP MASHUP:

• Memphis assistant Cody Toppert was head coach of the Eberline Drive team that took part in last summer's TBT Wichita Regional. Top-seeded Eberlein was upset in the third round by eventual TBT runner-up Florida TNT.
• Memphis point guard Alex Lomax originally signed with WSU but was granted his release after Penny Hardaway accepted the Memphis job.
• WSU has been held under 30% in each of its last two games against Memphis. The Shockers shot 29.4% and made just 2-of-23 threes in their most-recent visit to FedExForum (Jan. 21, 2021) and shot 29.5% (7-of-33 from three) in the Jan. 1, 2022 game in Wichita. They combined for 15 assists with 26 turnovers in those two contests.
• Through a combination of stadium renovations, unbalanced scheduled and COVID, FedExForum is one of just two AAC venues at which the Shockers have played in all five seasons since joining the conference. WSU plays next Wednesday at Tulsa's Reynolds Center for what will also be the fifth year-in-a-row. The Shockers have also played five times in Houston but the first was at Texas Southern due to construction at the Fertitta Center.

 
THE SERIES:

• This is the 28th meeting all-time. Memphis leads 15-12.
• The Tigers have won the last two games -- Jan. 1 in Wichita -- and last year's lone meeting in Memphis.
• The Shockers'  last victory came two years ago in Wichita in a battle of nationally-ranked teams.
• WSU is 8-5 vs. Memphis at the Roundhouse (1-2 AAC).
• WSU is 3-10 at Memphis (1-3 AAC era).
• The Shockers' last win at FedExForum came against Temple in the 2019 AAC quarterfinals. They went 2-1 in that event, defeating ECU in the first round and dropping a nailbiter to Cincinnati in the semifinals. Their last win over Memphis at FedExForum came Feb. 6, 2018.
• WSU is 2-5 against Memphis in The American Era and 0-2 under second-year head coach Isaac Brown.
• WSU is 1-5 against Penny Hardaway.
• WSU and Memphis played 11 times from 1968-73 during Memphis' six-year stopover in the MVC. The Tigers won six of the 11 games between the two.

 
LAST MEETING WITH MEMPHIS:
Jan. 1, 2022 | Wichita | Memphis, 82-64
Memphis handed WSU its most-lopsided home loss (18 points) since Charles Koch Arena's 2003 renovation... Josh Minott scored 15 points off the bench for the Tigers, who used a 20-2 run to turn a six-point lead near the 4:00-mark of the first half into a 24-point cushion with 16:36 to play in the game... Tyson Etienne scored 17 points and Dexter Dennis added 16 for WSU, which shot a season-low 29.5% from the field and surrendered a season-high 52.4%... WSU outscored Memphis 21-11 at the foul line and forced 18 turnovers on 11 steals (three by Etienne)... Memphis outscored the Shockers 48-22 in the paint and outrebounded them by six... WSU was within half-a-dozen with 3:34 to play in the opening period, but Memphis finished the half on a 9-0 run for a 49-34 lead...  The Shockers missed their last six shots in the first half and six more to start the second. They endured another 0-for-11 stretch between the 17:00 and 7:00-marks. Memphis took advantage, building its lead to as many as 28 with 7:48 to play.
The Shockers showed some late fight. Etienne supplied seven points during a 14-1 run that narrowed the deficit to 75-60 with 3:54 to play... The loss snapped WSU's 11-game AAC home winning streak.
 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 14-11 (5-8 AAC after an 0-4 start).
... Snap a four game road losing streak (3-4).
... Be their first AAC road win this year (1-4).
... Salvage a regular season split with Memphis.
... Narrow MEM's series lead to 15-13 (5-3 AAC era).
... Be their first over MEM at FedExForum since Feb. 6, 2018, snapping a three-game losing streak.
... Make them 4-4 all-time at FedExForum (helped by a 2-1 record during the 2019 AAC tournament).
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 13-12 (4-9 AAC).
... Be their third-straight.
... Give them five-straight true road losses.
... Give Memphis the season sweep.
... Make them 1-4 vs Memphis at FedExForum with four-consecutive losses.
... Extend MEM's' series lead to 16-12 (6-2 AAC era).
... Be less good than a win.
 

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UP NEXT:
The Shockers are back on the road Wednesday at Tulsa (8 p.m. CT, ESPNU) then return home for the regular season finale against East Carolina (Saturday, Mar. 5, 2 p.m. CT, ESPNU).