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Porter vs. Tulsa 2

MBB Preview: at Memphis (Jan. 19)

1/18/2023 3:22:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (9-8, 2-3) at MEMPHIS (13-5, 3-2)
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 | 6 p.m. CT
Memphis, Tenn. | FedExForum
 
TV: ESPNU w/ Drew Carter & Mark Adams
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: MEM leads 16-12 (11-3 in Memphis); Last: Feb. 27, 2022 in Memphis (MEM, 81-57)
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • The Wichita State Shockers (9-8, 2-3 American) meet the Memphis Tigers (13-5, 3-2) 6 p.m. CT Thursday evening in an American Athletic Conference contest at FedExForum (ESPNU).
  • Memphis's nickname "the Home of the Blues" also sums up the Shockers' recent experience there. They've lost their last four visits and are just 3-11 all-time against the Tigers on their home floor.
  • The Shockers hope that the magic that sustained them to back-to-back comeback victories over South Florida and Tulsa will be with them again in Memphis against a Tiger team that is 8-0 on its home floor with 14-straight victories.
  • WSU trailed by 14 at USF with 14:44 to go before rallying for a 70-66 victory. Last Saturday against Tulsa they were down by 16 at the 18:26-mark but roared back for a 73-69 win. Both rank among the 10-largest second-half comebacks in school history.
  • Junior wing Jaykwon Walton scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead the way against Tulsa and carve out a spot on this week's AAC Honor Roll.
  • James Rojas notched his first career double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
  • 11 of the 13 Shockers who have seen action this year are newcomers (nine transfer, two redshirt frosh).
  • The defense has come together quickly, ranking 51 in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings, but the offense has taken time to gel (241 out of 358 schools).
  • WSU enters the day ranked among the NCAA's top-10 in field goal percentage defense (9th, .377).
  • Craig Porter Jr. -- one of just two holdovers from last year's active roster -- is the team's leading scorer (12.3) and ranks among the league leaders in blocks (4th, 1.69), assists (7th, .3.7) and steals (8th, 1.56).
  • In last year's game at Memphis, Porter tied a WSU program record with seven steals.
  • The other returner, sophomore big man Kenny Pohto, has come on strong of late with double-figure scoring in three of the last four games. He's averaging 8.8 rebounds over that span.
  • Four of the top-5 Shockers scorers are transfers, led by Walton (Georgia/Shelton State) who averages 12.2 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds with three double-doubles.
 
 
LAST TIME ON SHOCKER BASKETBALL:
Jan. 14, 2023 (Wichita) | WSU 73, Tulsa 69
  • WSU rallied from 16 down in the largest second-half comeback in Charles Koch Arena history.
  • Jaykwon Walton led a group of five double-figure scorers with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting and made all seven free throw attempts.
  • The Shockers trailed 47-31 at the 18:26 mark but tightened things up with a 15-2 run. They took their first lead of the night with 1:11 to play.
  • Walton was a second-half catalyst, scoring 13 of his 19 points after the intermission. Ditto for Xavier Bell, who sat the entire first half but chipped in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 16 second-half minutes.
  • James Rojas scored 11 points and notched his first double-double with career-highs 10 rebounds and five assists.
  • Sam Griffin delivered 25 points for Tulsa, which made 9-of-13 threes in the opening half to into the break with a 41-27 cushion, but hit just 1-of-9 thereafter.
  • It was the second dramatic comeback in as many games for WSU, which overcame a 14-point deficit at South Florida its last time out.
  • The Shockers were a miserable 2-of-17 from three but but attacked the rim relentlessly down the stretch, outscoring the visitors 23-5 at the free throw line and 44-22 in the paint. They also held an 18-0 edge in fast break points.
  • The win was WSU's 11th straight over the Golden Hurricane in Wichita.
 
 
ON THIS DATE: JAN. 19
1989 -- Its bench emptied by ejections, Indiana State played the entire second half with just four players but still managed to make a game of it. The Shockers won 84-69 but were outscored 44-43 in 20 minutes of 5-on-4 basketball... Eight Sycamores were ejected late in the first half, leaving Jeff Lauritzen, Jimmie Holliday, forward Townsend Harris and Ron Cheatham to finish the game for ISU… "It was one of the most bizarre second halves I've ever coached," WSU coach Eddie Fogler said that night. "I've never coached five against four. I probably had them way too tight. I mean, what are you going to do? Shoot jumpers or try to get it inside and get one guy fouled out to get them down to three?"… The fight started when Indiana State's Darin Liles went after WSU's Sasha Radunovich after a rebound. WSU's John Cooper was ejected for throwing a punch. Liles and seven Sycamore bench players also got tossed… Cheatham and Harris fouled out in the final minute and the game finished with just two Sycamores standing on the Hulman Center court.
 
 
COMEBACK TOUR:
  • WSU has overcome sizeable deficits to win each of its last two games. Both rank among the top-10 second-half comebacks in school history.
  • The Shockers trailed by 14 with 14:44 remaining at South Florida (Sunday, Jan. 8) but roared back to win 70-66.
  • They were down 16 with 18:26 to play against Tulsa (Saturday, Jan. 14) before rallying for a 73-69 victory in the largest second-half comeback in Charles Koch Arena history.
  • WSU trailed nearly the entire way against Tulsa, finally taking its first lead at the 1:10-mark of the second half. That's the least amount of lead time for a winning Shocker team since Jan. 25, 2009 when Toure' Murry sank a go-ahead jumper at the 9-second mark to secure a 51-50 win over Evansville.
 
Fewest Minutes Led in a Shocker Win // 2002-03 to Present:
1. EVANSVILLE (1/25/2009) – Led for 0:09 – Won, 51-50
2. SO. ILLINOIS (1/17/1998) – Led for 0:22 -- Won, 58-57
3. TULSA (1/14/2023) – Led for 1:10  -- Won, 73-69
4. at #20 LSU (11/25/2006) – Led for 1:49 -- Won, 57-53
5. at SMU (3/1/2020) – Led for 1:51 -- Won, 66-62
 
 
HOT POHTO:
  • WSU's bench averages 23.0 points and has clocked 37.5% of the minutes. Both marks are tops in the AAC.
  • After a slow start to his sophomore season, big man Kenny Pohto has been making up for lost time. In conference play he's been the Shockers' leading scorer (11.2), and rebounder (7.2) and also tops the team chart in total blocks (7), steals (9) and even assists (13). He set career-highs on Jan. 5 against Cincinnati with 21 points and 11 rebounds and put up 14 and 10 at USF along with five dimes.
  • Pohto's 8.6% turnover rate is second-best among AAC regulars and among the top-60 nationally. He's committed just two turnovers in five conference games.
 
 
TRENDING:
  • WSU has trailed at halftime in all five of its American Athletic Conference games but has outscored its opponent in each of the last four second halves.
  • WSU is 27-4 under third-year head coach Isaac Brown when scoring at least 70 points, including 6-1 this year. The lone loss came in overtime to Missouri.
  • WSU has held 12 of its 17 opponents under 40% from the field. this year.
  • Tulsa shot 46.6% on Saturday (highest by a Shocker foe this year). The Shockers (45.3%) won for the first time this season when being outshot. They were 0-6 coming in with nine straight losses.
  • By contrast, WSU is 8-1 this season when out-shooting its opponent (27-5 overall under Isaac Brown).
  • Due to a combination of injuries and inconsistent production, WSU used nine different starting lineups this year.
  • WSU's bench averages 23.0 points and has clocked 37.5% of the minutes. Both marks are tops in the AAC.
  • We're barely past the midway point of the regular season and Xavier Bell is the only one of the 13 Shockers who have appeared in all 17 games.
  • Saturday's game against Tulsa marked the first time that WSU has had its two leading scorers, Jaykwon Walton and Craig Porter Jr., in the starting lineup together since the Dec. 22 non-conference finale against Texas Southern. Porter missed the first two AAC games to an injury and Walton missed the Jan. 5 and 8 games against Cincinnati and South Florida.
  • Porter played the full 40 minutes against Cincinnati (Jan. 5) and Tulsa (Jan. 14). He's the first Shocker since Melvin McKey to go wire-to-wire twice in the same year. McKey did it in three straight games during the 1995-96 season.
  • Gus Okafor is two rebounds shy of 500 for his NCAA career and needs just 41 more points to reach 1,000. The 6-6 graduate transfer played his freshman season at Longwood and two more at Southeastern Louisiana.
  • With two blocks against Tulsa, 6-foot-2 point guard Craig Porter Jr. moved into the top-25 on WSU's career blocks list (62), leaping 6-11 Ozell Jones (61 from 1979-81) and tying 6-8 Cliff Levingston (62 from 1979-82) for 24th. Both of those bigs went on to play in the NBA.
 

 
THE SERIES WITH MEMPHIS:
  • This is the 29th meeting all-time. Memphis leads 16-12 (6-2 AAC era) with four-straight victories.
  • WSU's last win came Jan. 9, 2020 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams at Charles Koch Arena.
  • The Shockers won on their first visit to FedExForum (Feb. 6, 2018) but have since dropped four-straight. They're 3-11 all-time against the Tigers in Memphis.
  • WSU does own two other wins at FedExForum as part of its run to the 2019 AAC semifinals.
  • Isaac Brown is 0-3 against Memphis.
  • WSU is 1-6 against Penny Hardaway.
  • The Tigers swept the 2021-22 series, winning by 18 in Wichita and by 24 in Memphis.
  • The Shockers have less than a third of their field goal attempts in each of the last five meetings. In that span, they've connected on just 29 of 129 three-point attempts (.225).
  • WSU is 8-5 vs. Memphis at the Roundhouse (1-2 AAC).
  • 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.
 
 
SCOUTING MEMPHIS:
  • Memphis reached the NCAA tournament for the first time under Penny Hardaway last spring (falling to Gonzaga in the second round). The goal is the same in 2023, but the Tigers have taken a different approach to roster building. After years of loading up on highly rated freshmen recruits, Hardaway instead packed his 2022-23 squad with veterans. 10 of the 12 players who have seen action are listed as seniors or fifth-years and they've accounted for 94% of the team's minutes.
  • Two returning starters – fifth-year guard Alex Lomax and second team all-conference forward DeAndre Williams – were joined by a large transfer class headlined by 2022 AAC player of the year Kendric Davis from SMU.
  • Those old guys can still get up and down the court. The Tigers rank 16th nationally in tempo, per KenPom, averaging 72.5 possessions (WSU is one of the more-methodical at 65.2, 303rd).
  • Memphis (13-5, 3-2) has played 11 of its 16 games against KenPom top-100 opponents with notable non-conference victories over Auburn and Texas A&M. The Tigers fell in double-overtime at UCF last Wednesday (107-104) but bounced back Sunday with a 61-59 win at Temple on Davis' buzzer-beater.
  • Davis leads the conference in points (21.2 ppg) and assists (5.8) – both due in large part to his ability to get to the rim. He draws a league-best 6.9 fouls-per-40-minutes and is shooting .867 at the line. His 124 free throw makes are second-most in Division I.
  • The 26-year-old Williams is one of college hoops oldest players and also one of its most-dominant, averaging 15.7 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds.
  • Davis (2.3 spg, 22nd nationally) and Lomax (2.8 spg, 5th) are pests on the perimeter and a big reason why the Tigers rank among the NCAA leaders in steals (14th, 9.7) and fastbreak points (10th, 16.7).
  • Opponents that don't turn the ball over must survive the shot-blocking gauntlet of Williams (1.2 bpg) and 6-10 center Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu (1.8 bpg is second on the AAC leaderboard).
  • Even the shots that go up don't often go in. The Tigers rank 16th in field goal percentage defense, limiting foes to 36.7% from the field.
  • Memphis opponents have found success through a mixture of free throws and second-chance points. The Tigers rank among the bottom-25 in defensive rebound percentage (.662) and concede a league-high 21.7 free throw attempts-per-game.
  • The Tigers are 8-0 at home with 14-straight victories, last losing Jan. 20, 2022 to Davis-led SMU.
 

 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • Memphis point guard Alex Lomax originally signed with WSU but was granted his release after Penny Hardaway accepted the Memphis job.
  • New WSU assistant Butch Pierre spent a year on staff at Memphis under Tubby Smith (2017-18).
  • Penny Hardaway's reconfigured staff includes another familiar face in former Tulsa head coach Frank Haith. WSU faced Haith 14 times over an eight-year span from 2014-22.
  • WSU redshirt freshman Jalen Ricks' hometown of Sherwood, Ark. is a two-hour drive from Memphis.
  • Through a combination of stadium renovations, unbalanced schedules and COVID, FedExForum is one of just two AAC venues at which the Shockers have played in all six seasons since joining the conference (Tulsa).
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
  • Make them 10-8.
  • Be their first 3-game winning streak since Nov. 21-Dec. 1, 2021 (vs. UNLV, at Mizzou, at Okla. St.)
  • Even their conference record at .500 (3-3) after an 0-3 start to AAC play.
  • Be their first against Memphis since Jan. 9, 2000 and snap a four-game series skid.
  • Be their first against the Tigers at FedExForum since Feb. 6, 2018.
  • Narrow Memphis' series lead to 16-13 (11-4 in Memphis).
  • Up their road record to 3-2.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
  • Drop them to 9-9 (2-4 AAC).
  • Be their fifth straight against Memphis and make them 1-5 against the Tigers at FedExForum.
  • Drop their road record to 2-3.
  • Be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT: @ SMU      
Sunday, Jan. 22 | 2 p.m.  CT | ESPN+
Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
  • Three years later, the Shockers return to the scene of the crime. On their last visit (Mar. 1, 2020), they overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Mustangs, 66-62. It was one of the largest second-half comebacks in NCAA history.
  • WSU is 3-0 at Moody Coliseum since joining The American but has seen road trips to SMU canceled in each of the last two years by a combination of weather and COVID-19.
 
AND THEN: TULANE
Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 8 p.m.  CT | ESPNU/2
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
  • Tulane earned a pair of one-point victories over the Shockers in 2021-22.
  • WSU leads the all-time series 6-2 (4-1 in Wichita).
  • Tulane (12-6, 5-2) earned a vote in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll but saw its five-game winning streak snapped Tuesday night at Houston.
  • The Green Wave are one of the nation's fastest-paced teams, averaging 73.5 possessions-per-game (seventh nationally per-KenPom).
  • Tickets are available at goshockers.com/Tickets or by phone at 316-978-FANS.
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