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during the Memphis vs. Wichita State Men’s Basketball game on 01192023.
Matthew A. Smith

MBB Preview: Memphis (Feb. 23)

2/21/2023 6:26:00 PM

MEMPHIS (20-7, 10-4) at WICHITA STATE (14-12, 7-7)
Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 | 6:01 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
 
Tickets: 316-978-3267(FANS) / goshockers.com/tickets
TV: ESPN2 w/ Kevin Brown & Tim Welsh
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (goshockers.com/listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: Memphis leads 17-12 (WSU leads 8-5 in Wichita)
Last Meeting: Jan. 19, 2023 in Memphis (MEM, 88-78)
 
 
PROMOTIONS:
It's a blackout at Charles Koch Arena and fans are encouraged to dress the part. Plus, the ever popular frisbee dogs return for a special halftime performance.
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • Wichita State plays the first of three straight games against the American Athletic Conference's top-three teams, Thursday night when the Memphis Tigers roll into town.
  • The Shockers (7-7) still have a shot at one of the five first-round byes in next month's AAC tournament but will have to perform well down the stretch against a schedule that includes road trips to second-place Tulane (Sunday) and No. 1 Houston (next Thurday).
  • The Shockers are well-rested, at least, with a full week off since last Thursday's 79-65 win at Temple. WSU trailed 62-58 near the 6:00 mark before finishing on a 21-3 run. Jaykwon Walton scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in that stretch, helping the Shockers secure their fourth consecutive true road victory.
  • WSU hasn't been nearly as fortunate at home this year (7-7, 2-5 in AAC play) but won its most recent outing against SMU on Feb. 16 (91-89, 2ot).
  • Since starting conference play 0-3, the Shockers have taken 7 of 11. They're in seach of their first three-game AAC winning streak since 2021 when they wrapped up the regular season crown with seven consecutive wins.
  • This is the second go-around against Memphis this year. The Tigers took the first (Jan. 19 at FedExForum) by an 88-78 count. Led by DeAndre Williams (29 points) and Kendric Davis (20), the Tigers shot 52.3% on 11-of-21 three-point shooting. James Rojas paced WSU with a career-high 19.
  • WSU is 1-7 against Penny Hardaway with fivestraight setbacks. The lone win came Jan. 9, 2020 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams at the Roundhouse.
  • WSU (18th, .398) and Memphis (23rd, .403) both rank among the top-25 in field goal percentage defense.
  • Walton is WSU's leading scorer at 14.4 points. The junior wing has reached double-figures in each of the 10 games since his Jan. 14 return from an ankle injury. In that span, he's averaging 18.2 points.
  • Porter ranks second at 12.7 points. He leads the team and ranks among the AAC leaders in rebounds (12th, 6.2), assists (5th, 4.2) and blocks (3rd, 1.6).
  • Porter is the first Shocker since Fred VanVleet (November, 2013) to record at least six assists in four consecutive games.
  • Porter needs just one more block to match Ron Baker for most all-time by a Shocker guard. The 6-2 Porter enters his 70th game with 75 career swats.
 

ON THIS DATE: FEB. 23
1982 – Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston combined for six of WSU's school-record 10 dunks in a 106-89 victory over West Texas State.
1985 – On his senior night, Xavier McDaniel scored 33 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in a win over Bradley and became just the second 2,000-point scorer in school history (joining Cleo Littleton).
 
 
LAST TIME ON SHOCKER BASKETBALL:
Feb. 16, 2023 in Philadelphia | WSU 79, Temple 65
  • Jaykwon Walton scored a game-high 21 points o 5-of-7 three-point shooting and a WSU team that has had difficulty closing out opponents slammed the door on Temple.
  • Walton and Craig Porter Jr. combined for 18 points during a 21-3 Shocker run to finish the game.
  • It was WSU's fourth consecutive road win and first ever in three trips to the Liacouras Center. Nationally-ranked Shocker teams fell to Temple in 2018 and 2020.
  • The Owls used a 13-0 run to forge ahead 62-58 at the 6:23-mark but missed eight straight shots.
  • The Shockers scored the next 15 points to take control.
  • James Rojas secured his third double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five steals.
  • Porter finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists with just one turnover.
  • Despite early foul trouble from Porter, WSU closed the first half on a 13-2 run and led 41-33 at the break.
  • Porter made his presence felt in crunch time with a triple from the top of the key put WSU in front for good with 4:32 to play. He lobbed to Pohto for a layup on the next trip down, then nailed another step-back three and short jumper to put the Shockers in driver's seat.
  • WSU shot 46.6%, made 10-of-26 threes (.385) and finished +16 on the boards. Temple was better from beyond the arc (10-of-24, .417) than inside it (13-of-32, .406).
  • Hysier Miller paced TU with 17 points but Khalif Battle, the AAC's fourth-leading scorer coming in, was scoreless on just four field goal attempts.
 
 
TRENDING:
  • The Shockers have posted a winning home record in every season since 1996-97 but will need to win their last two against Memphis and South Florida in order to keep that streak alive. They're currently 7-7 at the Roundhouse.
  • Melvion Flanagan replaced Jaron Pierre Jr. in the starting lineup at Temple ending a string of nine straight starts for the grouping of Porter-Pierre-Walton-Rojas-Pohto. It was WSU's 10th unique starting-five this season.
  • Pierre's string of 12 straight starts ended.
  • Flanagan's 28 minutes were a career-high, as were his seven rebounds and two steals.
  • Craig Porter Jr. made his 50th career start vs. the Owls.
  • Porter has banked at least six assists in four straight games (7 at Tulsa, 7 vs. UCF, 6 vs. SMU and 6 at Temple). He's only the second Shocker in the last 25 years to do it, joining Fred VanVleet (4 in November 2013).
  • Porter is the first Shocker since Terry Hankton (4 in February, 2018) to do it against conference opponents.
  • Who was the last Shocker with five games in a row? Melvin "Ziggy" McKey did it in each of the last five games of his senior year in 1995-96.
  • Jaykwon Walton ranks 37th nationally in true shooting percentage (64.7), a stat which measures a players overall shooting efficiency by taking into account free throw, 2-point and 3-point percentages.
  • In the past two seasons, Memphis has topped 50% from the field in all three meetings with WSU. The other 49 Shocker opponents in that span have combined to do it twice (Tulane last month and Cincinnati in 2021-22).
  • The Shockers are an uncharacteristic 2-5 in AAC home games. The seven opponents have combined to shoot 38.7% from three (67/173) and none have made less than 30%. WSU is 5-2 in AAC road games, during which the seven foes have collectively made just 20.3% of their threes (24/118).
 
 
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 over 93% 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 13th nationally in tempo, per KenPom, averaging 72.4 possessions.
  • Two of Memphis' four AAC losses have come in OT.
  • Davis is the league's top scorer (21.3 ppg) and passer (5.8 apg). He's elite at drawing fouls (6.8-per-40 ranks 16th nationally) and entered the week ranked among the top-5 in both free throw makes and attempts  (171/202, .847).
  • The 26-year-old Williams is D1 college hoops' oldest players and also one of its most-dominant, averaging 17.3 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds.
  • Davis (2.15 spg) and Lomax (2.7) are pests on the perimeter and a big reason why the Tigers rank among the NCAA leaders in steals (21st, 9.0) and fastbreak points (5th, 15.7).
  • Opponents that don't turn the ball over must survive the gauntlet of Williams (24 blocks) and 6-10 center Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu (43 blocks; second on the AAC leaderboard).
  • Even the shots that go up don't often go in. The Tigers rank 20th in field goal percentage defense, limiting foes to 40.3%.
  • Memphis opponents have found success through a mixture of free throws and second-chance points. The Tigers rank 307th in defensive rebound percentage (.686) and concede a league-high 22.0 free throw attempts-per-game.
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • 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 from 2014-22.
 
###
 
THE SERIES WITH MEMPHIS:
  • This is the 30th meeting all-time. Memphis leads 17-12 (7-2 AAC era) with five-straight victories.
  • WSU is 8-5 against Memphis in Wichita (1-2 AAC era). All 13 matchups have taken place at the Roundhouse.
  • The Tigers swept the 2021-22 series, winning by 18 in Wichita and by 24 in Memphis.
 

 
LAST MEETING:
Jan. 19, 2022 (Memphis) | MEM 88, WSU 78          
  • James Rojas scored a career-high 19 points, but WSU struggled to get stops in a 10-point road loss... DeAndre Williams (29 points) and Kendric Davis (20) did the heavy lifting for Memphis, which extended its home winning streak to 15 games.
  • The Tigers shot 52.3% and made 11-of-21 from long range, led by Davis (4/5 3pt) and Keonte Kennedy (4/7 3pt).
  • The Shockers had made less than 35% of their shots in five straight meetings with Memphis but hit 44.6% in this one, including 9-of-24 threes (.375).
  • Jaykwon Walton added 15 points to go with Craig Porter Jr.'s five assists and three blocks... Porter hit back-to-back jumpers and Jaron Pierre Jr. sank a three during an 11-2 Shocker run that gave them a 20-12 lead with 8:19 to go in the first half.
  • The Tigers were 4-of-13 from the field at that point but proceeded to make 26-of-43 the rest of the way, including 9-of-13 from beyond the arc.
  • Down 36-30 at the intermission, WSU scored 48 second-half points on 61% shooting but surrendered 52 on 60% on the opposite end.
  • Melvion Flanagan came off the bench to spark an 8-0 Shocker run that pulled them back to within a point late, but Memphis exploded for 28 over the final 9:00.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
  • Make them 15-12 (8-7 AAC) with victories in eight of their last 12.
  • Give them their first three-game winning streak since Nov. 21-Dec. 1, 2021 (vs. UNLV, at Mizzou, at Oklahoma State).
  • Boost them over the .500-mark in AAC play for the first time since the tail end of the 2020-21 season.
  • Be their first against Memphis since Jan. 9, 2020 and snap a five-game skid.
  • Narrow Memphis' all-time series lead to 17-13 (7-3 AAC era).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
  • Drop them  to 14-13 (7-8 AAC)
  • Be their sixth straight against Memphis
  • Drop their home record to 7-8 (2-6 in AAC play).
  • Be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:  @ TULANE
Sunday, Feb. 26 | 2 p.m.  CT | ESPNU
New Orleans, La. | Devlin Fieldhouse
  • Tulane (17-7, 10-3 coming into the week) is battling Memphis for second place in the standings.
  • The Green Wave play Wednesday night at Houston before welcoming the Shockers.
  • WSU has a 6-3 series lead over Tulane but has dropped the last three meetings. Two of those were by a single point and the other came in OT.
  • The Shockers will be looking to avenge a Jan. 25 loss to the Green Wave in Wichita (95-90, OT). WSU led by 18 late in the first half and by 13 at halftime.
 
 
AND THEN:  @ HOUSTON
Thursday, Mar. 2 | 6 p.m.  CT | ESPN2
Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center
  • WSU's recent win at Temple leaves Houston as the only AAC opponent that WSU has not defeated on the road since joining.
  • If the Cougars take care of business this week, WSU will face an AP No. 1 for the first time since defeating Gonzaga in the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament. The Shockers haven't encountered a No. 1 ranked team in the regular season since falling on the road at UCLA (120-86) on Dec. 8, 1967.
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