[5] MEMPHIS (22-9, 11-7) vs. [12] WICHITA STATE (14-18, 5-13)
American Athletic Conference Championship | Second Round
Thursday, March 14 | 1:30 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena
 
TV: ESPNU with Mike Corey & Perry Clark
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy, Dave Dahl & Bob Hull
 

---

OPENING TIPS
• The 12th-seeded Shockers tipoff second round action against No. 5 Memphis on Thursday (1:30 p.m. CT, ESPN2). The winner advances to face No. 4 UAB in Friday's quarterfinals at 2:00 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
• Memphis swept the regular season series and leads the all-time series, 20-12. The Tigers have won the last nine meetings with the Shockers.
• The Tigers set numerous records in the first meeting, a 112-86 win in Charles Koch Arena, but needed a last second shot to avoid Wichita State's upset bid just a few weeks later in Memphis, 65-63.
• Five teams finished the American Athletic Conference regular season at 5-13. The Shockers were a combined 2-3 vs. the other four teams (Tulane, UTSA, Rice and Temple).
• This is Wichita State's sixth AAC Championship, having never made it past the semifinals. Wichita State has won at least one game in the conference tournament 14 of the last 15 years.
• Wichita State shot 72.4 percent from the floor in the first half of its first round win vs. Rice, setting a new AAC Championship record, breaking the previous mark of 61.3 percent (UCF vs East Carolina, 2015).
• Five Shockers finished in double figures in the win over Rice. Ronnie DeGray III (15) and Bijan Cortes (12) both set season highs in points.
• Colby Rogers has scored 20+ in four straight games with 29 at UAB,  25 vs. Rice, 29 at Tulane and 22 vs. Rice. He's averaging 26.3 points per game during that stretch.
• Over his last four games, he's 23-for-37 (62.2%) from beyond the arc. He was a career-best 7-for-9 in the win vs. Rice on March 2.
• With his five 3-pointers in the first round vs. Rice he became the single season school record holder with 93 made 3-pointers this season, passing Sean Ogirri's 91 in 2005-06.
• Rogers (16.7 ppg; leading scorer) has made a three-pointer in all but one game this season and multiple in 24 of the 32. He leads the AAC in total 3PT FG made (94), 3PT Percentage (41.8%) and 3PT FGM per game (2.94).
• Quincy Ballard ranks 23rd nationally in blocks (67). He had tied a career-high with 7 vs. East Carolina on Jan. 24. Ballard has 19 games with multiple blocks.
• His 67 blocks are 3rd most in school history.
• Over the last 21 games Ballard is shooting 72-for-92 (78.3%) from the field.

THE SERIES VS. MEMPHIS
• This is the 33rd meeting all-time. Memphis leads 20-12 (10-2 AAC era) with seven-straight victories.
• Six of Memphis' 10 wins in the AAC era have been by double digits.
• Wichita State's last win came Jan. 9, 2020 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams at Charles Koch Arena.
• In the first meeting of the season Memphis was ranked No. 13 and even climbed as high as No. 10 in the AP poll, but finished the conference season 7-7 over its final 14 games.
• Wichita State is 8-7 against Memphis in Wichita (1-4 AAC era). All 14 matchups have taken place at the Roundhouse.
• Since Wichita State joined the American in 2017-18, Wichita State and Memphis have played each other twice in every season but two (2018, 2021). The only reason they didn't in 2021 was due to COVID canceling the game.
• The Shockers won on their first visit to FedExForum (Feb. 6, 2018) but have since dropped five-straight. They're 3-12 all-time against the Tigers in Memphis.
• Wichita State does own two other wins at FedExForum as part of its run to the 2019 AAC semifinals.
• Wichita State is 1-10 against Penny Hardaway.
• The Tigers swept the 2021-22 series, winning by 18 in Wichita and by 24 in Memphis.
• The series in 2022-23 was much closer, but the Shockers still found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
• Memphis needed 29 points from DeAndre Williams to defeat the Shockers by 10 in Memphis on Jan. 19. One month later, Memphis outlasted the Shockers in Charles Koch Arena, 83-78.
• Memphis won both regular season meetings again in 2023-24 in very different fashion. The first a dominant win, and the second on a game-winner in the final seconds.
• The only neutral site meeting between the two schools came in 2014 when they meet at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Fall, S.D. to begin the 2014-15 season.
• Ron Baker scored a game-high 21 points and added five rebounds, six assists and two steals to lead Wichita State to a comfortable 71-56 win in front of a sellout crowd.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
• Led by sixth year head coach Penny Hardaway, Memphis enters the matchup at 22-9 and 11-7 in league play.
• In five seasons since returning to his alma mater as head coach, Hardaway, has led the Tigers to a 129-61 record, five-straight 20-win seasons, the 2021 National Invitation Tournament championship, the 2023 AAC tournament championship and two consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2023.
• Hardaway's 110 wins entering the season are second-most among 14 first-time NCAA Division I head coaches hired prior to the 2018-19 season and tied for third-most among Tiger head coaches in their first five seasons. Only three of Memphis' 16 head coaches since World War II have won 20 games in each of their first five seasons at the helm, now including Hardaway.
• In his tenure, Hardaway has mentored two first-round NBA Draft picks, three American Athletic Conference Freshmen of the Year, seven all-conference selections, five all-freshman honorees and an AAC Tournament MVP. The Tigers have won eight games against ranked opponents, been ranked inside the top-10 on two occasions and twice had the nation's number-one recruiting class.
• Memphis was picked to finish 2nd out of 14 teams in the Preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll.
• In mid December, Memphis won three straight games over Top 25 teams (Texas A&M, Clemson and Virginia).
• Of their 22 wins this season, eight have come against Power 5 opponents.
• The Tigers have four wins against Power Five programs this season away from their home floor.
• David Jones is the only player in the nation that is averaging at least 21.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per outing.
• He leads the American Athletic Conference and ranks 6th in the nation with a 21.7 scoring average.
• Jones has led the Tigers in scoring 22 times this season, and has posted an AAC-high 16 games with 20+ points.
• Memphis' newest addition has only been on the roster for less than two months in the way of Kansas State transfer Nae'Qwan Tomlin. In 20 games with the Tigers, Tomlin is averaging 13.9 points and 5.7 rebounds.
• Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly scores 13.7 points, dishes 4.4 assists and grabs 3.2 rebounds a game. Quinerly was a Preseason All-AAC First Team selection.
• Malcolm Dandridge leads the team with 39 blocked shots to go with 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
• Memphis is among the nation's best teams at getting to the free throw line and connecting on those attempts. They rank 27th nationally in free throws made per game, 34th in free throw attempts per game and 72nd in free throw percentage.
• The Tigers score 81.0 points per game on 46.3% shooting. They are converting on 35.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
• Defensively, the allow 75.9 points and opponents are converting 42.6% of their field goal attempts.

CONNECT THE DOTS
• A familiar face resides on the Memphis roster this season in the way of senior Jaykwon Walton. Walton departed Wichita State after last season where he led the Shockers in scoring at 13.9 points per game. He entered the transfer portal last spring and proceeded to find two different homes (Alabama and UCF) before finally landing at Memphis late summer.
• He has made 27 starts this season and is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds on 38.1% shooting.
• Walton scored a season-high 23 points in his return to Wichita just a few weeks ago. Since that game, he's scored a total of 19 points over three games.

RECORD BOOK WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is on pace to shatter the single season school record for field goal percentage.
• Through 32 games Ballard is shooting 73.0% (103-for-141) from the field. The current school record is 61.6% by Steve Grayer set in 1987-88.
• That number would rank 1st nationally but to qualify players must average 5 FGM per game. Currently Ballard is at 3.2 FGM per game.
• On the defensive end, Ballard is trending towards a top five season blocking shots. He's currently fifth on the single season blocks per game list.
• Ballard is third on the single season total blocks list.

LEAD GUARDS
• Colby Rogers and Xavier Bell have formed a 1-2 scoring attack for Wichita State through 32 games. Rogers leads Wichita State in scoring at 16.7 per game and Bell is right behind at 11.5.
• The duo of Rogers and Bell make up 38.3 percent of Wichita State's scoring as they've accounted for 900 points.
• Rogers has scored in double figures in 26 of the first 32 games, and Bell in 19 of the 32. They each have multiple 20-point outings to their name (Rogers - 10, Bell - 4).

COLBY ROG3333333333333333333333333RS
• Colby Rogers has made a 3-pointer in all but one game this season. His streak was snapped at 25 vs. Charlotte.
• He has multiple three-pointers in 25 of the 32 games.
• He broke the single season school record vs. Rice. His 94 made three-pointers are the most by a Shocker in school history.
• Rogers is attempting 7.03 three-pointers per game, which currently stands as the third most in school history behind Tyson Etienne (8.30 in 2021-22; 7.55 in 2020-21).
• His 2.94 three-pointers made per game are currently the second most in school history.

ACCESS DENIED
• Wichita State has an elite rim protector in Quincy Ballard. His season was cut short in 2022-23 due to injuries, so he's only played 42 total games in his Shocker career. In those 42 games he has 81 blocked shots. Sixty-seven of those have come in the first 32 games.
• Through 32 games his 67 blocks rank 23rd nationally and his 2.09 blocks per game rank 27th.
• He has multiple blocks in all but 13 games this season, including two games with seven.

ROGER(S) THAT
• Colby Rogers is getting hot at the right time for Wichita State. In his last three games, Rogers is averaging 26.3 points per game on 49.3% shooting, and an incredible 23-of-37 (62.2%) from three-point range.
• He started the streak with a career-high 29 points at UAB, going 5-for-6 from long range. He made his first 8 shots before finally missing. Rogers followed that performance with an efficient 25-point outing against Rice, where he was a career-best 7-for-9 from three. He then tied his career high in the regular season finale at Tulane with 29 points, going 6-for-13 from deep. In Wichita State's first round win over Rice, he hit 5 three-pointers for a team-high 22 points.
• As a team, Wichita State is 42-for-82 (51.2%) from three-point range over its last four games. The previous 11 games Wichita State was 52-for-188 (27.7%).

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 15-18 this season.
... Move them to the quarterfinals of the AAC Tourney.
... Improve their record to 7-5 all-time at the AAC Tourney.
... Give them at least one win in the conference tournament in 14 of the last 15 years.
... Make them 5-3 all time on March 14.
... Give Paul Mills 121 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,672-1,263 all time.
... Make them 13-20 vs. Memphis all time.
... Snap an 8-game losing streak to Memphis.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... End their season at 14-19.
... Drop them to 6-6 all-time at the AAC Tourney.
... Make Paul Mills 14-19 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career coaching record to 120-103.
... Drop them to 4-4 all time on March 14.
... Drop their record to 1,671-1,264 all time.
... Make them 12-21 all-time vs. Memphis.
... Be their 9th straight loss to the Tigers.

UP NEXT
GAME 34: [4] UAB                                
• Wichita State is 6-5 all-time at the American Athletic Conference Championship.
• Wichita State won the lone regular season matchup vs. the No. 4 seed UAB Blazers in Birmingham.
• The Blazers won their regular season finale to grab the final double bye.
• The Shockers have never been lower than a No. 7 seed in the AAC Championship.
• Wichita State has advanced to the semifinals three times but never appeared in the championship game.
• Wichita State has won at least one game at the AAC Championship every year, except in 2022 with a first round loss to Tulsa.