What’s on the line for Wichita State basketball in upcoming Memphis home game

The Wichita State men’s basketball team has clearly improved in recent weeks compared to a rough first two months of the season, but that improvement will be put to the test in WSU’s next three games — against the three best teams in the American Athletic Conference.

The Shockers (14-12, 7-7 AAC) are in the mix for a top-5 finish in the conference standings, and more importantly, the first-round bye at the conference tournament that comes with it, but they have to make up ground on Temple (15-13, 9-6 AAC).

WSU’s win over the Owls acquired last week in Philadelphia could prove helpful, especially considering Temple is the projected underdog in its final three games of the season, per KenPom.

But that head-to-head tiebreaker won’t mean anything if the Shockers don’t find a way to win at least two more games on their schedule. With road trips to Tulane and Houston, the No. 1-ranked team in the country, on the horizon, Wichita State’s home game against Memphis on Thursday carries significance for both teams.

While the Tigers (20-7, 10-4 AAC) are looking to remain above the NCAA tournament bubble, the Shockers will be looking for their best home win of the season when the game tips off at 6 p.m. Thursday with a national audience watching on ESPN2 and a black-out slated for Koch Arena.

“All of our games left are important, but this is the next one up,” WSU head coach Isaac Brown said. “Memphis is a veteran basketball team, probably the oldest team in our conference. They’re a team that you’ve got to value the basketball against. You can’t turn it over and allow them to get out in transition. The key to this game is going to be valuing the basketball and not turning it over.”

Since Penny Hardaway took over the Memphis program, the Tigers have dominated the series with WSU. Memphis has won seven of the eight matchups with the Shockers’ lone win coming in a 76-67 victory at Koch Arena on Jan. 9, 2020.

In this season’s first meeting, an 88-78 Memphis victory at FedExForum, WSU rallied from a 13-point deficit to cut the margin to one point entering the final nine minutes of the game, but Memphis stars Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams combined for 49 points to put the Shockers away.

Davis, the all-time leading scorer in AAC history, missed this past Sunday’s game at Houston due to an ankle injury and is considered day-to-day ahead of Thursday’s trip to Wichita.

WSU will prepare as if a healthy Davis will play on Thursday.

“Without a doubt, I think he’ll play,” Brown said. “But they just got Alex Lomax back and he’s caused us a lot of problems whenever we’ve played him. They’re deep at that position. They’re a really good basketball team, so we’ve got to be prepared no matter who they play.”

In the Brown era, WSU has yet to keep a game within single-digits against Memphis, as the Tigers have an average margin of victory of 18 points in the last four meetings.

The run-and-jump style of defense employed by Memphis has caused WSU problems on an annual basis. Not necessarily with turnovers, but by speeding up WSU’s decision-making and tiring out players’ legs, which could contribute to the Shockers’ 22% 3-point shooting in their last four games against Memphis.

Open shots against Memphis’ defense are available to teams who can make quick and smart decisions. WSU has struggled with that quick decision-making at times this season.

“You’ve got to be able to handle the 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 breaks and get layups on those,” Brown said. “The key is to just play smart basketball. Don’t go out there and try to do something you’re not comfortable doing. I know that sounds simple, but we tell guys all the time, ‘If you’re a rebounder, then just rebound. Don’t try to handle the basketball.’ Guards have got to take care of the basketball, be sure of your passes and attack them in transition and make them pay for pressing you.”

WSU has found consistency on offense playing through its post players in sophomore center Kenny Pohto and senior forward James Rojas, an identity the team was just beginning to forge when the first meeting played out in mid-January. The Shockers have now been averaging north of 78 points for their last 12 games, potency that they feel like gives them a better chance of matching up with Memphis.

After Williams torched WSU for 29 points in the first meeting, the Shockers could try to play more zone defense to throw a different look at Memphis. Regardless of what kind of defense WSU plays, Brown knows a key to the game will be finishing out defensive possessions with rebounds against one of the better offensive rebounding teams in the country.

“Memphis is one of the most athletic teams in our conference, so every time the ball is shot we’ve got to have everybody gang rebounding,” Brown said. “Nobody can leak out. Everybody has got to find someone to hit and then we got to go rebound the basketball.”

Memphis at Wichita State basketball preview

Records: Memphis 20-7, 10-4; WSU 14-12, 7-7

When: 6 p.m. Thursday

Where: Koch Arena (10,506), Wichita

TV: ESPN2 (Kevin Brown and Tim Welsh)

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM

KenPom says: Memphis 75, WSU 70

Series: Memphis leads 16-12 (WSU leads 8-5 in Wichita)

Projected starting lineups

Memphis Tigers

Coach: Penny Hardaway, fifth season, 105-50

Wichita State Shockers

Coach: Isaac Brown, third season, 45-31