Tigers roll to 72-52 win over second-place Wichita State

Thursday, January 21

Memphis, Tenn.

6 p.m.

University of Memphis

7-5,3-2AAC

Wichita State

8-4,4-2AAC

Wichita St.

Memphis

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers roll to 72-52 win over second-place Wichita State

Jan 21, 2021 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers exploded offensively in the second half and locked down on defense to pick up a 72-52 win over the Wichita State Shockers Thursday night at FedExForum.

Wichita State (8-4, 4-2 AAC) entered the game in second place in the American Athletic Conference standings, having won seven of its last eight games. The Tigers (7-5, 3-2 AAC) held the potent Wichita State offense to 22 points under its season average.

Memphis has now limited four-straight conference opponents to fewer than 60 points for the first time since 2008.

The win was head coach Penny Hardaway's 50th from the top seat on the Tigers bench.

Moussa Cisse recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Landers Nolly II had 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Alex Lomax added a season-high 12 points, and DeAndre Williams finished with 10 points and five assists. D.J. Jeffries pulled down 10 rebounds.

Memphis had 22 assists on 28 baskets to help facilitate the scoring.

The Tigers limited Wichita State's Travis Etienne to three points on 1-of-12 shooting. Etienne entered the game as the conference's second-highest scorer at 17.9 points per game.

Dialed in from distance, Memphis hit 11 3-pointers in the game, which was a season high. The Tigers shot a blistering 57.6 percent in the second half (19-33).

The Tigers led 25-19 at the break, thanks in part to an 8-0 run over 1:45 that turned a one-point deficit into a 22-15 lead. Damion Baugh hit a layup and buried a 3-pointer, and Lomax had a triple of his own during the burst.

Both teams finished the half on a scoring drought, with Memphis missing its last six field goals and Wichita State going 1-of-10 heading into the locker room. The Tigers limited the Shockers to 25.7 percent shooting in the opening half (9-35) and forced misses on all 12 of Wichita State's 3-point tries.

Wichita State's 19 first-half points tied the fewest Memphis has allowed in a first period this season, joining Dec. 21 against Tulsa.

Memphis took a big leap with another 8-0 burst to make the score 41-29 with 14:48 left in the game, and the Tigers led by 16, 48-32, on a Lomax triple a couple of minutes later.

The Shockers got no closer than nine points down the stretch, and the Tigers cruised to their largest win in an AAC game since a 102-76 triumph against Tulane on Feb. 20, 2019.

All 12 of Cisse's points and six of his rebounds came in the second half. Lomax and Williams each had nine points in the second 20 minutes.

Memphis ended the game holding Wichita State to just 29.4 percent shooting from the field (20-68), a season low by a Tigers opponent.

Up Next
The Tigers hit the road Sunday for a 3 p.m. CT contest at East Carolina on ESPN2. The game against East Carolina begins a tough stretch of games for the Tigers, who will play five games in 11 days through Feb. 3. After the East Carolina game, Memphis plays five of its next six games at home starting next Tuesday, Jan. 26, against SMU at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.

Postgame Notes

Memphis used the starting lineup of Jayden Hardaway, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II, DeAndre Williams, and Moussa Cisse for the first time this season.
- It was Memphis' seventh different starting lineup in 12 games this season.
- Hardaway made his second start of the year and first since Dec. 8 against Mississippi Valley State.
- D.J. Jeffries came off the bench for the first time this season.
Memphis leads the all-time series between the two schools 14-12 and 10-3 in games played in Memphis.
- The 20-point win was the largest margin of victory in the series since Wichita State won 85-65 on Feb. 6, 2018.
The Tigers hit a season-high 11 3-pointers in the game.
- Memphis had a total of eight in the last two games combined and 13 in the last three games.
Memphis dished out 22 assists on 28 field goals.
- The 22 assists were its second-most in a game this season (25, vs. Mississippi Valley State, Dec. 8).
- The 25 against Mississippi Valley State came on 37 field goals.
Moussa Cisse recorded his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- It was his first double-double since Dec. 8 against Mississippi Valley State (14 pts, 13 rebs).
- Cisse had four rebounds and two blocked shots in the first nine minutes of the game after having two boards and no blocks in the entire game at Tulsa Sunday afternoon.
Landers Nolley II finished with a team-high 16 points.
- He has now led the Tigers in scoring a team-high five times this season and in two-straight games.
- Nolley II has scored 21 points in his last two first halves of games.
- Nolley II also had a season-high-tying seven rebounds (at Tulsa, Jan. 17).
Alex Lomax's 12 points were a season high and one more than his last three games combined.
- His previous season high was 10 points against Auburn on Dec. 12, right before scoring four, five, and two points in his last three outings.
- Lomax added six assists, his most since having 11 against Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 8, and committed just two turnovers.