Memphis Returns to FedExForum Thursday Night against Wichita State

Thursday, January 19

Memphis, Tenn.

6 p.m.

University of Memphis

Wichita State

Tickets

MEMPHIS, TN - DECEMBER 03

Memphis Tigers v Ole Miss Rebels

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Memphis Returns to FedExForum Thursday Night against Wichita State

Jan 18, 2023 | Men's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live Listen Buy Tickets Game Program Wichita State Notes (PDF)Memphis Notes (PDF)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers put their home winning streak on the line Thursday night when the Wichita State Shockers invade FedExForum for a 6 p.m. American Athletic Conference battle on ESPNU.

Memphis (13-5, 3-2 AAC) sits in the middle of the pack of the league standings after playing three of its last four games on the road, but the Tigers return to the building where they've won 14-straight. Their last loss came nearly one year to the date, a 70-62 defeat at the hands of SMU on Jan. 20, 2022.

Memphis has won four-straight games against the Shockers and six of the last seven meetings overall. Wichita State has not won in Memphis in its last four tries, since an 85-65 win on Feb. 6, 2018 when the Shockers were ranked 21st in the nation.

The Shockers (9-8, 2-3 AAC) are coming off a 73-69 win at home over Tulsa on Saturday. Offensively, they are led by Craig Porter Jr., who averages a team-high 12.3 points and 3.7 assists per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds. He has topped 10 or more points on 12 occasions this season, but has done so only twice in WSU's last five outings. He is also the team's leader in steals (25) and blocked shots (27).

Jaykwon Walton is the only other Shocker averaging double figures at 12.2 points each time out. He does lead the team in rebounding with 6.1 boards per game.

After Thursday's game, the Tigers go back on the road Sunday for a noon tilt at Cincinnati on ESPN2 before coming home next week to face SMU (Jan. 26) for a 6 p.m. blackout on ESPN2.

The matchup with Wichita State is presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. Thursday's contest will be the first celebration game of the 1972-73 Memphis State squad that finished as national runners-up. There will be 1,000 Gene Bartow bobbleheads handed out at the gates.

GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (13-5, 3-2 AAC) vs. Wichita State Shockers (9-8, 2-3 AAC)
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023 | 6:00 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
Television: ESPNU (Drew Carter, pxp; Mark Adams, analysis)
Radio: 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS (Dave Woloshin, pxp; Matt Dillon, analysis)

BY THE NUMBERS

9^th: Memphis' 14-game home win streak is the 9th-longest active streak in Division I, entering Thursday. The average margin of victory during the streak is 15.1 points.
17-1: Record in last 18 homes games against American Athletic Conference opponents.
4.0: Memphis' average margin of defeat in its five losses this season, with three coming by three points or fewer (all on road) including a heaved three-pointer at the buzzer by Seton Hall.
17.5: The Tigers' average margin of victory during its current four-game winning streak against Wichita State.
3: Opponents in which Memphis defense has held under 30.0 percent shooting from the field this season – VCU (29.1), Stanford (29.3), Temple (29.3). The Tigers had only three such games all of last season.
2: Number of leading scorers in a game for Memphis this season. Kendric Davis and DeAndre Williams have either led or tied each other for game-high in points every time out.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Memphis got a buzzer beater from Kendric Davis in the game's final second Sunday evening inside The Liacouras Center to beat the Temple Owls, 61-59.
The Tigers were led by Davis' 20 points, four rebounds and three assists and also got a 20-point contribution from fifth-year forward DeAndre Williams, who added nine rebounds and three blocks.
With Memphis leading 59-56 and 12 seconds on the clock, Temple got the ball and drained a three-pointer from the left wing to tie the game with five seconds remaining. Head coach Penny Hardaway called a timeout from the bench with two seconds to play as the team huddled up and drew up a play.
After a screen was set for Davis in the paint, the Houston, Texas product received the inbounds pass at the wing, dribbled once to the corner and pulled for the game-winner as he floated out of bounds and onto bottom of a Tiger pile.
The first half was a struggle from both sides offensively as Memphis went just 11-30 to lead 25-23 at the break, despite going in front 10-2 after four minutes of action. The Tigers held the Owls to a 25.9-percent clip and just seven made field goals.
The Tigers defense held its third opponent of the season under 30-percent shooting, the first in conference action. It was also their fifth opponent to limit to fewer than 60 points in a game.
Memphis finished the night 22-58 overall (37.9%) and 13-16 at the free throw line (81.3%). The defense was stout all night, holding the Owls to 17-58 field goals for a 29.3-perent clip, including 4-29 from long range (13.8%).
Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu earned his first start in a Memphis uniform, playing 18 minutes with two points and two blocks.
Davis recorded his 10^th game of 20-plus points on the season. He also added a team-high three steals in the effort.
Williams earned his third 20-point game of the season and has scored double figures in 14-straight outings. He just missed his fifth double-double with a team-high nine boards.
Memphis outscored Temple 22-5 off turnovers and 26-22 in the paint.
The Owls were led by Damian Dunn's 23 points in 35 minutes.

NOTING THE OPPONENT

Wichita State returns just one of its top-five scorers from last season's team that went 15-13 and 6-9 in American Athletic Conference play to finish seventh.
The Shockers were picked to finish eighth in this seasons' preseason poll, behind Temple, UCF and SMU.
Shocker foes are shooting just 37.7 from the field, which ranks ninth lowest in the country, only trailing Houston (34.0, 2^nd in DI) in the AAC.
Wichita State is holding its opponents to just 62.4 points per game, which also ranks second in the conference and 27^th in the nation.
The Shockers own the league's best bench production at 23.0 points per game.
On the historic side, Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway's first conference win as head coach came over Wichita State on Jan. 3, 2019 (85-74).

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Basketball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.