Memphis @ Wichita St. preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Memphis 88, Wichita St. 85

Wichita State looks to make an early statement in the American Athletic Conference race when it hosts Memphis before a raucous crowd Thursday night. The No. 23 Shockers have won seven straight contests, including a six-point victory over East Carolina in their AAC opener and a 74-54 rout of Ole Miss on Saturday, as they try to avenge two losses to 22nd-ranked Memphis in 2018-19.

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said this will be “big boy basketball” and very entertaining for the fans, who are being encouraged to dress all in black, telling reporters: “In the scheme of the league, this is a big game. It sets the tone for who’s looking up at whom. Hopefully it’ll be us on top.” The Shockers are led in scoring by three underclassmen and will be facing a Memphis squad almost entirely made up of freshmen and sophomores that had won 10 in a row before suffering a 65-62 defeat against Georgia on Saturday at home. “We feel like our backs are kind of against the wall,” Tigers sophomore guard Tyler Harris told the Commercial Appeal. “All the guys on the team, we kind of figured they were going to drop us (in the polls). We feel like everybody wants to see us fall, so we just want to come out on top and keep playing and always remain a family.” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway told reporters freshman forward D.J. Jeffries (12 points per game) is feeling better after illness kept him out of the Georgia game, but freshman point guard Damion Baugh (6.3 points, 3.8 assists) also reportedly missed practice Monday and Tuesday because of sickness.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT MEMPHIS (12-2, 1-0 AAC): The Tigers lacked a killer instinct in Saturday’s non-conference matchup against Georgia and Hardaway told reporters: “The energy of the game was never right for us. We had a couple of chances to knock them out. ... If we let a team hand around this is what can happen.” Freshman forward Precious Achiuwa on Saturday notched his third straight double-double, averaging 17.3 points and 11.7 rebounds in that span, and seventh this season. After Achiuwa (14.6 points, 10.2 rebounds) and Jeffries, freshman guard Lester Quinones (11.0) in the only other active double-figure scorer.

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (13-1, 1-0): The Shockers have not shot the ball well overall (42.9 percent from the field), but drained 23-of-48 against Ole Miss and boast two players with at least 30 made 3-pointers in freshman Tyson Etienne (34) and sophomore Erik Stevenson (30). Stevenson scored a career-high 29 points in the win over the Rebels and leads the team overall at 14.1 per game while Etienne and sophomore guard Jamarius Burton chip in 10.5 apiece. Senior center Jaime Echenique is a factor inside (9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds) and freshman guard Grant Sherfield is averaging 11.6 points in the last five games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Memphis freshman G Boogie Ellis reached double figures for the first time in six games Saturday with 10.

2. Wichita State junior F Trey Wade adds 8.8 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per contest.

3. The Tigers entered Wednesday second in the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.2) and the Shockers sat 29th (38.4).

PREDICTION: Wichita State 76, Memphis 70