Southern Methodist @ Wichita St. preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 24, 2018 ) Wichita St. 84, Southern Methodist 78

With only one win in its last eight games, Wichita State will look to get its offense back on track when it hosts SMU on Wednesday. The Mustangs were 12-for-25 from 3-point range in an 85-75 victory over Tulane on Saturday, while the Shockers have struggled to a 31.4 shooting percentage in their last two games while combining to go 6-for-34 from beyond the arc.

Isiaha Mike had his best game of the season on Saturday, converting all five of his 3-point attempts and finishing with a season-high 20 points to help the Mustangs avoid a third straight loss. “I think if you look at the long run for (Mike), there’s a lot of potential to really grow,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich told reporters of the sophomore forward. “He played great, and he’s had some very good games for us. Of course, he’s shot it great, too.” Leading scorer Markis McDuffie (18.6 points) was held under 10 points for the first time since Wichita State's season opener, finishing with nine points on 4-of-14 shooting in an 80-60 loss to Connecticut on Saturday. McDuffie fell one contest shy of tying the school record for consecutive games with multiple successful 3-pointers (nine) as he connected just once on six attempts from beyond the arc as the Shockers made fewer than five as a team for just the third time this season.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT SMU (12-7, 4-3 American): Coming off a season-low six points in the Mustangs’ loss to Memphis on Jan. 19, Jahmal McMurray scored a game-high 29 in Saturday’s win and raised his team-leading scoring average to 18.3 (fifth in the AAC). Nat Dixon and Ethan Chargois recorded 11 points apiece against Tulane as the Mustangs moved to 8-1 when having four double-digit scorers. Feron Hunt is gaining Jankovich’s trust as the forward was the only player to receive more than three minutes of action off the bench on Saturday (28) and finished with seven points, seven boards, two steals and two blocks.

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (8-11, 1-6): The Shockers missed their first 10 attempts on Saturday en route to a 15-point halftime deficit and have the lowest team field-goal percentage in the conference (40.7). The defense hasn’t been much better as it allowed the Huskies to shoot 50 percent and now ranks 10th out of 12 AAC teams in field-goal percentage defense (43.6). Wichita State lost the rebounding battle to UConn 47-32, with the minus-15 margin matching its second-worst performance of the season (minus-17 against Southern Miss on Dec. 15).

TIP-INS

1. The Shockers are three games under .500 for the first time since a win over Drake on Jan. 31, 2009 moved them to 10-12.

2. SMU is second in the AAC in offensive rebounding (13.4) and 11th in defensive rebounding (23.6).

3. In the last 10 meetings between the schools dating back to 1956, neither has captured consecutive matchups - with each winning on the road last season.

PREDICTION: SMU 68, Wichita State 61