Game Preview: Memphis vs Wichita State

It’s that time of the season again for the bubble-bound Memphis Tigers to claw their way into the NCAA Tournament. The difference this season is they just have to avoid another bad loss to secure their spot more than likely. The past two seasons required the Tigers to get a win against Houston to make the tournament which they succeeded with last season.

Kendric Davis’s status is unknown as the Tigers enter the final four games of the season but seems promising as he was practicing before the Houston game. However, Alex Lomax and Malcolm Dandridge both returned from their injuries in Sunday’s loss at Houston and figure to be integral pieces to the Tigers’ chances at securing an NCAA Tournament bid.

This matchup tonight at Wichita State presents the Tigers with a Quad 2 opportunity and a chance to push them one step closer to a bye in the first round of the AAC tournament in a couple of weeks. As it stands currently, Memphis is third in the AAC standings with a 10-4 conference record and Wichita State is sixth with a 7-7 conference record. The top four teams in the conference will get a bye in the conference tournament.

The Tigers’ first matchup against the Shockers this season on January 19th was one of the Tigers’ most complete AAC game played to that date. DeAndre Williams began his run of excellent play in that matchup dominating the boards and scoring in a multitude of ways to lead the Tigers to a 10-point victory at the FedExForum. The Tigers led by as many as 13 points in that game but Wichita State refused to go away as a balanced scoring effort between James Rojas, Craig Porter Jr. and Jaykwon Walton helped keep the Shockers within striking distance.

The Shockers are now riding a two-game winning streak and have won three of their last four games to help give them a chance to finish top four in the conference standings. Another form of motivation for the Shockers is that Memphis has dominated this series under Penny Hardaway as the Tigers have won seven of the last eight games. Currently, the Tigers have won five in a row against the Shockers including the last four games by double-digits.

The Prediction:

Rather Kendric Davis plays or not, the Tigers have to clean up the turnovers as they have had at least 15 turnovers in their last three games. Turnovers were not a huge issue in their first matchup against the Shockers as they only had 12 but this can’t become a recurring theme with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line. Finding a way to cut down the turnovers and getting quality shots against a tough Wichita State defense (second in AAC Opponent FG percentage) will go a long way for the Tigers to pull off a quality victory.

Memphis 70, Wichita State 63

Matchup: Memphis Tigers (20-7, 10-4 in AAC) vs. Wichita State Shockers (14-12, 7-7 in AAC)

Time: 6 p.m. CST

Location: Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, KS

TV/Stream/Radio: ESPN2 / 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS