Memphis Set for Sunday Afternoon Contest with Wichita State
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers close the month of February Sunday afternoon against Wichita State, looking to extend their stretch of 10 wins in the last 14 games. Tip-off at FedExForum is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN.
With three games remaining in the regular season, Memphis remains in third place in the American Athletic Conference with a 10-5 league record. The top-five teams in the conference standings receive a first-round bye in the upcoming AAC Tournament.
Since the calendar flipped to 2022 the Tigers are 10-4, which includes a three-game winning streak and a six-game winning streak. Memphis was 6-5 in the first two months of the season.
Memphis has won three-straight games against the Shockers and five of the last six meetings overall. Wichita State has not won in Memphis in its last three tries, since an 85-65 win on Feb. 6, 2018 when the Shockers were ranked 21st in the nation.
The Shockers are led by AAC Preseason Player of the Year Tyson Etienne, who averages a team-high 15.1 points per game and nearly three 3-pointers per outing. He has topped 20 points on seven occasions this season. Etienne's scoring output ranks sixth in the AAC, and he is second in the league in 3-pointers per game.
After Sunday's game, the regular season concludes next week with games at South Florida Thursday night and at home against Houston next Sunday. The AAC Tournament runs March 10-13 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Sunday’s game is presented by First Horizon. At halftime of Sunday’s contest, the 2022 University of Memphis M Club Hall of Fame honorees will be recognized after their induction Saturday night.
GAME DETAILS
Memphis Tigers (16-9, 10-5 AAC) vs. Wichita State Shockers (13-11, 4-8 AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022 | 1:30 p.m. CT
FedExForum (18,400); Memphis, Tenn.
WATCH T HE GAME ON ESPN TV(Mike Corey, pxp; Sean Harrington, analysis)
BY THE NUMBERS
80.0: Memphis' free throw percentage over the last five games (72-90) after shooting 59.0 percent in the five games prior (62-105).8: Games this season the Tigers have shot at least 80.0 percent from the free throw line after at least 15 attempts; Memphis accomplished the feat once last season and four times in 2019-20.14.4: Points per game by Jalen Duren during his current eight-game double-digit streak; the freshman is also averaging 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.1st: Alex Lomax' assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.4:1 over the last five games (31 assists, 7 turnovers) is the best in the AAC.2012-13: The last time the Tigers won six games in February, which they can match with a victory Sunday.
THE LAST TIME OUT
Jalen Duren matched a career high with 22 points, and DeAndre Williams added 19 and nine rebounds to help the Memphis Tigers to a 78-64 victory over Temple Thursday night at FedExForum.Duren matched his season-best scoring output of 22 points in a season-high 34 minutes of play.He went 7-for-12 from the field and made eight of his nine free throw tries.Williams was one shy of matching his season best with the 19-point outing, and Landers Nolley II was also in double figures with 12 points with all coming in the second half.Tyler Harris also turned it on in the second half, scoring all of his nine points in the second 20 minutes.The Tigers were 25-for-28 from the charity stripe in the ballgame (.893).Temple used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to lead by as many as eight points, but the Tigers led 33-32 at the break after scoring the final six points of the frame.Duren had 17 points in the first half alone.Memphis grew its advantage to as many as 19 points down the stretch en route to the 14-point win.The final 10:00 of the game was played with a double-digit Memphis lead following a Nolley II triple.Memphis won the battle of the boards 35-26 and finished the game shooting 49.0 percent from the field (24-49).The Owls shot 39.6 percent from the floor (21-53).Temple (15-10, 8-6 AAC) was led by Jahlil White's 17 points in 31 minutes off the bench.
NOTING THE OPPONENT
Wichita State returns four of its top-five scorers from last season's team that went 16-6 and 11-2 in American Athletic Conference play to win the regular season conference championship after being picked seventh in the preseason coaches poll.By earning an at-large bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Shockers have played in eight of the last nine Big Dances.The Shockers were picked to finish fourth in this season's preseason poll, behind Houston, Memphis and SMU.Shocker foes average just 65.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the AAC.Wichita State is the league's best free-throw shooting team at 75.0 percent.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).