Wichita State, Memphis both look to break out of their slumps in Saturday’s game
Two desperate teams meet at noon Saturday at FedExForum with a national television audience watching on CBS.
After climbing as high as No. 10 in the rankings, Memphis is in the midst of a mid-season crisis and scrambling to halt a four-game losing streak that has put its chances of an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament in a perilous position.
Meanwhile, Wichita State has experienced winning just twice in the past two months. Last week’s upset win over SMU looks more like an aberration than a turning point after the team bungled a 15-point lead in an 11-point loss at Tulsa on Wednesday.
Not exactly the kind of compelling drama CBS imagined when it selected this match-up between two storied programs before the season.
But Saturday’s game does offer a lifeline to the winner for one of these two teams looking to bust out of their slumps.
“Everything that’s happening to us right now, we’re deserving it,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway told local media. “You’ve got to want it more than the next team if you want to get out of a slump. And, right now, every team that we’re playing wants it more than us, at this moment.”
Coincidentally, the Tigers (15-6, 4-4 AAC) began their stumble immediately following their 112-86 win over the Shockers at Koch Arena on Jan. 14.
In the four games since, Memphis has blown a 20-point lead in a loss to South Florida, blown another second-half lead in a loss at Tulane, allowed 97 points in a loss at UAB and lost at home to Rice.
“There just seems (to be) a huge disconnect with this group right now,” Hardaway told reporters earlier this week. “I can’t put my finger on it.”
If there’s one team in the American Athletic Conference who Memphis almost always plays well against, it’s the Shockers.
Since Hardaway took over in the 2018-19 season, the Tigers have won nine of 10 times against WSU with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points and three 20-point drubbings. WSU hasn’t played Memphis within eight points at the FedExForum since Hardaway has roamed the sidelines.
The Shockers (9-12, 1-7 AAC) are focused inward, rather than outward, to try to return to the right side of the scoreboard.
“We’ve got to get stronger at our strengths,” WSU coach Paul Mills said. “And we need to stay away from our weaknesses.”
Despite its last-place record, WSU has always been one possession away in the final four minutes of six of its eight conference games. The Shockers have a 1-5 record in those games, as different shortcomings have emerged nearly every time.
On Wednesday, in the loss to Tulsa, WSU’s offense scored two points in the final four minutes and its defense was exposed in cross switches.
“Whether it be a defensive rebound here or an unforced turnover there, you need to find ways to clean it up moving forward,” Mills said earlier this season. “It’s not like we’re getting run out of the gym or anything. These are areas we need to get 1% better in and find a way to make sure we’re on the right side of the scoreboard.”
Wichita State at Memphis basketball preview
Records: WSU 9-12, 1-7 AAC; Memphis 15-6, 4-4 AAC
When: Noon Saturday
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tenn.
How to watch: CBS (Spero Dedes with Clark Kellogg)
Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Bob Hull)
KenPom says: Memphis 83, WSU 71
Series history: Memphis leads 19-12 (12-3 in Memphis)
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