Three in a row in the snow: Wichita State basketball trounces Memphis for win
While snow piled up outside Koch Arena on Saturday, Wichita State made sure no one inside the Roundhouse felt the chill.
In front of a national television audience on ESPN2, the Shockers delivered one of their most authoritative performances of the season, rolling past Memphis 74-59 behind an electric effort that kept the Tigers buried early.
Wichita State (13-8, 5-3 American Conference) led by double digits for the final 32 minutes and stretched the margin to as many as 24 points, turning a potentially tricky conference game into a statement win over the Tigers (9-10, 4-3 American).
Four Shockers scored in double figures in a balanced offensive effort, led by Kenyon Giles and Karon Boyd with 14 points apiece. Dillon Battie added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Will Berg provided a spark off the bench with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from the performance:
1. Electric start powered Shockers to victory
As the inches of snow piled up outside Koch Arena, Memphis looked stuck in snow once the ball went up Saturday.
The Tigers managed more turnovers (10) than made field goals (9) in the first half, shooting just 31% from the field while repeatedly handing the ball to WSU. Even that line was buoyed by a brief late surge. After 14 minutes, Memphis was mired at 15.8% shooting and staring at a 21-point deficit, 29-8.
The Shockers fed off the chaos. Dillon Battie sprawled to the floor to wrestle away a loose ball for a steal, then later finished a sequence with a dunk. Moments later, Brian Amuneke sliced into the lane and dropped off a pass to Emmanuel Okorafor for a thunderous two-handed slam that pushed the lead to 18 and forced a Memphis timeout.
On the sideline, Paul Mills nearly threw out his shoulder with one of the most ferocious fist pumps of his tenure at Koch Arena. Inside the Roundhouse, the few thousand fans who braved the conditions rose to their feet, rewarded with the exact brand of relentless, high-energy basketball that electrifies the building.
By halftime, Wichita State had delivered about as convincing a first half as possible, carrying a 40-22 lead into the locker room. The Shockers led by as many as 24 in the second half and while Memphis closed to within 11, they maintained their double-digit lead for the final 32 minutes.
2. Wichita State has quietly flipped script vs. Memphis
After losing eight straight to Memphis from 2020-24, Wichita State has quietly flipped the script, winning three of the last five meetings under Mills.
Those wins had been hard to come by. The Shockers were just 3-12 against Penny Hardaway since he took over at Memphis and all three victories came by single digits. Saturday was different. It marked WSU’s largest win over the Tigers since an 85-65 thumping on Feb. 6, 2018 — the first matchup as American Conference foes when Tubby Smith was on the sideline and the Shockers were a top-10 team.
After early wobbles in league play — blowing an 18-point lead in a double-overtime loss at Charlotte and falling at home as a double-digit favorite to Rice — WSU has steadied itself. The Shockers have now won three straight conference games. They improved to 5-3 in American play and sit just a half-game out of second place in the standings.
Coming off a thrilling overtime comeback at South Florida, WSU followed it by taking care of business at home. The Shockers led by double digits for 35 of 40 minutes against ECU, then controlled Memphis for 32 of 40 minutes, a sign that their recent surge is no fluke.
3. Dillon Battie continued his mid-season breakout
The power forward spot has quietly become one of the most intriguing storylines of WSU’s season.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Williams flashed real promise over the first two months, but since his concussion — and the season-ending injury to Jaret Valencia — sophomore Dillon Battie has seized the opening and begun to flourish. Over the past two weeks, his growth has been unmistakable.
Battie filled the box score again Saturday with 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals in 24 minutes, but the impact went well beyond the numbers.
He dove on the floor to win a loose ball, forced a steal and drew a foul that ignited the WSU bench. He attacked under control, playing off two feet, collapsing the defense and dumping the ball off to teammates — a marked evolution from earlier in the season.
And then there was the moment that summed up his confidence: tracking down a loose ball beyond the arc at the end of the shot clock, turning and firing in one motion for a 57-40 lead.
Considering the opponent, it was likely the best performance of Battie’s young career.
The scoring bump is no surprise given the expanded role, but his biggest strides have come elsewhere — as an engaged, disruptive defender and as a more patient playmaker on offense. Since moving into the starting lineup, Battie is averaging 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.4 steals, numbers that reflect a player no longer just filling minutes, but shaping games.
This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 5:13 PM.
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