Memphis basketball coach
Penny Hardaway does not want his team to wait to make its move. Even though there are still seven weeks left in the regular season, Hardaway wants his
No. 22 Tigers (14-4, 4-1 AAC) to seize the moment − which starts against Wichita State (11-7, 1-4) at FedExForum Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2). "This is the week. This is separation week for us in our conference," he said Monday during his weekly radio show. "When you can handle your own business and not worry about someone having to beat someone, that’s what you need to do. And we have an opportunity to do that." Memphis sits in a four-way tie for first place in the league with North Texas, Temple and UAB. North Texas and Temple will square off Wednesday in Denton, Texas, while UAB visits FedExForum on Sunday (noon, ESPN2 or ESPNU). But the Tigers must first focus on the Shockers. Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's game.
Colby Rogers vs. Wichita State
Players going up against their former teams is becoming more and more common in the transfer portal era. Memphis' Nicholas Jourdain, who spent three seasons at Temple, faced the Owls last week. PJ Haggerty and PJ Carter will take on their former teams (Tulsa and UTSA) later this season. But this week, it's Colby Rogers' turn. The fifth-year senior spent last season at Wichita State, leading the Shockers in scoring and breaking the school record with 99 3-pointers. Rogers started this season strong beyond the arc, connecting on 44.6% of his 3-point attempts through the first 10 games. He struggled the next five games, managing just a 24.1% success rate from deep. But, over the past three games, Rogers is moving back in the right direction, hitting 8 of his last 23 tries (34.8%). The Shockers are allowing opposing teams to shoot 34.8% this season from the 3-point line. But they are trending in the wrong direction. In Wichita State's five AAC games, its opponents have hit 42.1% of their 3-point attempts.
Memphis basketball: Turnovers not going away
Earlier this month, Hardaway stressed the importance of the Tigers reducing the number of turnovers they commit. At the time, Memphis was averaging 14.5 turnovers per game, which was the 325th-worst mark in the country. In its three games since then, the Tigers have scaled back − barely. They have committed 14 turnovers a game since Jan. 11. That's still not good enough, according to Hardaway. After Memphis turned it over 16 times against Charlotte last week, he gave his team an "F" grade in that department. Haggerty also commented about the issue. "We've just gotta take care of the ball," said Haggerty, who leads the team with 3.7 turnovers per game. "I think some of them just be like bad turnovers − like, over the head, careless. Just not paying attention. But we'll lock in, just keep getting better at it." Perhaps fortunately for Memphis, Wichita State has not been particularly skilled at creating turnovers. The Shockers are tied for 276th in the country in turnovers forced (11.2 per game).
Wichita State basketball scouting report
Hardaway expects the Shockers to employ the same strategy that worked so well for Temple in its win over Memphis last week: "Crash the glass and make it an ugly game." Temple outrebounded Memphis 49-25. That total included 22 offensive boards for the Owls. The Shockers boast two players (6-foot-11 Quincy Ballard and 6-5 Corey Washington) who average more than nine rebounds per game. "They’re just tough. They’re going to try to use the same tactics that Temple used," Hardaway said. "(Ballard is) going to protect the paint. Our guys have to attack him and get him into foul trouble." Wichita State is just 1-3 in true road games this season (its only win coming at Western Kentucky in the season opener), and it ranks 160th in the NET (which makes Thursday a low Quad 3 game for the Tigers). Xavier Bell leads the Shockers in scoring at 14.8 points per game, while Justin Hill is putting up 13.6 and Washington is scoring 13.5.
Memphis basketball score prediction vs. Wichita State
Memphis 80, Wichita State 73: The Tigers won't let the Shockers get over on them the way Temple did last week.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at [email protected] or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
