Wichita State (18-10, 10-5) looks to sweep the season series when the Shockers visit Memphis (12-15, 7-7) in Thursday’s American Conference game. On Jan. 24, Wichita State scored a 74-59 home win over Memphis.
The teams are going in different directions. Wichita State has won three in a row, while Memphis has dropped four consecutive games.
Memphis is coming off Sunday’s 78-67 home loss to UAB. Memphis shot 4-of-18 (.222) from beyond the arc, while UAB was 6-of-19 (.310). During its four-game losing streak, Memphis has been outscored by an average of 15.7 points.
Wichita State is coming off Saturday’s 69-57 home win over Temple. The Shockers shot .500 from three-point range (6-for-12) while Temple was 5-for-13 (.428).
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Wichita State at Memphis Odds
As of this writing, Memphis is a 1.5-point college basketball betting favorite on BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 147.5.
Wichita State at Memphis On TV
Tipoff for Wichita State at Memphis is expected shortly after 9 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Wichita State at Memphis Prediction
I like Wichita State getting the points. The Shockers are playing some of their best basketball of the season and have had some big road wins.
Among them was an 86-85 overtime victory at current first-place South Florida.
As much as Memphis has struggled, the Tigers are 10-4 at home, while Wichita State is 5-4 on the road. The Shockers are 4-3 on the road in American Conference games.
Both teams almost assuredly have to win the American Conference tournament to earn an NCAA berth. Entering Wednesday, Wichita State was ranked No. 94 by KenPom, and Memphis was 114th. In fact, the American’s highest team, South Florida, stood at just 56.
Last year, Memphis became the first American Conference team to win the regular season title and the conference tournament championship. The Tigers were the only American team to earn an NCAA berth.
This is a year with no great teams in the American, and once again, it appears the conference could be a one-bid league.
Three-point shooting should be the key in the rematch. Neither team is great from beyond the arc, with Wichita State at .328 and Memphis shooting .322. Memphis, however, leads the American in three-point shooting defense, limiting teams to a .271. Wichita State also has a strong three-point shooting defense, allowing teams to shoot just .301.
Another area to watch is rebounding. Memphis is second in the American, averaging 40.8 rebounds per game, while Memphis averages 36.1. Memphis has a pretty sizable edge in free-throw shooting. The Tigers are shooting .735 while Wichita State is last in the American at .665. In their earlier meeting, Memphis shot 8-for-11 (.727) from the foul line while Wichita State was 5-of-8 (.625).
Kenyon Giles is averaging a team-high 19.1 points for Wichita State, while Karon Boyd is the Shockers’ other double-figure scorer at 10.9. In conference games, Giles is second in the American, averaging 21.1 points.
Dug McDaniel leads Memphis with a 12.8 scoring average. McDaniel had been in a mild slump, but broke out of it with 19 points in Sunday’s loss to UAB. McDaniel will need a big game after being limited to four points on 1-for-5 shooting in the earlier loss to Wichita State.
Wichita State averages 76.9 points and allows 73.5. Memphis averages 73.1 and allows 71.7.
