Wichita State Hands Memphis Fifth Straight Loss

Wichita State defeated Memphis 88-82 at FedExForum, handing the Tigers their fifth straight loss. It marks Memphis’ first losing season and its first five-game skid since the 1999-2000 season.

The Shockers dominated the glass, outrebounding Memphis 44-27. That led to a 19-7 advantage in second-chance points.

“We just didn’t seize the moment,” Penny Hardaway said.

Redshirt junior Will Berg recorded his second double-double against Memphis this season, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes. He scored all 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just nine minutes in the first half.

“It’s effort,” Hardaway said. “When you’ve got to go against a guy that might be bigger than you, you’ve just got to fight him. We understood what the task was going to be.”

Another key difference came at the free-throw line. Wichita State went 26 of 33, while Memphis finished 13 of 17. The Shockers did not commit a foul until the 7:53 mark of the first half.

“We’re trying to get to 30 free throws,” Hardaway said. “You can’t get to 30 if you’re shooting a ton of jump shots.”

Dug McDaniel led all scorers with a season-high 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Memphis made its first six field goals, with McDaniel accounting for three — all long 2-point jumpers.

Quante Berry added a career-best 22 points on 10-of-13 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.

“It’s a repeated cycle of us getting back in the game and not being able to finish,” McDaniel said. “All we can do is learn from it. We still have life. We still have a chance.”

Memphis was without junior center Aaron Bradshaw and junior forward Ashton Hardaway. Penny Hardaway said he does not know when either player will return.

“I think it’s pain tolerance. It could be any day, could be a week, it could be two weeks,” Penny Hardaway said. “It’s just on their own discretion.”

With Bradshaw out, Memphis started a smaller lineup of McDaniel, Curtis Givens III, Julius Thedford, Sincere Parker and Thierno Sylla. Sylla, listed at 6 feet 11 inches, was the only player taller than 6-foot-4 in the starting five.

“We don’t have a choice because that’s our skill level,” Hardaway said. “The guards are doing most of the rebounding.”

Memphis played from behind most of the night. The Tigers trailed 25-23 at the under-eight-minute media timeout in the first half despite Wichita State shooting just 30.8 percent. The Shockers had missed nine of their previous 10 shots. Memphis entered halftime down 40-35.

Wichita State extended its lead to 50-39 with 16:01 remaining. Memphis responded with a 17-9 run to cut the deficit to 59-56 with 12 minutes left. The stretch included an 8-0 run and six consecutive made field goals.

“We’re just not making enough plays and winning the game,” Hardaway said.

Memphis fell to 7-8 in conference play and sits eighth in the American Athletic Conference standings. Instead of competing for a double or triple bye, the Tigers are focused on securing a tournament spot.

“As long as we get there and have a 0-0 mindset, I feel like everything we’ve been through will show up when we need it most,” McDaniel said.

Memphis’ next game will be at East Carolina on Sunday, March 1, in Greenville, North Carolina. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on ESPN+.