Bye-bye, Top 25.
Five days after a loss to Georgia that dropped them 12 spots in the Top 25 (from 9th to 21st), the Tigers were declawed at Wichita State, surely toppling out of the rankings for the near future. Memphis has lost consecutive games for the first time this season, now 12-3 overall and 1-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers improve to 14-1 (2-0).
The U of M shot miserably in the first half (1 for 13 from three-point range), but closed a 13-point deficit to six (37-31) by halftime. Wichita State opened the second half with a 9-3 run and extended the lead to 17 points midway through the period. A Tyler Harris trey and Precious Achiuwa layup keyed a 13-4 Memphis run that reduced the Shocker lead to six points (66-60) with just over three minutes to play. But a pair of turnovers by Alex Lomax interrupted the comeback. The Tigers and Shockers have now split four games since Wichita State joined the AAC before the 2017-18 season.
Precious Achiuwa posted his eighth double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Harris scored a season-high 17 points off the bench, but no other Tiger scored as many as 10. D.J. Jeffries returned to the starting lineup after missing the Georgia game due to illness. He scored only three points in 28 minutes of action.
Jamarius Burton led the Shockers with 16 points.
The Tigers made only four of 21 shots from three-point range and had almost twice as many turnovers (18) as assists (10).
Memphis returns to action Sunday with a game at USF (8-8). Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Tigers return to FedExForum on January 16th when Cincinnati comes to town.