WICHITA, Kan.—
New Year's Day is the time for turning over a new leaf, and Memphis did exactly that Saturday afternoon in front of a national audience on CBS.
After scuffling through the month of December, the Tigers (7-5, 1-1 AAC) looked the part of a preseason top-10 team in handing host Wichita State its most lopsided home loss in the 18 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's renovation, 82-64.
Josh Minott scored 15 points off the bench for Memphis, which used a 20-2 run to turn a six-point lead near the 4:00-mark of the first half into a 24-point cushion with 16:36 to play in the game.
Tyson Etienne scored 17 points and Dexter Dennis added 16 for WSU (9-4, 0-1), which shot a season-low 29.5 percent from the field and surrendered a season-high 52.4 percent on the opposite end.
WSU outscored Memphis 21-11 at the foul line and forced 18 turnovers. Etienne accounted for three of the Shockers' 11 steals.
A Memphis team that came in ranked second nationally in blocks (6.9) managed just one but otherwise dominated the interior, outscoring the Shockers 48-22 in the paint while outrebounding them 40-34.
The Shockers held three early leads, the last roughly five minutes in when Ricky Council IV and Qua Grant sank back-to-back threes for a 12-10 advantage.
Memphis' DeAndre Williams hit a three and Earl Timberlake converted a three-point play to start an 8-0 Tiger spurt, and the visitors stayed in front the rest of the way.
The teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes.
Dennis pulled the Shockers to within 40-34 with 3:34 to play in the opening period.
However, Minott (11 first-half points) answered with a three-point play and the Tigers scored the last nine points of the half for a 49-34 lead at the intermission.
The Shockers ended the first half with six-straight misses and started the second with six more. They missed another 11 during another 10-minute field goal drought between the 17:00 and 7:00-marks of the second half.
Memphis took advantage, building its lead to 28 with 7:48 to play.
The Shockers showed some late fight. Etienne supplied seven points during a 14-1 run that narrowed the deficit to 75-60 with 3:54 to play.
UP NEXT:
The Shockers have a week to regroup before traveling to preseason conference favorite Houston next Saturday for another 11 a.m. CT tip on CBS.
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.