WICHITA, Kan. – A three-point halftime deficit turned into a rout, as No. 13 Memphis ran away with a 112-86 win over Wichita State on Sunday in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State (8-8, 0-3) suffered its fifth straight loss, its longest since losing six in a row from Dec. 28, 2008 to Jan. 14, 2009. Wichita State hadn’t allowed 100 points since 1994 when Drake scored 109. The 112 points are the fifth most a Wichita State team has allowed in school history.
Memphis (15-2, 4-0) eclipsed the century mark with 6:24 remaining on the way to its 10th straight win.
Colby Rogers scored 14 of his 20 points after halftime, marking his fifth 20-point outing of the season. Harlond Beverly finished with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go with six assists. Dalen Ridgnal scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half – 12 of the 15 coming from behind the three-point line.
In his return to Wichita, Jaykwon Walton scored a game-high tying 23 points behind 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Jahvon Quinerly recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 assists. David Jones came in averaging 21.0 points per game, 10th best in the NCAA, and was a big reason the game turned. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.
Wichita State shot a season-high 55 percent from the field, including a season-best 13-of-25 from long range, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the sizzling Tigers. Memphis converted on 64.7 percent of its field goal tries, including a staggering 19-of-30 from three.
The game got away in the second half when Wichita State started turning the ball over. They finished with 18 turnovers, and Memphis scored 31 points off those miscues.
Defense was optional in the game’s first 7:00 minutes. Wichita State made eight of its first nine field goals and the two teams combined to shoot 7-for-10 from beyond the arc, as the Shockers held a 22-21 lead at the first media timeout.
The Shocker offense was ignited by Ridgnal’s white-hot start. In his second start of the season, Ridgnal lit up the Tiger defense with a trio of early three-pointers.
The entire first half would stay at a frenetic pace with very little defensive resistance from either team. Both teams shot 60 percent from the field and combined to shoot 13-for-22 from beyond the arc.
Memphis would lead by as many as six in the first 20 minutes and Wichita State by five in the opening minutes. With the Tigers holding a 49-43 lead in the final seconds, Ridgnal cashed in his fourth triple to make it 49-46 at the half.
Memphis’ 49 first half points were the most Wichita State had allowed in a first half this season.
Wichita State’s explosive half was powered by the duo of Ridgnal (13) and Beverly (11). For the Tigers, Quinerly (12), Walton (11) and Dandridge (10) did a bulk of the damage.
The first four possession of the second half all ended in baskets for both teams, starting with back-to-back three-pointers for Rogers. That would prove to be as close as it would get the remainder of the game.
Memphis got it rolling behind Jones’ hot hand. Five straight points from Jones made it 57-52, and from there it started to snowball for the Shockers. A 25-8 run for the Tigers turned a close game into a 20-point deficit.
The Tigers led by as many as 27 in the final 10 minutes.
Up Next
Wichita State prepares for a road swing in the Sunshine State against No. 24 Florida Atlantic on Jan. 18 and South Florida on Jan. 21.
