The Memphis Tigers and the Wichita State Shockers meet Thursday in college basketball action from Charles Koch Arena. Memphis enters this one at 20-7 overall. The Tigers lost to Houston in their last game. As for Wichita State, they’re sitting at 14-12 following a win over Temple last Thursday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Memphis Tigers
Memphis opened up the season on a reasonable 15-5 run through 20 games. The Tigers have since hit a nice 5-2 stretch with wins over SMU, Tulsa, South Florida, Temple and UCF alongside losses to Tulane and Houston.
In the Houston game on Sunday, the Tigers faced a 32-21 deficit at the break. Memphis outscored the Cougars 43-40 from there but still lost 72-64. Elijah McCadden led the team on 20 points and six rebounds.
Wichita State Shockers
Over on the Wichita State side, they opened the year on a .500 clip with a 9-9 record through 18 games. The Shockers have hit a 5-3 run in their last eight with wins over SMU, East Carolina, Tulsa, SMU again and Temple in that time.
Last Thursday versus Temple, the Shockers were up 41-33 going into the second half. Wichita State hit a 38-32 run from there and took the win 79-65. Jaykwon Walton led the team on 21 points and James Rojas doubled with 11 points and 11 boards.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll take a stab on Wichita State in this one. The Shockers are coming off a pretty nice road win over a decent Temple team. It’s been a 3-1 run in the last four for Wichita State, with 67 or more points scored in each of those outings. These teams last saw each other back on January 19 at FedExForum. Memphis ended up pulling out an 88-78 win in that one. I like Wichita State to get a bit of revenge in this home rematch and power out the cover. Should be an interesting matchup overall.