WICHITA, Kan. _ Three years ago when Wichita State made the transition to the American Athletic Conference, the Shockers had dreams of nights like Thursday at Koch Arena.
A nationally-ranked showdown. A flawlessly-executed blackout by the fans. A national television audience.
WSU lived out that dream on Thursday, as the No. 23 Shockers handled business against No. 21 Memphis with a 76-67 victory that gives them the upper hand, at least early, in the race for the conference title. WSU improved to 14-1 overall and 2-0 in AAC play, while Memphis (12-3, 1-1) dropped its second straight game.
In the Missouri Valley, WSU had to wait five decades in between a top-25 showdown against a conference opponent. In the American, WSU has now had two in the last three years with more surely on the horizon after the Shockers, who figure to make a leap in Monday's Associated Press Top 25 Poll, extended their winning streak to eight games.
After a year away from the national spotlight, Wichita State basketball is back in the limelight thanks to another fine coaching job by Gregg Marshall and the rapid development of a still young Shockers team.
Jamarius Burton again led the way for the Shockers with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Erik Stevenson added 12 points and Tyson Etienne scored 11 points. In his best game since returning to the team, Dexter Dennis chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds. It was redemption for the WSU returners who lost twice to Memphis last season.
Despite one of its worst shooting performances of the season, 32.8% (22 of 67), the Shockers were able to prevail thanks to another sterling defensive effort. Thanks to a late scoring burst, Memphis shot 35.7% from the field and just 4 of 21 on 3-pointers with 18 turnovers.
Up against blue-chip prospects and future NBA players, Wichita State trumped all of that with the simple desire of wanting the basketball more. The Shockers were often the first to the ground for loose balls and ripped away rebounds.
Under-recruited players like Dennis (season-high four offensive rebounds), Trey Wade (three offensive rebounds) and Morris Udeze (three offensive rebounds) came up big for WSU on the offensive glass, as the Shockers not only held their own against one of the most formidable front lines in the country, but grabbed more offensive rebounds (18 to 15) than Memphis.
Although WSU spent all but 15 seconds of the game in the lead _ and mostly with a double-digit lead _ that didn't mean the Shockers didn't have to sweat out Thursday's win.
Ever resilient, Memphis whittled a 19-point second-half deficit to 66-60 with 3:17 remaining and even had a possession to cut further, although it ended in a turnover. WSU responded with a Stevenson drive and dump-off to Jaime Echenique for a dunk and 68-60 lead, as Memphis never drew closer.
After a lackluster close to the first half, WSU regained its double-digit lead within the first minute of the second half with a 5-0 burst thanks to a three-point play by Burton and a jumper by Morris Udeze for a 42-31 lead.
Stevenson was once again the deliverer of momentum swings. Memphis had the lead down to 48-37 midway through the second half before Stevenson rose up and sent a shot into orbit from well beyond the arc that swished to restore the lead to 51-37.
The loudest roar of the night came when Burton led a fast break, spun past one defender then finished with strength over another for the basket and a foul. That roar became even louder seconds later when Burton missed the free throw, Dennis grabbed the miss and kicked out to Stevenson for a rainbow three that splashed through the net to give the Shockers their largest lead, 56-37, of the game and force Memphis to call a timeout.
WSU also opened the game with a similar stretch.
With the stage set, the Shockers capitalized in the first three minutes to elicit every last bit of electricity Koch Arena had to offer. It started with Etienne drilling a 3 in the first 15 seconds to erupt the crowd.
Then WSU delivered a 9-2 spurt to open the game that forced Memphis to call a timeout to settle down the crowd noise after Wade Eurostepped his way at the end of a fast break for a rim-rattling dunk.
WSU's lead grew to as many as 13 points, 17-4, in the first three minutes after Udeze finished inside. But in a matchup like this, Memphis wasn't going to be put away that easily.
Both teams entered with top-20 ranked defenses and they came to play on Thursday, making the other earn everything they got on offense. Memphis' offense never did get on track, shooting just 30% in the first half, but the Tigers were able to draw within three points twice thanks to 12-of-15 shooting at the foul line compared to 5-of-6 shooting from WSU. That strapped the Shockers with 12 team fouls in the first half, including four players with two fouls.
After WSU's hot start, Memphis' defense recovered and neutralized a lot of what the Shockers wanted to do with their switch-happy defense. After a 7-for-11 start from the floor, WSU shot just 26% (6 of 23) the rest of the first half and had to settle taking a 37-31 lead into halftime.
