WSU Versus Memphis Predictions and Pregame Discussions

[forevershockerfan]

Here's the deal. The Shocks head to Elvis, ALo, and R-Brown country. Memphis is now 14-8 and 5-4 after defeating USF 86-74 on the road. They are 12-2 at home and are better than advertised this Season thus-far. Street and Smith picked them 9th, Lindy's 11th, and Athlon 12th. With the exodus of players last summer, they are hanging in there better than what many thought so far. They are around the middle of the pack right now and are coached by Tubby Smith. They split with Tulsa and were swept by Cin. The Tigers are led by one of the most prolific scorers in the AAC, Jeremiah Martin who averages around 18-19 points a game. This game will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 8-p.m. Tuesday. The Tigers are a decent rebounding team and will be hungry Tigers. However, after a big loss after leading most all game to Temple, let's just hope we take the tigers by the tail and we have the eye of the Tiger in this matchup. GRRRRRRR!!!

I'm thinking Austin may replace CF in this game as a starter after having some solid games lately. Let's hope the Shocks get their shots to fall and start putting teams away rather than opening flood gates. Look for Shaq to get a double/double and for Austin, LS, and CF to all be hitting shots and earn this win after taking it on the chin tonight. I did not notice any big Non-Con wins by Memphis but reiterate the fact that their home record is 12-2 and nobody to take lightly whatsoever. Look for the Shocks to win this one by 7, but win they will do. A win would put us at 18-5 and 8-3 in AAC play.

Shockers--75

Tigers------68

[WuShock Reaper]

"Hold that Tiger" - 74
"The Holder" - 77

Go Shockers!!!

:poster_wu:

[ShockAzs]

Next game starting lineup.

Reaves
Shamet
McDuffie
Morris
Kelly

[IndianaShocker]

We have to get Duf going. We aren't going any where in March without him playing at a high level. He needs all the minutes he can get. Should be a priority above just about anything besides winning.

[CBB_Fan]

This team started in the top 10 on three assumptions.

1. Landry Shamet is an All-American
2. Markis McDuffie is All-AAC
3. The rest of the players fill their roles: defense (Brown), rebounding (Kelly), shooting (Frankamp), senior leadership, etc.

If we want to finish playing like a top 10 team, those have to start being true. If all three are false, we will stay the team we've seen all season. For the record, we should win this one even with our normal game. But absolutely no one wants to see this level of play continue: not the players, not Marshall, not the fans, not even the rest of the AAC. We don't need all three at once, but we need to move in the that direction with every remaining game. We need to get McDuffie in the flow of things, we need Shamet to get out of his slump, we need our roleplayers to consistently fill their roles, but we don't need all three until March. So there's a positive. But we do need them to happen.

[shoxlax]

I predict we win the next three and the Xanax again gets put on hold for awhile.

[ShockTalk]

I'll agree with this, but after those 3 games, this team needs to be able to rumble.

[GreatWhiteBuffalo]

Right now I don't know that I can honestly say WSU will beat anyone besides USF and ECU...just dang erratic. This feeling sucks, guys. I know the talent level jumped up exponentially, but this team is still out-classed in several areas.

I will say that this game just might be the crossroads in the season. They have to figure out how to play with swagger or fall on their face. I am BEGGING for the prior.

[ShockingButTrue]

I thought the crossroads game was the Houston game, in terms of going forward.

If that's the case...

[Dan]

I cannot predcit a win here. We arr no longer road warriors. We have a PG that is now hesitant to lead, a shooter that can’t get open shots, a defender that can’t defend and a coach that won’t make the necessary chamges to shake things up.

[shocks02]

Memphis is much tougher physically than Temple. Not nearly as talented shooting the basketball. If we want to win this game, we're going to have to gut this one out.

[pinstripers]

We have been getting out-physicalled already

[lmor1971]

Next game starting lineup.

Reaves
Shamet
McDuffie
Morris
Kelly

Yes and let this 5 go at least 10 to 15 minutes without subs. Let them gel and gain their stride. When you are constantly having players fight for minutes you get more nerves and more mistakes.

[im4wsu]

Memphis.png

[1979Shocker]

Next game starting lineup.

Reaves
Shamet
McDuffie
Morris
Kelly

Even with that lineup, there are still only 4 offensive threats. But it is still probably the best lineup we can have on the floor.

[im4wsu]

In conference games, Kelly has the fifth best FG% (44.2%) on the team, behind Morris, Reaves, Willis and Nurger. In all games, Shamet slips in the mix, just ahead of Kelly (45.1%).

In conference games, he adds 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, 1.1 turnovers and 1.3 fouls per game.
In all games, he adds 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, 1.4 turnovers and 1.5 fouls per game.

What teams can you think of that wouldn't like these stats for their 5th starter playing roughly 24 minute a game? Come on now, be honest!

[ShockerFever]

This game will determine the season IMO.

[DUShock]

I think Fev is correct.

[CBB_Fan]

Even with that lineup, there are still only 4 offensive threats. But it is still probably the best lineup we can have on the floor.

Kelly is an offensive threat in the way that Dennis Rodman was. And I don't mean that to be snarky. Rodman, by himself, was awful. The lowest PPG scorer to ever make the NBA HoF. But he was the best rebounder, not just for his time or size but arguably in NBA history. If those rebounds all turned into Dennis Rodman shots, he still would have been a terrible offensive player, but instead they were going to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, or Steve Kerr. It turns out, that is the best thing you can get from your 5th best offensive player. Instead of competing with Jordan or Pippie for shots, he created shots for them and let dominant offensive players be even more dominant.

Our best offensive lineup has to have Kelly as the 5th best scorer, but it also has to involve Kelly getting great looks for the right players. Personally, I'd like to see either small-ball with Landry/Conner/Reaves/McDuffie/Kelly or normal-ball with Landry/Reaves/McDuffie/Kelly/Shaq for most of the game. The blueprint is getting our guards back up to their ridiculous 3PT percentages from last season and getting them as many shots as possible from Kelly rebounds. The problem with Kelly is that he can only give you more of what you have on the field, which is why he pairs badly with Brown or with Conner/Landry recently thanks to their slumps.

I'd like to see the following rotations:

Landry - Conner - Samajae - Reaves
Reaves - Conner - Samajae - Keyser
McDuffie - Reaves - Brown - Keyser
Kelly - McDuffie - Willis
Shaq - Willis - Nurger - Mitgaard

I also don't think we can afford Nurger + Conner in the game at the same point, ever. By the eye test, that is the pair most likely to be exploited off the pick and roll to give open 3s. Conner and Nurger's combined lack of speed makes them easier targets than other options.