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Tigers seek to shock Shockers

This one will count.

Christian Brothers, a Division 2 school, shocked the University of Memphis men’s basketball team less than a week ago, beating the Tigers in an exhibition 74-70 in overtime. That game will not be reflected on Memphis’ final record, but Tuesday night’s game against No. 11 Wichita State most certainly will.

It has not been a great week for Memphis coach Josh Pastner in the newspaper columns or talk radio waves, but a win on Tuesday night would go a long way in calming down the media and fans alike.

After the loss to the Buccaneers, Pastner said he believes he has a good team, and time will show it.

“There are a lot of things we got to continue to get better at, but we're going to be a good team,” Pastner said. “I know we're going to be a good team. It's going to take some time, there's going to be some highs and lows through it. We've got some things we need to clean up, and we will clean up.”

The Shockers spent the majority of the 2013-14 season ranked inside the nation’s top five. After an undefeated regular season, the Shockers fell to Kentucky, which made the title game, in the round of 32 for their only loss of the season.

The inverse of Memphis, who has an experienced frontcourt and unproven backcourt, Wichita State lost forward Cleanthony Early to the second round of the NBA Draft, but it brought back one of the strongest pair of guards in the country – Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker.

Both guards were named preseason All-Americans, and Tekele Cotton, the Shockers’ third guard and Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season, was named to the MVC’s preseason all-conference team alongside VanVleet and Baker.

For Memphis, junior transfer Kedren Johnson and redshirt freshman Markel Crawford started in the backcourt against CBU. Sophomores Pookie Powell and Avery Johnson also played their fair share of minutes at the guard spots.

Unfortunately for the Blue and Gray, none of those four guards played Division 1 college basketball a season ago because of suspension, injury or junior college.

While they were watching from the sidelines, VanVleet and Baker led the nation’s eighth-best offense, according to KenPom.com, scoring 118.1 points per 100 possessions.

Johnson said he understands how good Wichita State’s guards are, but he does not plan on shying away from the challenge.

“He’s a good player,” Johnson said of VanVleet, who averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 assists for the Shockers as a sophomore last season. “I’m not intimidated by it or anything. He’s a solid player, a nice player. He’s a good leader for the Wichita State program. He’s been doing that for years, and he’s really impressive at it.”

This is only the second season in Pastner’s six seasons at the helm the Tigers have not been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. A win over the Shockers could go a long way in vaulting Memphis back into the national conscience.

Pastner said he would love to be ranked going into every season, but he also added “I’m about action. That’s what matters to me.”

Tuesday’s game will be played in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as part of ESPN’s 24 Hours of Basketball. The game tips at 1 p.m., and it will be televised nationally on ESPN.


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