NCAAB Game Preview - Alcorn State at Memphis

Sat Nov 16, 2019 2:00 PM EST

No. 13 Memphis failed its first big test on the court, losing 82-74 to No. 14 Oregon on Tuesday night in Portland.

The next big test for the Tigers likely will come off the court at some point as they look to settle the playing status of star freshman James Wiseman.

Before then, Memphis will host Alcorn State on Saturday.

Most of the attention, though, continues to be on the ongoing legal battle, which took a twist Thursday.

Attorneys for Wiseman had a Monday court date to ask a judge for an injunction to allow the 7-foot-1 center to continue playing, despite the NCAA having ruled him ineligible.

The school announced that Wiseman -- who appeared in the past two games after winning a temporary restraining order against the NCAA -- withdrew that suit on Thursday, when Memphis took the formal step of declaring him ineligible while applying for reinstatement. The parties are basically trying to resolve the issue without the courts involved.

The upshot is that Wiseman, who had been preparing to play Saturday, will now be held out, pending a further ruling from the NCAA, which initially posited that Penny Hardaway gave the player improper benefits before he became the Memphis head coach.

Memphis got a look at life without Wiseman when he sat out most of the first half against Oregon due to foul trouble. Wiseman, considered the top recruit in this season's freshman class, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

"Not having him the whole entire first half, even though we made a run, it definitely derailed us a little bit," Hardaway said. "It was a tough loss for us."

Memphis (2-1) opened with easy wins over South Carolina State and Illinois-Chicago, and Hardaway figured the loss to the Ducks gave his young team a needed taste of the big time.

"We were prepared. We were overprepared," he said. "Everything that they did, we knew was coming. You just can't account for nervous energy in a kid."

Wiseman averaged 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in three games.

Now, freshman Boogie Ellis, who hit six 3-pointers against Illinois-Chicago, is the leading scorer at 12.0 points per game. The team's next three highest scorers also are from Memphis' top-rated freshman class -- D.J. Jeffries (10.3), Lester Quinones (10.0) and Precious Achiuwa (9.7).

Alcorn State (1-2) opened with a 72-54 loss at DePaul, followed with a 73-72 overtime defeat at Louisiana-Monroe before handling NAIA school Paul Quinn on Tuesday. Alcorn State, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, scored its most points in a game since the 1998-99 season.

"I was just really excited to see the ball going in for us. We've struggled in making shots in the first two games, and our guys felt good about seeing the ball go in the net so many times," said Braves coach Montez Robinson.

"Our guys have been putting in the work every day since the summer, and this is a team full of gym rats. The first couple games were unsatisfying for all of us, but these guys keep working."

Senior guard Maurice Howard surpassed 1,000 career points in the game. He shot 40.6 percent from 3-point range last season with 3.1 makes per game. He drained 5 of 9 vs. Paul Quinn.

Alcorn State's leading scorer is junior guard Troymain Crosby at 15.3 points per game. The team's tallest player, 7-foot, 235-pound Alonzo Campbell, played just nine minutes on Tuesday night because he has been dealing with a back issue, Robinson said. He averaged 15 minutes in the first two games.

--Field Level Media