The Memphis Tigers will hit the road on Thursday to take on the Wichita State Shockers in the second AAC game of the year. Memphis will be coming into the clash with the Shockers looking to rebound following a disappointing 65-62 home loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.

As Memphis prepares for a tough road trip against the Shockers, the Tigers will look to improve upon a few aspects of their game as they get ready for the meat of their schedule.

For starters, it might be a good idea for the Tigers to turn to the platoon system. The use of the platoon system has been used by a lot of programs over the years, with the most recent being the 2015 Kentucky final four team. There are a lot of similarities between the two teams. The main one being, the talent across the board, both Memphis and that Kentucky team had twelve guys that could play anywhere else in the country. Turning to the platoon system would give Memphis an advantage over the rest of the AAC with a relentless tempo. Lastly, a platoon type system would give the Tigers a freshness amongst the team.

Second, Memphis needs to find a way to start the games on a fast track. Over the first half of the season, there have been countless times where the Tigers would fall behind early and have to claw their way back into the game. If the Tigers are unable to fix that as AAC play cranks up, they might find themselves in a position where a slow start is a deciding factor in a game. The Tigers will need to come out firing on all cylinders on Thursday night to avoid being run off the court by the Shockers.

Lastly, the Tigers need to improve upon their free-throw shooting if they want a chance at cutting down the nets in March. For the season, the Tigers are shooting a combined 67% from the free-throw line. Although that's not terrible, it's not championship level yet. For example, in the loss to Georgia, the Tigers were 11-22 from the line for a sloppy 55%. Had the Tigers hit maybe five more free throws, they would have been victorious over the Bulldogs. The solution to this problem is simple and can be fixed with time spent in the gym. Penny Hardaway and his staff should set the standard of shooting one hundred free throws per practice with the requirement of making 75% of those free throws attempted.

As the Tigers prepare to get into the grind of conference play, they sit in prime position to make a deep run at the Final Four in March. A lot of teams across the country would love to have the same problems that the Tigers have, with that being said, this team needs to make the improvements and trust in the process that Coach Hardaway had put in front of them. This Memphis team has the potential to make school history and to capture college basketball by storm.

Memphis and Wichita State will tip-off at 6:00 central on Thursday night and can be seen on ESPN2.