Not to mention relax him.
PHOTO BY MARK WEBER
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Memphis coach Josh Pastner said the status of Wesley Witherspoon's suspension is "day by day."
"I was just not sleeping well, and it's not healthy either probably," Pastner said. "I was really proud of the guys on Saturday's game. The next step for us is consistency. Can you put together back-to-back-to-back-to-back games like what we did on Saturday? That's the next challenge that we've gotta accomplish, and it's against good teams on the road."
While the final numbers had been good -- Memphis outrebounded its opponent for the third straight game, shot 50.9 percent and limited Marshall to 37 percent shooting -- Tigers players also stressed the importance of sustaining their improved level of play as they get set for road games at Southern Miss on Wednesday and UAB on Saturday.
Memphis (13-4, 2-1 in Conference USA) hasn't fared well on the road, falling at Tennessee and at SMU in their only two true road contests. The Tigers lost to No. 3 Kansas in New York and beat LSU before a nearly all-Memphis crowd in Tupelo, Miss.
"We gotta win on the road. We've gotta go to Southern Miss and play," junior guard Charles Carmouche said. "So we'll kind of figure out who we are this week when we go at Southern Miss, and see if we can put together the same type of game and the same type of effort."
Added freshman Tarik Black, "Like coach Pastner preaches, we have to have carryover. It's all about having the right mentality. I think we came into (the Marshall) game focused and ready to play, and we have to just carry that over to every game. Most of it is being mentally ready. That's just what we have to do -- be prepared mentally to come out and play at the highest level."
Winning on the road in C-USA hasn't been easy for any team early on.
No. 22 UCF (14-2, 1-2) dropped its second C-USA road contest Saturday at Southern Miss (14-3, 3-1), which had been drubbed by 30 points at Marshall on Jan. 8.
UTEP (15-4, 3-1), which currently sits atop C-USA along with Southern Miss, opened its conference schedule with a triple-overtime loss at UAB (11-4, 1-1). A week later, UAB lost at Tulsa.
Overall, C-USA teams are a combined 4-15 in conference road contests.
"I think the league race is wide-open," Pastner said. "I don't think we're in any situation where we can start looking past anyone other than just Wednesday. That's all we can focus on is Southern Miss. That's what we've gotta lock into. It's gonna be a wild league race, and we've got to just do our job."
Pastner said Sunday night that he was taking Witherspoon's indefinite suspension "day by day." The preseason All-C-USA first-team selection was suspended Thursday for an incident a day earlier in which he mocked an assistant coach on the team bus without the coaches present.
Pastner said "if and when" Witherspoon returned, he would have to fit in. Before his suspension Thursday, Witherspoon had averaged just 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over his last four games, and had lost his starting spot to sophomore guard/forward D.J. Stephens.
"I will determine when he comes back," Pastner said. "The one thing on Wesley, he's a good person. I love Wesley Witherspoon, but I will not compromise my beliefs. I don't care if we win 25 in a row or lose 25 in a row, I will not lower my personal beliefs and standards and what I think is best for this program both on and off the court. That doesn't guarantee success, but I'm going with what I believe in.
"If the behavior doesn't change, then the consequences need to change."
