Jan 28, 2023

🏀 MBB: Shockers at East Carolina

Posted Jan 28, 2023 12:07 PM

WICHITA STATE (10-10, 3-5) at EAST CAROLINA (11-10, 2-6)
Sunday, Jan. 29 | 11 a.m. CT (Noon ET)
Greenville, N.C. | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum

TV: ESPNU w/ Mike Corey & Sean Harrington
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (goshockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: WSU leads 6-1 (2-0 in Greenville); Last: Dec. 31, 2022 in Wichita (ECU, 79-69)

OPENING TIPS:

  1. Knock on the nearest wooden surface before proceeding to the next line...
  2. For the first time in four years, the Wichita State Shockers will face American Athletic Conference rival East Carolina on its home floor.
  3. Sunday's matchup in Greenville, N.C. comes exactly 1,453 days removed from the last -- a 65-49 WSU victory on Feb. 6, 2019. WSU senior forward Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler is the only player still around from either roster.
  4. The Shockers didn't make the 1,000+ mile journey in 2020 due to The American's unbalanced schedule. Subsequent road games in 2021 and 2022 were called off due to health and safety protocol – the latter just hours before tipoff, after the WSU had completed its pregame shoot around inside Minges Coliseum.
  5. WSU is 6-1 all-time against ECU (2-0 in Greenville) but now looks to avenge its first series loss. The Pirates took the Dec. 31 meeting in Wichita, 79-69, despite career-highs 21 points and 11 rebounds from Kenny Pohto. ECU used a 17-2 run to go up by 13 points late in the first half. The Shockers led by eight near the 14:00-mark of the second half after a 14-2 push of their own, but the visiting Pirates made 10 of their next 15 shots to draw even and eventually pull away.
  6. Wild momentum swings have been a staple of WSU's 2023 conference season. The Shockers overcame seconds half deficits of 14, 16 and nine points in January wins over USF, Tulsa and SMU but blew an 18-point lead in Wednesday night's 95-90 overtime loss to Tulane.
  7. WSU's Jaykwon Walton scored a career-high 24 points against Tulane and Craig Porter Jr. grabbed a personal-best 11 rebounds on his way to a double-double.
  8. One of just two Shocker holdovers from last year's active roster, Porter averages 12.1 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds. The senior point guard ranks among the nation's top-50 in blocks (1.84) and is also among the AAC leaders in assists (8th, 3.9) and steals (10th, 1.4).
  9. Walton is the team's leading scorer (13.3 ppg) and one of nine new transfers on the active roster. He's made the AAC honor roll in each of the last two weeks.
  10. In AAC games, Kenny Pohto is averaging 10.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.6 steals while James Rojas is putting up 9.8 points and 7.3 boards.


ON THIS DATE: JAN. 29

  1. 1965 – Three-time All-American Dave Stallworth scored 45 points in a 93-92 overtime loss at Loyola Chicago. The following night at the Roundhouse, he concluded his Shocker career with 40 points in a win over Louisville.
  2. 1972 – Terry Benton was everywhere at once in a 92-60 win over Tulsa, finishing with 20 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists.


QUADRUPLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE DOUBLES:

  1. Craig Porter Jr. finished with a double-double stat line against Tulane, collecting 12 points and 11 rebounds. He was two assists shy of a triple-double.
  2. It was WSU's 10th double-double of the season. Jaykwon Walton has 3 and the trio of Porter, Kenny Pohto and James Rojas have two-each.
  3. It's the first time in 28 years that four different Shockers have tallied multiple double-doubles in a season. The 1994-95 group included Jamie Arnold (10), Larry Callis (5), L.D. Swanson (2) and Terrance Flowers (2).


STUFFING SHOTS AND THE STAT SHEET:

  1. Craig Porter Jr. enters the weekend as one of just six players who are averaging at least 3.0 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal-per-game.

NCAA Division I Players Averaging: 3.0 Assists, 1.0 Block, 1,0 Steal:
Craig Porter Jr. (Wichita St.) -- 3.9 APG,  1.4 BPG, 1.8 SPG
Jalen Slawson (Furman) --  3.5 APG, 1.6 BPG, 1.5 SPG
Demarius Jacobs (Ball St.) -- 3.3 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.6 SPG
Oso Ighodaro (Marquette) -- 3.2 APG,  1.1 BPG, 1.8 SPG
Ta'Lon Cooper (Minnesota) -- 5.7 APG, 1.3 BPG,  1.0 SPG
Enoch Cheeks (Robert Morris)  -- 3.3 APG, 1.8 BPG, 1.2 SPG
Data Source: College Basketball Reference Play Index // as of 1/27/23



DRIVE TO SUCCEED:

  1. Isaac Brown wants his players to quit settling for jump shots and get the rim. Jaykwon Walton is one of several Shockers that have taken that advice to heart. In six AAC games, the junior is shooting 71% from inside the arc (22/31) and averaging 5.5 free throw attempts (up from 2.7 in non-conference play).
  2. Walton made 5-of-9 threes against Tulane to shake out of a month-long shooting slump. Prior to that, he was just 2-of-18 from deep in conference games.


TRIPLE TROUBLE:

  1. The Shockers finished the non-conference season ranked among the national leaders in three-point field goal percentage defense (6.5 threes on 27.9% accuracy).
  2. By contrast, Shocker opponents have shot the cover off the ball since the start of conference play, averaging 8.6 threes on 36.1% accuracy (the highest percentage among the league's 11 schools).
  3. The trend has been even worse at the Roundhouse where WSU is an uncharacteristic 1-3 in AAC home games. The four invading teams have combine to shoot 41.6% from three (42-of-101).


ALSO TRENDING:

  1. Gus Okafor recorded his 500th career rebound  during the Tulane game and needs just 34 more points to reach 1,000. The 6-6 graduate transfer played his freshman season at Longwood and two more at Southeastern Louisiana.
  2. Wednesday night against Tulane marked the first time in eight conference games that WSU has held a halftime lead. The Shockers scored a season-high 48 points and drilled 7-of-15 threes (.467) to go into the break up 13.
  3. The Shockers ended another streak less than two seconds into the game when they controlled the opening tip. It was the first time since Dec. 17 (Oklahoma State) that they've started a game with possession. Including overtime, WSU is just 4-18 on jump balls.
  4. ECU is the first opponent that the Shockers have faced twice this year. Houston and Temple are the only teams they've yet to encounter.
  5. The overtime loss to Tulane snapped a streak of 49-straight wins when scoring at least 90 points. The last setback was a 103-95 double-overtime defeat at Creighton on Feb. 17, 1990.
  6. The Green Wave's 95 points were the most allowed by a Shocker team since a 95-87 loss at Missouri State on Jan. 7, 2007 and the most scored by a visiting team at the Roundhouse since Feb. 12, 1983 when the Shockers defeated Indiana State, 111-96.


SCOUTING THE PIRATES:

  1. ECU has a new coach (former Tennessee assistant Michael Schwartz) and an almost entirely new cast.
  2. The Pirates returned just one starter and five total lettermen from last year's 15-15 squad that finished ninth in the AAC standings at 6-11.
  3. That's not to say the cupboard was completely bare. A trio of sophomore returners form this year's nucleus and have combined for 55% of the scoring:
  4. 6-2 Javon Small ranks among the AAC leaders in scoring (15.8 ppg, 10th), assists (5.6, 2nd) and minutes (34.7, 3rd) and can beat opponents from the perimeter (2.0 threes-per-game) or at the foul line (82/96, .854).
  5. 6-8 forward Brandon Johnson (12.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg) is the AAC co-leader in double-doubles (8).
  6. 6-3 guard RJ Felton is the team's top returning scorer from a season ago, has nearly doubled his production, averaging 12.0 points.
  7. ECU isn't a a great shooting team but crashes the boards and gets to the foul line. The Pirates are shooting a league-low 42.0% from the fiueld but rank 32nd nationally in offensive rebound percentage (.343) and lead the conference in free throw rate (.376).


THE SERIES:

  1. The Shockers are 6-1 (2-0 in Greenville).
  2. Three of the seven meetings came in 2018-19 when WSU swept the home-and-home and defeated ECU in the first round of the AAC tournament in Memphis.
  3. The teams met just once in 2017-18 and 2019-20 due the league' unbalanced schedule. Both 2020-21 dates were canceled due to COVID-19. The Shockers traveled to Greenville for the 2021-22 AAC opener, but that contest was called off just hours before tipoff.
  4. WSU is 2-0 at ECU's Minges Coliseum but hasn't played a game there since Feb. 6, 2019.


LAST MEETING WITH ECU:
Dec. 31, 2022 | Wichita | ECU, 79-69

  1. Despite a breakthrough performance from Kenny Pohto (career-highs 21 points, 11 rebounds), WSU fell to ECU for the first time in seven AAC era meetings.
  2. Brandon Johnson supplied 17 points and eight rebounds for ECU, which overcame an eight-point deficit near the 14:00-mark of the second half by scoring on 18 of its final 25 trips down the court.
  3. The Pirates shot 44.6%, ending WSU's streak of six-straight games holding its opponent under 40%.
  4. ECU made 10-of-25 threes and converted 19-of-22 free throws, including 10-for-10 in the last two minutes.
  5. WSU shot 42.9% including 9-of-24 from three.
  6. Pohto was 9-of-13 from the field and recorded seven offensive boards en route to his first career double-double.
  7. Shammah Scott --just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc coming into the day -- finished with 19 points on 5-of-7 three-point shooting.
  8. Still limited by injury, Craig Porter Jr. hobbled through 17 minutes and finished with two points.
  9. ECU used a 17-2 run to grab a double-digit lead midway through the first half.
  10. The Shockers made 8-of-14 threes in the first half and opened the second with a 14-2 push to go up 49-41 with 14:52 to play.
  11. The Pirates made six straight and 10 of their next 15 shots to draw even and eventually pull away.


A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
Make them 11-10 with wins in 4 of their last 6.
Get them to the midway point of the AAC schedule with a 4-5 mark on the heels of an 0-3 start.
Avenge a New Year's Eve loss to ECU and up their series lead to 7-1 (3-0 at Minges).
Make them 4-3 this season in true road games (3-3 in AAC play).
Make them 12-10 in road games under third-year head coach Isaac Brown.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
Drop them under .500 at 10-11.
Send them into the halfway point of the conference schedule with a 3-6 record.
Give ECU a regular season series sweep and narrow the Shockers' all-time lead to 6-2 (2-1 in Greenville).
Be less good than a win.

UP NEXT: HOUSTON
Thursday, Feb. 2 | 8 p.m.  CT | ESPN2
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena

  1. WSU faces No. 3 Houston for the first time.
  2. The Cougars (19-2, 7-1) enter the weekend a game ahead of Temple and Memphis in the loss column and is No. 1 in the NCAA's NET rankings
  3. The last two WSU-UH games in Wichita have been classics. In 2021, the Shockers upset the sixth-ranked Cougars, 68-63, in a game the ultimately decided the AAC regular season championship. UH won last year's visit on a buzzer-beater in double-overtime.
  4. WSU last faced an AP top-3 team in the 2013 Final Four (No. 2 Louisville) and last beat one in that Round of 32 that year (No. 1 Gonzaga).
  5. WSU's last regular season game against an AP top-3 opponent came Jan. 4, 1990 when it played host to No. 2 Kansas.
  6. WSU is 6-5 against AP top-3 teams inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.). The last of those wins was Feb. 25, 1967 over No. 2 Louisville (84-78).
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