Jan 05, 2023

🏀 MBB: Shockers host Cincinnati on Yellow Out night

Posted Jan 05, 2023 12:41 PM
WSU VS CINCY
WSU VS CINCY

WICHITA, Kan.-The Wichita State Shockers welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats to Charles Koch Arena for the final American Athletic Conference regular season matchup between the schools.

OPENING TIPS:

  1. Thursday's game is a Yellow Out. Fans are encouraged to dress accordingly.
  2. UC – which departs this summer for the Big 12 – has won 9 of the AAC era 11 meetings. Six of those Bearcat victories have come in the last 60 seconds.
  3. Cincinnati is 4-1 in five AAC era visits to the Roundhouse. The rest of the league is a combined 8-31 over that span.
  4. The Bearcats swept last year's home-and-home, winning a 61-57 defensive struggle in Wichita and an 85-76 shootout in Cincinnati.
  5. WSU is 0-2 to start conference play. Career-highs from Kenny Pohto (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Shammah Scott (19 points, 5/7 3pt) weren't enough in Saturday's 79-69 setback against visiting East Carolina.
  6. Craig Porter Jr. missed last Wednesday's opener at UCF (during which WSU managed just 45 points) due to injury and played just 18 minutes against ECU.
  7. Porter is the team's leading scorer (11.9 ppg) and ranks among the AAC leaders in assists (6th, 3.8), blocks (4th, 1.6) and steals (8th, 1.6).
  8. 11 of the 13 Shockers who have seen action this year are new to the active roster. A crop of nine transfers includes junior wing Jaykwon Walton (11.7 ppg, team-high 6.5 rpg) and sophomore shooting guard Jaron Pierre Jr. (9.6 ppg).
  9. Walk-on guard Melvion Flanagan has enjoyed a meteoric rise. He played just two minutes in the first eight games of the season but has averaged 9.4 points on 9-of-20 three-point shooting over the past month.
  10. WSU ranks among the nation's top-10 in field goal percentage defense (.369). Per KenPom, the Shockers' effective field goal percentage (a measurement that adjusts for the greater difficulty and upside of making three-point shots) is the nation's fifth-lowest (.425) behind Tennessee (.377), Houston (.387), Utah (.408) and Rutgers (.416).
  11. WSU is 7-1 this season when out-shooting its opponent (26-5 overall under Isaac Brown).
  12. Per KenPom, WSU's bench has played 36.7% of the minutes this year -- tops among AAC schools.


ON THIS DATE: JAN. 5 :

  1. 1963 -- Playing on its home floor at Armory Fieldhouse, top-ranked UC knocked off No. 8 Wichita, 63-50, for its 29th consecutive win, holding Shocker All-American Dave Stallworth to 10 points in the process. WU got it revenge on Feb. 16 in Wichita with Stallworth going for 46 points in a 65-64 win that stopped UC's streak at 37.
  2. 1967 -- Helped by Warren Armstrong's 24 points and 16 rebounds (and the very vocal support of 10,979 fans) WSU upset No. 10 Bradley, 83-69, at the Roundhouse.
  3. 2014 – WSU notched win No. 15 in a 35-0 start by taking down Northern Iowa at home, 67-53, led by All-Americans Fred VanVleet (22 points on 8-of-12 shooting) and Cleanthony Early (18 points, seven rebounds).  The Shockers trailed 12-2 out of the gate but took the lead for good with 5:25 left in the first half and led by as many as 20 points down the stretch.


PIERRE PROGRESSING:

  1. Jaron Pierre Jr. averaged a team-best 12.8 points in December (up from 6.9 ppg in November), due in part to improved perimeter production.
  2. With school out of session, Pierre has had ample time to work on his shooting mechanics. He's one of several Shockers who committed to taking an extra 200 shots a day in practice. During games, the sophomore has taken a more-selective approach, turning down guarded attempts in favor of stationary, rythmn threes.
  3. The results have been positive. Pierre averaged 2.3 triples on 36.8% accuracy in his six December contests after hitting just 7-of-29 (.241) in seven November games.


ECU LEFTOVERS:

  1. Kenny Pohto became the fifth Shocker to top 20 points in a game this season (with Scott narrowly missing out on being No. 6).
  2. Pohto's seven offensive rebounds were the most by a Shocker since the 2021 AAC tournament when Morris Udeze snagged seven in a win over South Florida.
  3. Scott's 5-for-7 three-point shooting day came on the heels of a 2-for-13 start to this Shocker career. His season percentage jumped from .154 to .350.
  4. Per StatBroadcast, ECU's 1.295 points-per-possession was the highest for a WSU foe in the last two seasons.


ALSO TRENDING:

  1. Due to a combination of injuries and inconsistent production, Isaac Brown has used eight different starting lineups over the last 10 games.
  2. Gus Okafor is two rebounds shy of 500 for his NCAA career and needs just 41 more points to reach 1,000. The 6-6 graduate transfer played his freshman season at Longwood and two more at Southeastern Louisiana.
  3. Porter is shooting 60.2% from inside the arc -- second-best among AAC guards behind Tulane's Sion James.
  4. The Shockers finished December with a  3-4 record. In three of the four losses they held the opposition below 60 points.
  5. WSU reserves are averaging a league-best 23.7 points.
  6. WSU scored just 45 points in the loss at UCF, but its 53 offensive possessions were the fewest by a Shocker team since the 2014-15 season.
  7. WSU has held 11 of its 14 opponents under 40% from the field. this year. The Shockers had done it in six straight games prior before last Saturday when ECU finished at 44.6%. Only Alcorn State (.455 on Nov. 12) has posted a higher percentage against the Shockers this year.
  8. ECU's 79 points don't jump off the page, but its 1.295 points were the best by a WSU opponent in the last two seasons, per StatBroadcast. The Pirates made 10-of-25 threes (.400) and 19-of-22 free throws while committing just eight turnovers.
  9. ECU's 40% three-point night matched the season-high for a WSU opponent (MVSU was 4-of-10 on Dec. 13). The Shockers rank 26thnationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (.284).
  10. ECU's 19 free throws and 22 makes were also season-bests for WSU foes.
  11. Sophomore 7-footer Quincy Ballard finished the month of December with one of the more-unique stat lines. He blocked 10 shots over four games while attempting just five shots.



SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:

  1. Second-year head coach Wes Miller returned four starters from last year's team (18-15, 7-11), led by third team all-conference guard David DeJulius, and added another talented scorer to the mix in Memphis transfer Landers Nolley II. Eight of the 15 Bearcats are listed as seniors, fifth-years or graduate students.
  2. Picked third in the AAC preseason poll, UC is out to a 10-5 (1-1) start. Three of the five losses have to against teams currently ranked in the AP top-25: No. 5 Arizona, No. 18 Xavier and No. 24 Ohio State.
  3. UC knocked off Tulane in its AAC opener but fell 70-61 at Temple on Sunday.
  4. The Bearcats are 9-1 at home but have dropped six consecntuve true road games, last winning Feb. 12, 2022 at South Florida.
  5. DeJulius (16.1 ppg) and Nolley (15.1) have combined to sink 67 threes (4.5-per-game) on 41.4% accuracy.
  6. 6-11 sophomore Viktor Lakhin averages 12.8 points and is the team's best rebounder (7.7) and shot-blocker (16). He's shooting a league-best 67.5% from the field. Per KenPom, Lakhin is also the AAC's best offensive (14.2%) and defensive rebounder (26.5%) and draws an average of 6.4 fouls-per-40-minutes (No. 2 in the AAC leaderboard).
  7. UC leads the conference in threes-per-game (8.6), effective field goal percentage (.532) and defensive rebound percentage (.733) and ranks among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (25th, 1.45) and turnover percentage (11th, 14.8%).


MATCHUP MASHUP:

  1. UC Associate Head Coach Chad Dollar was a member of the WSU coaching staff in 2010-11 and helped the Shockers win the NIT Championship with a 29-8 record.
  2. When Dollar left Arkansas State in the spring of 2010 to join Gregg Marshall's WSU staff, head coach John Brady replaced him with a guy named Isaac Brown.
  3. Prior to catching on with Brady, Dollar was a member of Billy Kennedy's first staff at Murray State (2006-07).
  4. Cincinnati is one of only three teams with four-plus wins at Charles Koch Arena since its 2003 renovation and the only one from that group with a winning mark.


THE SERIES:

  1. This is series game No. 41. Cincinnati leads 27-13.
  2. WSU won the first AAC era meeting in 2018 but has dropped nine of the last 10 since. Six of those losses came come in the final minute.
  3. The Shockers' last series win came on Jan. 10, 2021 in Wichita. UC has taken the last three meetings beginning with a win in the 2021 AAC semifinals and continuing with last year's regular season sweep.
  4. This will be the final AAC regular season matchup between the schools with UC departing this summer for the Big 12. Due to the league's unbalanced schedule the Shockers will not travel to Cincinnati.
  5. UC is 11-9 in Wichita (4-1 AAC era with three last-second wins).


A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...

  1. Make them 8-7 and snap a two-game skid.
  2. Be their first in AAC play (1-2).
  3. Be their third in 12 AAC era meetings with UC.
  4. Narrow UC's all-time series lead to 27-14 (11-10 in Wichita).


A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...

  1. Drop them under .500 for the first time since a 1-2 start to the 2020-21 season.
  2. Give them three straight losses for the first time since Feb. 17-27, 2022.
  3. Make them 0-3 in AAC play for the second year in a row (started 0-4 last year).
  4. Make them 2-10 vs. UC in the AAC era.
  5. Up UC's all-time lead to 28-13 (12-9 in Wichita).


UP NEXT: @ SOUTH FLORIDA
Sunday, Jan. 8 | Noon CT (1 p.m. ET) | ESPN+
Tampa Fla. | Yuengling Center

  1. USF (7-7, 0-1 heading into Wednesday's home game against Temple) was 0-5 to start the year but finished non-conference play with wins in five straight and seven of its last eight.
  2. The Bulls were picked ninth out of 11 teams in the AAC preseason poll -- one notch behind WSU.
  3. The Shockers have won the last six meetings and lead the all-time series 7-1.
  4. WSU took the lone 2022 matchup (Feb. 12, 2022 in Wichita), 73-69. with help from Craig Porter Jr.'s 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
  5. This will be the Shockers first visit to Tampa since a  wild, 82-77 overtime win on Dec. 22, 2020.


AND THEN: TULSA
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 3 p.m.  CT | ESPN+
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena

  1. The rivals meet for the 138th time in a series that dates back to 1931.
  2. At halftime, WSU will induct five new members into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame: Victor Everett (Track & Field), Casey Gillaspie (Baseball), Emily Hiebert (Volleyball), Nikki Larch-Miller (Track & Field) and Abbie Lehman Chaffin (Volleyball).
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