Jan 08, 2023

🏀 MBB: WSU travels to South Florida

Posted Jan 08, 2023 2:19 PM
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TAMPA, Florida-Two winless teams enter; one will leave with its first American Athletic Conference victory, Sunday afternoon when the Wichita State Shockers (0-3) take on the South Florida Bulls (0-2) at the Yuengling Center.

TV: ESPN+
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM / GoShockers.com/Listen
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: WSU leads 7-1 (2-1 in Tampa); Last: Feb. 12, 2022 in Wichita (WSU, 73-69)

OPENING TIPS

  1. WSU leads the series 7-1 with six straight wins. The lone loss came Jan. 22, 2019 in Tampa (54-41).
  2. The Shockers are 2-1 at Yuengling Center with back-to-back wins. In the last (Dec. 22, 2020), WSU squandered a five-point lead in the final five seconds of regulation but regrouped for an 82-77 overtime victory.
  3. The Shockers fell Thursday night to Cincinnati (70-61). Craig Porter Jr. finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, but the visitors hit 13 threes on 44.8% accuracy (both season-highs for a WSU foe).
  4. Seven team fouls were the fewest by a Shocker team in the NCAA's shot clock era (1986-pr.).
  5. WSU's two turnovers tied a 42-year-old school record (Feb. 9, 1981 at Southern Ill.), matched the lowest output in a Division I game this season (Colorado St. vs. San Jose St., Dec. 31, 2022) and were the second-fewest in AAC history (Houston had a one-turnover game against UConn on Feb. 1, 2015).
  6. WSU's last two foes (ECU and UC) combined to sink 23-of-54 threes (.426). Prior to that, the Shockers had held opponents to a paltry .275.
  7. WSU enters the weekend ranks among the nation's top-10 in field goal percentage defense (t-9th, .372).
  8. KenPom rates the Shocker defense 51st in efficiency, but the team is still building chemistry on offense (229th out of 366 teams). Just 11 teams have a lower assist rate than WSU's 41.5%.
  9. 11 of the 13 Shockers who have seen action are newcomers (nine transfers, two redshirt frosh).
  10. Porter – the team's lone returning starter – averages a team-best 12.4 points. A year ago, he became the first player in AAC history to finish among the conference's top-10 in blocks, assists and steals. The 6-foot-2 fifth-year senior is on track to do it again in 2022-23, averaging 1.71 blocks (2nd), 3.6 assists (7th) and 1.57 steals (8th).
  11. Four of the top-5 scorers are transfers, led by junior wing Jaykwon Walton (Georgia/Shelton State) who averages 11.7 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds with three double-doubles.


TRENDING:

  1. This is only the second time in three seasons under Isaac Brown that the Shockers have taken the court with a record below .500. The 2020-21 squad dropped to 1-2 after back-to-back losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State before winning five-in-a-row.
  2. WSU's bench averages 23.4 points and has clocked 37.2% of the minutes. Both marks are tops in the AAC.
  3. Pohto has gone more than three games (spanning 105 minutes, 6 seconds) without a turnover. His last came late in the first half of the Dec. 22 game against TSU.
  4. Pohto has committed just eight turnovers all season (compared to 17 assists and 10 steals). Per KenPom, his 8.7 turnover rate is fourth-best among AAC regulars.
  5. WSU is 7-1 this season when out-shooting its opponent (26-5 overall under Brown) compared to 0-6 when out-shot (12-21 under Brown with nine-straight losses).
  6. The Shockers have lost 11-straight games when behind at the half (0-6 this season). The last win came Feb. 1, 2022 when they trailed visiting Tulsa 30-29 at the break but outscored them 29-18 in the second half to secure a 58-48 victory.
  7. Due to a combination of injuries and inconsistent production, WSU used nine different starting lineups.
  8. 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.


IT'S NOT HOW YOU START:

  1. WSU is 0-3 in AAC play for the third time in six seasons. The last two Shocker teams to do it, played .500-or-better the rest of the way.
  2. The 2021-22 Shockers went to 0-4 before winning five of their last nine (three others were called off due to health and safety protocol) and wound up 6-9 (7th place).
  3. The 2018-19 squad won nine of its last 11 games on the heels of a 1-6 start to finish up at 10-8 (6th).
  4. Prior to that, the last 0-3 conference start for WSU came in the 2008-09 MVC season. After an 0-6 start, the Shockers won eight of their last 12.


CINCINNATI LEFTOVERS:

  1. Craig Porter Jr. was on the floor from start to finish becoming just the Shocker in the last 28 years to play all 40 minutes in regulation. Markis McDuffie clocked the full 45 in an overtime game against Temple on Jan. 6, 2019. Otherwise, you have to go all the way back to the 1995-96 season -- when Melvin McKey went wire-to-wire in three-straight games -- to find the last instance.
  2. James Rojas fouled Cincinnati's David DeJulius with 0.2 seconds left before halftime on a three-point attempt, spoiling what would have otherwise been the first foul-free first half in Shocker history. WSU box scores go back to the early 1970s.
  3. The Shockers were whistled just two more times in the first 19 minutes of the second half before fouling four times in succession in an effort to get UC to the foul line.


TAKING THE LOW ROAD:

  1. WSU has been one of the nation's best road defensive teams, holding its three road opponents to 53.3 points (No. 1 nationally among teams that have played multiple road games) on 36.5% shooting (fifth-lowest).
  2. Unfortunately, the Shockers haven't scored much either, averaging 50.3 points on 38.7% on the road. They're 1-2 with a Nov. 17 win at Richmond (56-53) and close losses at Kansas State (55-50) and UCF (52-45).


NEW KID ON THE BLOCKS:

  1. With his three-block night against UC, WSU's 6-foot-2 point guard Craig Porter Jr. now has 59 swats in 58 career contests. Just seven players in school history have averaged more than a block-per-game in a career spanning three-or-more seasons. All of them were traditional big men: Antoine Carr (1.9), Robert Elmore (1.6), Gene Wiley (1.5), Ehimen Orukpe (1.1), Terry Benton (1.1) and Shaquille Morris (1.1).
  2. Ron Baker's 76 career blocks are the most by a Shocker guard. Porter is 17 short of that number with 15 regular season games remaining.


SCOUTING USF:

  1. South Florida can match its 2021-22 win total (8-23) with a victory Sunday.
  2. USF started the year 0-5 but finished the non-conference slate strong with wins in five-straight and seven of its last eight to move over the .500 mark (7-6).
  3. The Bulls opened conference play with close losses to Memphis (93-86) and Temple (68-64), during which they were outscored 48-28 at the foul line.
  4. After posting the nation's worst field goal (.376) and three-point percentages (.253) last season, the Bulls have improved to .440 and .329. They're averaging 70.5 points (up from 57.5).
  5. Sixth-year head coach Brian Gregory has a handful of program veterans back, including 7-footer Russell Tchewa (10.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 59.6% FG), but three of his top-4 scorers are transfers.
  6. 5-foot-9 guard Tyler Harris (Memphis) leads the way at 15.2 points-per-game and is averaging 2.5 threes on 37.3% accuracy.
  7. 6-4 sophomore Selton Miguel (Kansas State) averages 11.6 points and a team-best 3.5 assists.
  8. 6-foot-6 South Carolina grad transfer Keyshawn Bryant (South Carolina) is good for 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds-per-night.
  9. Tchewa has the league's best free throw rate, per KenPom (ratio of free throw attempts to field goal tries) by a wide margin at 69.7.
  10. The Bulls have had success turning teams over (15.1 turnover forced). They're third in the league in fast break points (12.2).


MATCHUP MASHUP: 
KenPom's Luck metric (comparing expected winning percentage, based on advanced stats, to actual winning percentage) puts both WSU and South Florida among the nation's unluckiest teams. The Shockers rank 341 out of 363 teams (-.114) and the Bulls are 352nd (-.129).

ON THIS DATE... JAN. 8:
1955 – A Wichita team led by senior All-American Cleo Littleton bounced Houston, 78-67, at the Wichita Forum. Verlyn Anderson paced the Shockers with 19.
1976 – Cal Bruton dialed up 12 assists while Robert Gray (24 points) and Robert Elmore (19 points, 10 rebounds) had big scoring nights to key an 81-70 win over Memphis at Levitt Arena. Both teams went on to play in the NCAA tournament.
1998 – After trailing 22-4 to North Iowa, host WSU roared back to win 61-59. Terry Hankton scored the go-ahead basket with less than a minute to play and added a free throw for the final margin.
2014 – Fred VanVleet banked 10 assists in 28 turnover-free minutes and sixth-ranked WSU improved to 16-0 with a 66-47 home win over Illinois State.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...

  1. Make them 8-8 and snap a three-game skid.
  2. Be their first in AAC play (1-3).
  3. Be their seventh straight against USF and up their series lead to 8-1 (3-1 in Tampa).
  4. Even their road record at 2-2 and make them 10-9 under Brown.

 A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...

  1. Drop them two games under .500 (7-9) for the first time since an 8-11 start to the 2018-19 season.
  2. Make them 0-4 in league play for the second straight season and be their first four-game losing streak since then (Jan. 1-16, 2022).
  3. Snap a six-game winning streak against USF.
  4. Be the Bulls' first since Jan. 22, 2019.
  5. Narrow their series lead to 7-2 (2-2 in Tampa).
  6. Be less good than a win.


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

  1. WSU takes a midweek break before returning to action next Saturday against Tulsa.
  2. The rivals meet for the 138th time in a series that dates back to 1931.
  3. 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).
  4. Tickets are available online at goshockers.com/tickets, by phone at 316-978-FANS (3267) or in person at the Shocker Ticket Office, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on game days beginning 90 minutes before tipoff.
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