Jan 26, 2022

🏀 MBB: Wichita State Shockers back in action Wednesday against UCF

Posted Jan 26, 2022 9:54 AM

Shockers at home vs UCF

  1. Wichita State returns to action for the first time in 10 days on Wednesday night when it welcomes the UCF Knights to Charles Koch Arena (7 p.m., ESPN+).
  2. Last week's games against Temple (Jan. 19) and SMU (Jan. 23) were postponed due to health and safety protocol within the WSU program. The latter will be made up Feb. 3 in Dallas.
  3. COVID-19 has made it tough for the Shockers to find much of a rhythm this year. Their Dec. 29 opener at ECU was called off after a similar pause within the ECU program. WSU was without key players in a pair of close home losses to Tulane (67-68) and Cincinnati (57-61).
  4. Rescheduled games will make for a brutal February. After playing just four times in 34 days, Wednesday night begins a stretch of six games in 14 days.
  5. The Shockers are 0-4 in league play for the first time since the 2008-09 season when they opened their Missouri Valley Conference slate with six-straight setbacks. That team rallied for an 8-10 finish and has posted a winning conference record in every season since.
  6. WSU's four-game losing streak is its longest since a five-gamer during the 2018-19 campaign. That skid ended on Jan. 16, 2019 with a home win over UCF.
  7. WSU is 7-0 against UCF (all since joining the AAC). The Shockers have won all four meetings in Wichita and are 3-0 in Orlando. The Knights are 41-32 (.562) against the rest of the league over that five-year span.
  8. The teams meet again in a little under two weeks – Tuesday, Feb. 8 – in Orlando.
  9. WSU swept last year's home-and-home by a razor-thin margin, overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final 4:00 for a 93-88 overtime win in Wichita. Tyson Etienne scored a career-high 29 points to lead the way. Two weeks later in Orlando, WSU pulled out a 62-61 victory. UCF's Darius Perry (27 points) scored two baskets in the final 17 seconds but missed a potential game-winner at the horn.
  10. Etienne, the AAC preseason player of the year, ranks among the league leaders in scoring (14.9), three-pointers (2.60) and minutes (34.1).
  11. Craig Porter Jr. leads the team in the rare combo of assists (3.1) and blocks (1.07).
  12. Morris Udeze (11.3 ppg) is WSU's leading rebounder (5.9) and is coming off his first double-double performance of the year (12 pts, 11 reb) against Cincinnati.
  13. KenPom rates the Shocker defense 39th in efficiency. WSU leads the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.735) and is holding foes to 29.5% from three.


ON THIS DATE IN SHOCKER HISTORY: JAN. 26         
2005 – Jamar Howard was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field (all ionside the arc) to lead WSU past Drake, 75-65. Howard also cashed in 9-of-12 free throws to finish with a career-high 27 points.

TRENDING:

  1. WSU has lost four-straight for the first time since the 2018-19 season when it dropped games to VCU (away), Memphis (away), Temple (home), and Houston (away). Notably, that skid ended with a home win over UCF (Jan. 16, 2019).
  2. The 1999-00 Shockers were the last WSU team to go this deep into the calendar without a conference victory. On Feb. 2, 2000, Jason Perez scored 33 points and hit a school-record nine three-pointers to lead the 0-9 Shockers past Missouri State, 72-69. They went on to win 6-of-7.
  3. The Shockers are 0-4 in conference for the first time since the 2008-09 season when they opened MVC play 0-6 under second-year head coach Gregg Marshall. That group rallied to an 8-10 finish.
  4. That six-game stretch in December, 2008 and January 2009 was also the last time a Shocker team lost five-or-more consecutive games.
  5. WSU has dropped three-straight at home for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign when it lost in succession to Drake, Illinois State, Creighton, Northern Iowa and Bradley. The last of those defeats came exactly 14 years ago (Jan. 26, 2008).
  6. WSU went over 13 years, 11 months without dropping more than two-consecutive home games (January, 2008 to January, 2022). Over that span, Shocker teams were a staggering 197-28 (.876) at home.
  7. Shocker opponents are shooting 29.5% from three-point range. Cincinnati's 10 threes in the most-recent game (JAn. 16) were a season-high for a WSU foe. UNLV (nine threes on 47.4% accuracy) is still the only team that has shot better than 40% against WSU this year).
  8. In its seven losses, WSU has shot a combined 35.6% from the field, including 27.4% from deep (compared to 43.4% and 33.5% in its nine wins).
  9. Defensively, WSU has held 10 of its 15 foes under a point-per-possession, going 8-2. They're 1-5 when surrendering more.
  10. The Shockers are 6-0 when holding their opponent under 60 points but just 3-7 when surrendering 60+.
  11. Due to illness and injuries Isaac Brown has used five-different starting lineups over the past five games.  Continuity was one of the keys to WSU's 2021 success. Brown used three unique lineups the entire season and his core five made over 97% of available starts.
  12. Monzy Jackson is now the only Shocker who has appeared in all 38 games during these last two seasons.
  13. Illnesses loomed large in two home losses to Tulane and Cincinnati. WSU played without starters Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze against Tulane and minus starting point guard Craig Porter Jr. against Cincinnati. Both games came down to the final seconds.
  14. Reserve guard Ricky Council IV saw a large increase in playing time, as a result. He started both games and  averaged a double-double (11.5 pts, 10.0 reb) in 33.0 minutes-per-game. Council was nearly the hero in the 68-67 loss to the Green Wave, but his buzzer-beating layup was negated by a charging violation.
  15. Tyson Etienne stepped up offensively against Tulane with his fourth 20-point game of the season on 6-of-13 three-point shooting. He ran the point on Jan. 16 against the Bearcats and finished with 14 points and a career-high six assists with just one turnover.
  16. Etienne has scored in double-figures in five-straight and in 11 of his 15 games this season. He's made at least one three-point in 13-straight contests.
  17. The third-year guard has led the Shocker scoring in five-straight games and 10-of-15 for the year.
  18. Porter's absence against Cincinnati came on the heels of arguably his best offensive performance as a Shocker. In the previous game against Tulane he sets career highs for points (18), rebounds (9), steals (4) and minutes (33).
  19. Over his last six games, Porter has a sparkling 3.57 assist-to-turnover ratio (25:7).
  20. Point guards aren't typically rim protectors, but Porter is averaging a team-best 1.07 blocks-per-game on a Shocker squad that ranks 41st nationally in that category (4.9).
  21. As of Tuesday, 250 players are averaging at least a block-per-game. The 6-foot-2 Porter is the shortest of them all.
  22. Per KenPom, Porter ranks eighth on the AAC leaderboard with a 5.13 block percentage (percentage of opponent shots that are blocked by a player while he is on the floor).
  23. Dennis returned Sunday (his 100th game in a Shocker uniform) and grabbed seven rebounds to move over 500-mark for his career. He's the 43rd Shocker to reach that milestone.
  24. WSU's gang rebounding approach doesn't make for gaudy individual totals, but the Shockers lead the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.735) after ranking last in 2020-21 (.674).
  25. Five different Shockers have taken a turn as leading rebounder over the last six games. Seven players have led that category at least once this season.
  26. The trio of Udeze (5.9), Council (5.7) and Dennis (5.3) all average at least 5.0 rebounds-per-game. Outside of Udeze, Jackson has been the team's most productive rebounder on a per-40-minute basis this year (9.3).
  27. Joe Pleasant is beginning to settle in. The 6-7 Abilene Christian transfer matched his season-high with seven rebounds against Cincinnati. Wednesday against Tulane he filled in for Udeze at center and clocked a season-high 33 minutes. Pleasant also blocked a total of four shots in the two games (compared to just three in his first 13 contests).
  28. WSU entered its Jan. 12 game against Tulane as one of just 15 schools that had not recorded a double-double. but has now done so in back-to-back outings. Udeze followed Council's 12-point, 15-rebound effort against Tulane with a 12-point, 11-rebound showing against Cincinnati. It was the second double-double of his four-year Shocker career and his third time with double-digit rebounds. His 11 boards were on shy of his career high (12), set Nov. 13 against South Alabama.
  29. WSU's 10 three-point attempts against Cincinnati on Sunday was its lowest total since making 3-of-8 in a Nov. 25, 2013 win over DePaul in Kansas City (90-72).
  30. The Shockers are still on pace to break their school record for three-point attempts, set last year. They're averaging 24.25-per-game (up from 24.09 in 2020-21). That sounds impressive, but there are 103 Division I teams that average more.
  31. Likewise, Etienne is on track to break his own school record for three-point attempts. He's putting up 8.13-per-game (23rd nationally), up from 7.55 last year.
  32. The Shockers have held double-digit leads in four of their five home losses. They led by 16 near the 16:00-mark against Tulane and by 10 near the midway point of the first half versus Cincinnati.
  33. Defense carried the Shockers in non-conference play. They limited opponents to 61.8 points on 39.4% shooting (28.8% from three). WSU's 12 foes combined for 55 more turnovers than assists (0.71 ratio).
  34. By contrast, in four AAC games, WSU has surrendered an average of 71.8 points on 45.8% shooting. Opponents have a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio.


THE SERIES:

  1. The Shockers are 7-0 against the Knights. They've won all four meetings in Wichita and are 3-0 in Orlando. The schools had never met prior to 2017-18 when WSU joined the American Athletic Conference.
  2. The Shockers swept last year's series but by the slimmest of margins. On Jan. 30 in Wichita, they overcame an eight-point deficit with less than 4:00 to play to win in overtime (93-88). Less than two weeks later in Orlando, WSU survived, 61-60, after Darius Perry's potential game-winning jumper missed the  mark.
  3. Two of the seven games have gone to overtime. In addition to last year's thriller at Charles Koch Arena, the teams played bonus basketball during the Mar. 1, 2018 clash in Orlando when UCF's A.J. Davis banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to end regulation. The 11th-ranked Shockers regrouped for a 75-71 victory.


LAST YEAR vs. UCF:
Jan. 30, 2021 (Wichita) | WSU 93, UCF 88 ot

  1. Tyson Etienne scored 29 points and made 5-of-10 threes, becoming the fastest Shocker to 100 career triples (44 games) in an overtime win over UCF.
  2. The Shockers were unlikely victors, according to ESPN.com. The Knights' win probability topped out at 92.8% with 3:52 to play in regulation after Brandon Mahan banked in a three for a 74-66 lead. Instead WSU, answered with an 8-0 run, fueled by its full court press.
  3. WSU scored 33 points off of 23 UCF turnovers, including 11 on five giveaways in the final 3:12 of the second half.
  4. UCF had an 83.4% chance at victory in overtime after going up 84-79 with 2:24 left. WSU again answered with a 7-0 run, capped by Etienne's milestone three.
  5. Mahan and Jamille Reynolds scored 17-each for UCF, which shot 57.4% but missed five of its last six shots.
  6. WSU shot 46.2% and knocked down 10-of-30 from three. The Shockers made seven-straight free throws during the final minute to finish up 23-of-33.
  7. Five Shockers scored in double-figures. In addition to Etienne (who scored 21 of his 29 points after halftime), Morris Udeze converted 8-of-9 attempts for 18 points.  Clarence Jackson scored five of his 13 in overtime and grabbed eight rebounds. Alterique Gilbert stacked  12 points with seven assists and accounted for four of WSU's 12 steals. Dexter Dennis added 12 points of his own in 36 minutes.


Feb. 10, 2021 (Orlando, Fla.) | WSU 61-60

  1. WSU survived a barrage from UCF's Darius Perry, who scored a game-high 27 points, including two baskets in the last 17 seconds, but missed a would-be game-winner ahead of the final buzzer.
  2. Alterique Gilbert (17 points) hit a three-pointer with 33 seconds left and both ends of a 1-and-1 to position the Shockers for the win with 13 seconds remaining.
  3. Instead, WSU made two critical mistakes, fouling Perry on a driving layup that became a three-point play with less than 10 seconds to go. The Shockers turned it over against UCF's full-court pressure, giving the Knights the ball with 7.8 seconds to play. Perry missed a hanging jumper in the lane, and Gilbert pounced on the loose ball as time expired.
  4. Gilbert was 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.
  5. Dexter Dennis scored 14 of his with 16 points before halftime and secured 10 rebounds.
  6. Morris Udeze added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
  7. WSU led by as many as 10 points late in the first half and took a 36-30 edge into the locker room. UCF rallied to tie the game near the 10:00-mark and neither side led by more than four the rest of the way.
  8. WSU outscored UCF 16-8 at the foul line.
  9. WSU swept the season series and is now 7-0 all-time against UCF.


SCOUTING UCF:

  1. In an off-season that saw record numbers of college basketball transfers, UCF kept its roster largely intact. Sixth-year head coach Johnny Dawkins returned all five starters from last year's squad, which finished sixth in the AAC regular season and reached the conference tournament quarterfinals (11-12, 8-10).
  2. Winners of three of their last four, the Knights are 4-3 in conference play and begin the week at No. 78 in the NCAA NET Rankings (up from 102 at the end of last year).
  3. The Knights are 4-3 on the road this year with Quadrant 1 and 2 wins at Miami (No. 69 in NET) and Temple (124). Throw in home victories over Michigan (38) and Memphis (75), they enter the week with a solid 4-3 record in Q-I and II contests.
  4. Darin Green Jr. is the team's leading scorer (13.5 ppg) and a dangerous three-point shooter (2.76-per-game on nearly 40% accuracy).
  5. He's joined in the backcourt by a couple of super seniors.
  6. Former Louisville transfer Darius Perry (11.1 ppg) is averaging 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals in his second go-around with UCF. He's also a 40% three-point shooter (29-of-73).
  7. 6-foot-5 wing Brandon Mahon (10.2 ppg) ranks second on the AAC leaderboard with 1.9 steals.
  8. 6-8 forward C.J. Walker, a former top-25 recruit in the Class of 2019, has taken a step forward in his second season after transferring from Oregon. He's averaging 8.5 points and shares the team rebounding lead (6.0) with 6-11 UNLV transfer Cheikh Mbacke Diong (7.2 ppg, 1.8 bpg).
  9. The Knights have additional depth with 6-6 Tyem Freeman (an NJCAA First Team All-American at Indian Hills CC) and four-star freshman point guard Darius Johnson.  Freeman is shooting over 65% from the field is limited action. Johnson has expanded his role over the last month, averaging 9.7 points in AAC play.
  10. According to KenPom, opposing offenses burn an average of 16.8 seconds-per-possession against the UCF defense (the 12th-slowest pace among Division I's 358 teams) and turn the ball over 22.5% of the time (31st nationally). The combo of Mahan and Perry have combined for 60 steals this year.
  11. Foes struggle from long range (.295, 28th) but have converted over 52% of their two-point looks (275th).


MATCHUP MASHUP:

  1. In four career games against UCF, Morris Udeze is averaging 10.3 points on 85.0% shooting (17-of-20). He's also a perfect 7-for-7 at the foul line. Udeze was 8-for-9 with 18 points in WSU's overtime win in Wichita on Jan. 30, 2021 and added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the rematch in Orlando.
  2. Fourth-year guard Dexter Dennis has made five career starts against UCF and averaged 12.2 points, 8.2 rebounds in 32.4 minutes.
  3. WSU is 7-1 vs. UCF coach Johnny Dawkins. Dawkin's Stanford team defeated the Shockers, 70-56, in the 2009 CBI quarterfinals.
  4. UCF 's Brandon Mahan played for WSU assistant Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M during the 2018-19 season. Mahan made 20 starts, averaged 5.9 points and connected on 43 treys with 38.4% accuracy.
  5. WSU has never gone head-to-head with Duke nor its retiring head coach Mike Krzyzewski but the Shockers have faced half of the 12 members of his coaching tree, including UCF's Johnny Dawkins. They're a combined 12-12 in those games, helped by a 7-1 mark against Dawkins. Yes, of course there is a list coming:

Wichita State vs. the Coach K Tree:
3-7 vs. Bob Bender (3-5 Illinois State & 0-2 Washington)
0-2 vs. Mike Brey (Notre Dame)
7-1 vs. Johnny Dawkins (0-1 Stanford, 7-0 UCF)
1-1vs. Mike Dement (SMU)
0-1vs. David Henderson (Delaware)
1-0 vs. Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette)


A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 10-7 and snap a four-game slide.
... Be their first win of 2022 and first in AAC play (1-4).
... Snap a three-game home losing streak.
... Make them 8-0 all-time vs. UCF (5-0 at CKA).
... Make them 8-1 vs. Johnny Dawkins.

A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 9-8 (0-5 AAC).
... Be their first five-game losing skid since Jan. 2009.
... Be their first 0-5 conference start since 2008-09 when they opened MVC play 0-6.
... Drop their home record to 6-6 with four-straight defeats.
... Be their first vs. UCF (7-1).
... Make them 4-1 vs. UCF in Wichita.
... Be their first vs. Dawkins since the 2009 CBI (7-2).
... Be less good than a win.

UP NEXT:

  1. The Shockers go back out on the road this weekend to face Tulane (11 a.m. CT, ESPNU).
  2. The Green Wave defeated the Shockers in Wichita on Jan. 12 (67-68).
  3. WSU won its most recent visit to Devlin Fieldhouse on Mar. 3, 2021 (78-70) and is 2-0 all-time against the Green Wave in New Orleans.
  4. WSU is back home Tuesday, Feb. 1 to take on Tulsa. The 8 p.m. CT tip airs on ESPNU.

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