Dec 31, 2022

🏀 MBB: Shockers to host East Carolina on New Year's Eve

Posted Dec 31, 2022 12:05 PM
WSU hosts East Carolina on New Year's Eve
WSU hosts East Carolina on New Year's Eve

WICHITA, Kan.—A New Year's Eve date with East Carolina tips off the home portion of Wichita State's American Athletic Conference schedule (Saturday, 3 p.m. CT, ESPN+).

EAST CAROLINA (9-5, 0-1) at WICHITA STATE (7-6, 0-1)
Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022 | 3:02 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena

TV: ESPN+
Radio: KEYN 103.7 GM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: WSU leads 6-0 (3-0 in Wichita) | Last: Mar 5, 2022 in Wichita (WSU, 70-62)

TICKETS:
Fans can purchase tickets 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.

TELECAST:
The game will air on ESPN+ with Shane Dennis (PxP) and Bob Hull (Analyst) on the call.
ESPN+ subscribers can stream live and on demand via the ESPN App. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. Visit plus.espn.com for more information.

SHOCKER RADIO:
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Division I college basketball's longest-tenured duo, Mike Kennedy (pbp) and Dave Dahl (analyst) are in their 42nd season together on radio. Kennedy is in his 43rd season as Voice of the Shockers. Pregame coverage begins one hour before tipoff.

OPENING TIPS:

  1. WSU defeated ECU 70-62 in the 2022 regular season finale at Charles Koch Arena behind 15 points and 10 rebounds from Craig Porter Jr. That's the only time the teams have met in the past two seasons, thanks to three different rounds of COVID-19 cancelations. The Shockers lead the all-time series, 6-0.
  2. WSU is 32-11 in AAC home games (3-0 vs. ECU).
  3. Both sides are coming off losses in their respective AAC openers. Playing without Porter (ankle) WSU fell 52-45 at UCF. Melvion Flanagan (11 points) became the first Shocker walk-on in the NCAA's 13-scholarship era (1993-94 to present) to earn high-scoring honors.
  4. ECU fell at home to Temple, 59-57, despite Brandon Johnson's league-best seventh double-double (11 points, 18 rebounds). The sophomore is also the conference's top rebounder (9.8 rpg).
  5. Picked last in the AAC preseason poll, the Pirates are out to a 9-5 start under new coach Michael Schwartz.
  6. ECU averages over 15 points at the foul line on a league-best 23.3 attempts (26th nationally). However, WSU is the conference's least-penalized team, averaging league-lows for fouls (14.4) as well as opponent free throws (9.9) and attempts (13.9).
  7. Overall, WSU has been one of the nation's stingiest defensive units, ranking 36th in efficiency, per KenPom.
  8. The Shockers are one of just 20 teams that are surrendering less than 60-points-per-game (59.7).
  9. WSU also ranks eighth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.363). The Shockers have held all six December opponents under 40% from the field (.356 collectively). That streak is tied for the fifth-longest by a WSU team in the shot clock era (1985-86 to present).
  10. One of the nation's most-versatile performers, Porter is WSU's leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and ranks among the AAC leaders in blocks (3rd, 1.75), assists (5th, 3.9), steals (7th, 1.67), field goal % (4th .512), rebounds (13th, 6.1).
  11. One of 10 transfers on the WSU roster, junior wing Jaykwon Walton averages 11.9 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds (AAC #10). He's posted three double-doubles.
  12. Isaac Brown has used seven different starting lineup combos in the last nine games. Wednesday at UCF, Shammah Scott become the ninth different Shocker to take a turn in the starting five when he replaced the injured Porter.


TRENDING:

  1. Porter's 60.5% success rate on two-point field goal attempts is tops among AAC guards.
  2. Wednesday's game at UCF marked the first time in 63 games under Isaac Brown that WSU hasn't recorded at least one block. WSU had done so in 75-straight going back to the 2019-20 season. Notably, the Shockers faced the Knights without the services of Craig Porter Jr. and Quincy Ballard. Both players rank among the nation's top-100 in blocks.
  3. The Shockers are 3-3 in December. All three losses came in games where the opposition scored less than 60 points.
  4. 45 points against UCF marked WSU lowest offensive output since a 76-43 loss at No. 25 Houston on Feb. 9, 2020.
  5. WSU reserves are averaging a league-best 25.2 points.
  6. Both Brown and UCF coach Johnny Dawkins were content to let the air out of the ball. WSU finished with just 53 offensive possessions -- its fewest since Jan. 25, 2015 when it also had 53 chances in a 58-47 win over Loyola Chicago.
  7. WSU managed just 14 baskets but posted its highest assist rate this season (.643). Kenny Pohto had three of the Shockers' nine assists (a career-high).
  8. WSU has made incremental progress with its passing over the last few weeks, posting a 50.4 assist rate over its last five games (up from 38.5 over the first eight).
  9. In a span of three weeks, 5-10 walk-on Melvion Flanagan has gone from invisible to indispensable. While he doesn't have enough minutes to qualify for KenPom's national rankings, his 132.1 O-Rating would otherwise be the nation's highest among players with at least a 24% usage rate.
  10. WSU has frustrated foes into some lengthy scoring funks. Over the first 13 games, opponents have had 21 scoring droughts of at least four minutes.


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:
  4. 6-2 Javon Small ranks among the AAC leaders in scoring (16.6 ppg, 6th), assists (5.5, 3rd) and minutes (34:47, 2nd) and can beat opponents from the perimeter (2.1 threes-per-game) or at the foul line (71/85, .835).
  5. 6-8 forward Brandon Johnson (12.5 ppg) is the AAC leader in rebounds (9.8) and double-doubles (7).
  6. 6-3 guard RJ Felton is the team's top returning scorer from a season ago (6.1 ppg). He's nearly doubled his production this year, averaging 11.5 points.
  7. That trio has combined for 55.7% of the ECU points and 52% of the shots.
  8. WSU (81.2%) and ECU (78.6%) rank second and third respectively among AAC schools in percentage of minutes played by newcomers.


THE SERIES WITH ECU:

  1. WSU and ECU had never played prior to the Shockers joining the league in July, 2017, and they haven't had many encounters since then, either. This is only the seventh game in six seasons.
  2. The Shockers are 6-0 (3-0 Wichita).
  3. Half of the six 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.
  4. 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.
  5. WSU is 2-0 at ECU's Minges Coliseum but hasn't played a game there since Feb. 6, 2019.


Mar. 5, 2022 | Wichita | WSU 70, ECU 62
The one-two scoring punch of Craig Porter Jr. and Ricky Council IV helped knock out ECU in the 2022 regular season finale. The win gave WSU the No. 7 seed in the AAC tournament and knocked ECU down to No. 9. A Pirate win would have flipped those seeds... Council and Porter combined for 25 of the last 30 WSU points, beginning  with Council's go-ahead layup at the 14:00-mark of the second half. Up 56-55 with 5:00 left, Porter and Council each drove for dunks to set off a 10-0 run... Tristen Newton supplied 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead ECU... The win was WSU's 750th all-time at the Roundhouse.

Jan. 1, 2020 | Wichita | #24 WSU 75, ECU 69
An all-around effort from Erik Stevenson (17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 block) helped WSU survive an ECU upset bid... Jayden Gardner scored 20 of his 29 points after halftime and the Pirates led 45-44 with less than 13:00 to play before WSU took control.

Mar. 14, 2019 | Memphis, Tenn. | WSU, 73-57
Markis McDuffie scored 15 points on 11-of-12 foul shooting to lead the sixth-seeded Shockers past No. 11 seed ECU in the first round of the AAC tournament... The Shockers led 39-27 at the break and by 26 near the 12:00-mark before resting the regulars... WSU outscored ECU 14-2 off turnovers and 23-4 on second-chances, helped by 17 offensive rebounds. WSU was +12 on the glass and its three centers combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds... Jayden Gardner led ECU with 16 points, six boards.

Mar. 5, 2019 | Wichita | WSU, 72-55
Using depth and defense, the Shockers overcame a cold shooting performance to win on senior night... McDuffie scored 16 points in his final home game... Isaac Fleming had 17 for ECU and Rico Quinton posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds... WSU shot 39% but held ECU to 36% on 3-of-15 three-point shooting and out-rebounded the Pirates 47-37... WSU used a 14-4 surge to go up 32-18 late in the first half and coasted.

Feb. 6, 2019 | Greenville | WSU, 65-49
Samajae Haynes-Jones hit his first seven shots on his way to a team-high 18 points, and WSU out-rebounded ECU by 19... Asbjørn Midtgaard grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and Jaime Echenique provided 10... The Shockers won despite shooting just 39.7% but held ECU to 34.6%... They led 34-20 at halftime and extended the margin to as many as 21 points late in the second half.

Jan. 11, 2018 | Greenville | #5 WSU 95, ECU 60
WSU recorded 32 assists on 38 baskets to win the first-ever meeting between the programs. Landry Shamet finished with 11 points and a career-high 11 assists with just one turnover. Rauno Nurger scored a team-high 14 points. WSU shot 59.4% including 70% (21-of-30) after halftime. The Shockers trailed 14-9 at the 12:06-mark but outscored ECU 36-9 over the remainder of the first half. They led by as many as 41 points down the stretch.

UP NEXT: CINCINNATI
Thursday, Jan. 5 | 8 p.m. CT | ESPNU or ESPN2
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena

  1. This is the final American Athletic Conference regular season game between the schools. WSU will not travel to Cincinnati this year and the Bearcats are set to depart this summer for the Big 12.
  2. Cincinnati -- picked third in the preseason -- is 9-4 under second-year head coach Wes Miller.
  3. The Bearcats have won nine of the 11 AAC era matchups agains the Shockers and swept last year's home-and-home.
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