Game Notes: Wichita State (PDF) | New Mexico State (PDF)

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NEW MEXICO STATE (7-6) at WICHITA STATE (6-5)
Dec. 28, 2015  | 7:00 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan./ Charles Koch Arena

Telecast --
On Air: Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022)*
Time Warner SportsChannel*
ESPN College Extra
Streaming: ESPN3 (Link)
Announcers: Bruce Haertl & Bob Hull

* - Monday night's game will once again air statewide on Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022), in Kansas City and Lincoln via Time Warner SportsChannel, and on Cox Channel Arkansas and Cox Channel Oklahoma… In addition, Cox Sports Television affiliates across 15 states will carry the game. Click here for a complete list of CST affiliates and channel numbers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia.

Radio --
On Air: KEYN 103.7 FM
Online: goshockers.com/watch
Announcers: Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl

Social Media ---
Twitter: @GoShockers, @GoShockersLive
Facebook: facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics
Instagram: instagram.com/goshockers
Exposure: goshockers.exposure.co
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State (6-5) plays its final non-conference game, Monday evening against New Mexico State (7-6), before opening up Missouri Valley Conference play on Thursday afternoon.
• WSU has won four of its last five games, following a 2-4 start, and is looking to secure a winning non-conference record for the 18th consecutive year.
• A win Monday night would also run WSU's home court winning streak (currently tied for second-longest in the nation) to 38 games and tie Tulsa (1980-82) for the fourth-longest in MVC history.
• The Shockers are 4-1 during the month of December, with wins over two RPI top-100 foes (Utah, 30; UNLV 70).
• WSU's five non-conference losses this year equals its combined total from the previous four seasons. From 2011-15 the Shockers were 45-5 in non-conference play (.900).
• The Shockers' 36-straight home non-conference wins ranks second nationally behind Duke (123).
• Evan Wessel will participate in his 100th game as a Shocker. His .899 career winning percentage is tops among college basketball's 2016 seniors.
• WSU has played the nation's 8th-toughest schedule, according to the NCAA's RPI report. Ken Pomeroy's weighted formula ranks their schedule 30th. The Shockers are one of only five teams in that top-30 with a winning record.
• Fred VanVleet begins the night five assists shy of the 500-mark. His next assist ties Indiana State's Nate Green (1996-2000) for 14th on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time list. Only 13 players in MVC history have reached 500. [Full list on page 18]
• In the five games since his return from injury, VanVleet is averaging a team-high 14.0 points, 5.2 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 50 percent from three-point range (9-of-18). WSU is 4-1 during that stretch after going 1-3 without him.
• WSU will face two of the top-five rebounders in college basketball over the next week and a half, beginning with New Mexico State's Pascal Siakam (11.9 rebounds per game). On Jan. 6, they'll face Evansville's Egidijus Mockevicius, the nation's leading rebounder at 13.8 per contest.
 
THE SERIES WITH NEW MEXICO STATE
• This is the 30th all-time meeting in a very evenly-matched series between the two former Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
 
• NMSU was a member of the MVC for 11 seasons (1972-73 through 1982-83). WSU won 12 of the 22 conference games staged over that period, and NMSU claimed the lone MVC Tournament game between the two on its home floor in the 1979 semifinals.
• WSU looks to finish out a sweep of the two-game series, which began last fall. Both games are in Wichita.
• Though split up by some three decades, WSU's current three-game winning streak over the Aggies is the longest by either side. Previously, WSU had posted back-to-back wins four times, and NMSU had managed consecutive victories on five-different occasions, but neither had managed to extend their runs past two games.
• WSU leads 12-4 all-time in Wichita, helped by an active streak of seven-consecutive home wins over the Aggies. NMSU's last Wichita win came in January of 1977.
• Following their Nov. 14 meeting last year, WSU and NMSU crossed paths again at Omaha's CenturyLink Center during the NCAA Tournament. Minutes after the 15th-seeded Aggies fell to second-seeded Kansas (75-56), WSU took the floor against the No. 10 seed, Indiana.
 
LAST MEETING WITH NEW MEXICO STATE:
Nov. 14, 2014 (Wichita, Kan./Charles Koch Arena)
#11 Wichita State 71, New Mexico State 54
 
• Fred VanVleet became the fifth player in WSU history to record seven steals in a game, joining his teammate Cotton, who did it in February of 2014 against Drake. Ernie Moore (1963), Cheese Johnson (1978), and Robert George (1992) round out the group.
• The Shockers built a 34-17 advantage late in the first half and led comfortably the rest of the way.
• Tekele Cotton (17 points) and Ron Baker (16) led the scoring.
• WSU saw a streak of 267-consecutive games (spanning nearly eight years) with at least one three-pointer come to an end with an 0-for-11 performance.
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
• New Mexico State is the defending WAC Champion and has won four-consecutive WAC Tournament titles.
• Now in his 10th season, heads coach Marvin Menzies has led the Aggies to five NCAA Tournament appearances in the past six years.
• The Aggies fell 85-70 at Bo. 23/22 Baylor in their last action before the break.
• Sophomore forward Pascal Siakam is having a monster year with three 30-point games, including a career-high 35 points against Robert Morris. He also logged a rare 20-20 effort (23 points, 23 rebounds) against UTEP.
• Siakam leads the nation in field goals (119) and double-double games (11) and is fifth nationally in rebounding (11.9) and sixth in scoring (23.8).
 
UP NEXT
The Shockers open up Missouri Valley Conference play on New Years Eve against Drake. WSU has won the last seven installments of the series and owns a seven-game winning streak in Wichita. Drake's last win at Charles Koch Arena came in December of 2007.