WICHITA, Kan. -- WICHITA, Kan. -- No. 9/9 Wichita State (12-2, 2-0) hosts USF (7-9, 0-3) Sunday in an American Athletic Conference matchup at Charles Koch Arena.
 
The 3 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network with Rich Walz and Bob Wenzel.
 
Mike Kennedy – the Voice of the Shockers – describes the action on Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and GoShockers.com/Listen). Join Kennedy and analyst Dave Dahl for Shocker pregame, beginning an hour before tipoff.
 

GAME 15

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena (10,506)

Game Notes: WSU | USF

MATCHUP

USF (7-9, 0-3 American) at #9/9 Wichita State (12-2, 2-0)

Sunday, Jan. 7

3:00 P.M. CT

CBS Sports Network

KEYN 103.7 FM

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

SOCIAL

@GoShockersMBB | #watchus

@goshockers | #watchus

Go Shockers

STARTING FIVE:
 
1 - FIRST DATES:
USF is one of four new American foes that the Shockers will face for the first time this season (along with ECU, UCF and Tulane) and one of five that had never visited Wichita prior to this year (UConn is the other)... This is the only regular season meeting between WSU and USF.  The Shockers won't host Memphis or ECU this year and won't travel to Tulane or USF.
 
2 – KELLY 100!:
Rashard Kelly has participated in 99 victories over his four seasons. A WSU win over USF would make him just the sixth player in school history to reach the century mark. Two of his former teammates – Tekele Cotton and Fred VanVleet – share the program record with 120 wins each… Kelly is the only member of WSU's six-man senior class that has appeared in every game over the last four years. Over that span, WSU has an .825 winning percentage (99-21), with a 52-3 mark (.945) in conference play.
 
3 --- BUILDING MOMENTUM:
Over the last five seasons, the Shockers are 66-1 at Charles Koch Arena with 26-straight wins… The only loss in that span came Feb. 13, 2016 against UNI… 64 of the 67 games have come in front of capacity crowds… WSU's last January home loss came in 2013… All-time men's basketball attendance at the arena hit the 8 million mark during Thursday's game against Houston. "The Roundhouse," opened its doors for the first time in December, 1955.
 
4 ---- TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS:
WSU is 43-7 over the last two seasons. All seven losses came to teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the AP Poll.  The last exception came over 22 months ago -- an OT loss to UNI in the 2016 MVC Tournament.
 
5 ----- A WHOLE LANDRY LIST:
Point guard Landry Shamet ranks among The American's top-10 in seven different categories. He leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) and three-pointers per game (2.7), is second in assists (4.6) and fifth in scoring (17.1)… In addition, Shamet is the only player who currently ranks in the league's top-10 in the trifecta of field goal (4^th, .553), free throw (10^th, .849) and three-point percentage (2^nd, .528).
 
###
 
BONUS POINTS:
The Shockers are off to a strong conference start with double-figure wins over UConn (72-62) and Houston (81-63). In the latter, Shamet scored a game-high 18 points, and WSU hit 10 first-half threes to build a 21-point lead at the break… WSU (2-0) enters the weekend as one of three remaining unbeatens, alongside Tulsa (3-0) and Cincinnati (2-0)… Shamet leads the team in points (17.1), assists (4.6) and steals (12). Three others average in double figures: Shaquille Morris (12.0 pts, 1.9 blocks), Conner Frankamp (11.8 pts) and Darral Willis Jr. (11.6 pts, 7.0 reb).
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
USF assistant coach Chad Dollar worked a year under Gregg Marshall at Wichita State in 2010-11, helping the Shockers to the NIT Championship. Dollar played three seasons at USF in the early 90's… Dollar is one of three former Marshall assistants on this year's schedule. On Nov. 13, WSU defeated a College of Charleston team led by Earl Grant. Later this month, the Shockers will match up against K.T. Turner (now an SMU assistant)… USF assistant Tom Herrion served as head coach at Marshall from 2010-14, replacing Donnie Jones (2007-10) after Jones' hiring at UCF… WSU junior guard Samajae Haynes-Jones and USF junior center Nikola Scekic teamed up last year to win a JUCO national championship at nearby Hutchinson Community College… USF (2^nd, .745) and WSU (3^rd, .743) are two of The American's best free throw shooting teams… USF leads the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.310). Through 16 games, Charlotte is the only opponent that has hit more than nine threes against the Bulls... Contrast that with the Shockers who average 9.6 threes per game. Their season percentage (.402) is second only to SMU among the 12 American teams.
 
THE AMERICAN WAY:
WSU is used to fast starts in conference play. The Shockers were 4-0 (or better) out of the gate in six of their last seven years in the MVC... WSU (10-2) was one of four American teams that claimed double-digit victories in non-conference play, joining Cincinnati (11-2), Houston (10-2) and SMU (10-3). Three others finished with nine wins.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLS           :
Former Dayton and Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory is in his first season at USF… The Bulls have already equaled their win total from the 2016-17 season when they finished 7-23 (1-17)… Sophomore forward Tulio Da Silva set the program's freshman rebounding record last year (203) and is averaging team-high 6.4 boards in his second go-around. He's the lone returner from last year's rotation… Among the 10 newcomers on the roster are three graduate transfers who all average at least 28 minutes: Payton Banks (Penn State) is the team's leading scorer at 12.7 points, Stephon Jiggetts (Fairleigh Dickinson) ranks second at 11.6 points and averages a team-high 3.8 assists. Terrence Samuel (Penn State) averages 8.0 points and has a team-best 21 steals.
 
VOTE GREGG:
Gregg Marshall is one of 48 coaches competing in Round One of the 2018 Infiniti Charity Coaches Challenge. Shocker fans can vote for Marshall (now through Jan. 21) and help win money for his charity of choice, the Wichita Children's Home, through any of the following means:
(1) Visit espn.com/infiniti and click the "vote" button under Coach Marshall's photo
(2) On twitter, tweet the following hashtags: "#Timeout2Vote #CoachGreggMarshall"
(3) On Instagram, post a photo of yourself calling a timeout and include the following hashtags: "TimeOut2Vote #CoachGreggMarshall" 
 
ON THE LEADERBOARD (as of 1/5):
Wichita State leads The American in scoring offense (84.4), field goal percentage (.480), rebounding margin (+10.7), assists (17.9), defensive rebound percentage (.772) and three-pointers per game (9.6)… Darral Willis Jr. ranks second in The American with four double-doubles… Rashard Kelly tops the conference leaderboard in offensive rebounds (3.6). Willis is third in defensive boards (5.4). Both rank in the top-10 in total rebounds… Shaquille Morris enters the weekend with 26 blocks. Only UCF's Tacko Fall (27) and Tulane's Blake Paul (29) have more.
 
POLL NOTES:
WSU gained votes by a dropped a spot to No. 9 in Monday's Associated Press Poll. The Shockers have been ranked in the top-10 in eight of the nine poll weeks… WSU's No. 3 ranking on Dec. 11 was its highest since finishing the 2013-14 regular season with four-consecutive weeks at No. 2… WSU opened at No. 7 in the AP preseason rankings and No. 8 in the Coaches' -- its highest starting point since the '81-82 campaign… Going back to Dec. 12, 2012 -- a span of five years -- WSU has been ranked or received AP and/or Coaches votes in 116 of the 126 poll weeks.
 
OFF ON THE LEFT FOOT:
Junior forward Markis McDuffie returned to practice on Dec. 20 and saw his first action of the season in the Dec. 22 win over Florida Gulf Coast (9 minutes)… McDuffie missed his first nine shots over two games before converting a pair of transition buckets in the final minute at UConn. That momentum spilled over into Thursday when McDuffie scored 11 first-half points in just eight minutes (he played five scoreless minutes in the second half)… McDuffie has been recovering from a stress fracture in his left foot since late September. The injury did not require surgery but kept him sidelined for over 12 weeks... Last year's leading scorer (11.5) and rebounder (5.7), McDuffie is also a key defensive presence for the Shockers and a major source of energy. As a sophomore, he forced a team-high 42 steals.
 
CONNECT THREE:
Conner Frankamp's school record streak (35-straight games with a three-pointer) celebrated its one-year anniversary on Dec. 28…The streak was threatened twice last month. Frankamp hit a three with 40 seconds to play in the second half against Oklahoma (Dec. 16) and another with 1:10 remaining in the Dec. 22 game against FGCU… Since his streak began on Dec. 28, 2016, Frankamp is  84-of-186 (.452). He's averaging 2.4 threes per game over that stretch.
 
KENPOM SAYS:
KenPom ranks Conner Frankamp second nationally in turnover percentage (4.6) among players who are on the court for at least 40 percent of their team's overall minutes... Frankamp has committed just one turnover since Thanksgiving (while stockpiling 17 assists)… Rashard Kelly leads the American in offensive rebounds per game (3.6) and ranks 12^th nationally... According to KenPom, Kelly also ranks fifth nationally in offensive rebound percentage, snagging 17.7 percent of all Shocker misses while he's in the game.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… improve their record to 13-2 (2-0 American).
… give them victories in five-straight and 9-of-10.
… make them 8-0 at Charles Koch Arena with 27-straight wins.
… give them a 3-0 start to conference play for the sixth year in a row.
… give them a 1-0 lead in the series with USF.
… give senior Rashard Kelly his 100^th victory.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… drop their record to 12-3 (2-1 American).
… snap a 26-game Charles Koch Arena winning streak.
… be their first CKA loss since Feb. 13, 2016 (vs. UNI) and just their second in the last five seasons (66-2).
… give USF 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
… be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT:
WSU puts its nation-best nine-game road winning streak on the line with a two-game swing at ECU (Jan. 11, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN2) and Tulsa (Jan. 13, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU).