Louisiana Tech (0-0) at Wichita State (0-0)
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 | 7 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan./ Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
TV: YurView Kansas (Cox HD 2022)
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM
 

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>>> Wichita State tips off its 113^th men's basketball season 7 p.m. Tuesday night against Louisiana Tech at Charles Koch Arena.
 
>>> Tickets are still available for Tuesday night at 316-978-FANS or goshockers.com/MBBTickets. WSU has sold out 22-straight home games (21 at CKA) and is one of just nine programs that sold out every date in 2017-18.
 
>>> The game will air statewide on Yurview Kansas, available to Cox subscribers on HD 2022 and to fans in all 50 states at YurView.com/Kansas. Shane Dennis and Bob Hull will have the call. 
 
>>> Division I basketball's second-longest running tandem, Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl, kick off their 38^th season together on radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen).
 
>>> The Gregg Marshall Radio Show returns to the airwaves, Monday, Nov. 5. Join Coach Marshall LIVE from 6-7 p.m. every Monday at AJ's Sports Grill at The Alley, or listen to the show on KFH (98.7 FM / 1330 AM).  The show is rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on YurView Kansas (Cox 2022).
 

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OPENING TIPS:
*WSU-LA Tech is one of 146 games being played on college basketball's opening day. Nov. 6 start date is the earliest in program history, beating the previous standard (Nov. 9, 2013 vs. Emporia St.) by three full days.
*WSU has never faced LA Tech. Nor has Gregg Marshall. However, Shocker assistants Lou Gudino and Isaac Brown have each spent time on the LA Tech bench as assistants.
*For the fifth-straight year, WSU opens against an opponent coming off of a winning season. LA Tech (17-16, 7-11 CUSA, t-9th/14) returns five players who started double-digit games. The Bulldogs were picked sixth out of 14 teams in the C-USA preseason poll.
*Of the 13 Shockers saw action in last Tuesday's 75-64 exhibition win over Catawba College, 10 were not on last year's active roster. Among the newcomers, freshman guard Jamarius Burton made the best impression with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes off the bench... WSU's two seniors factored heavily. Samajae Haynes-Jones scored a game-high 19 points and Markis McDuffie added 14. Haynes-Jones' 33 minutes were a Marshall Era exhibition record. 
*The Shockers open at home for the 15^th consecutive year. They've won their last 16 season openers and 24-of-25 since 1992, with the lone blemish coming in November, 2001 against Delaware at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
*WSU's last November home loss came nearly a decade ago. Since falling to UMKC on Nov. 19, 2008, Shocker teams have won 28-straight November home games.
*WSU has won 22-consecutive home openers. The last setback came Dec. 4, 1995 to Northern Illinois (77-52). Shocker teams are 96-18 all-time in home debuts -- 55-7 at the Roundhouse (est. 1955) and 15-0 record since its 2003 renovation.
*Just four Shocker freshmen have started a regular season opener under Marshall, and three of them went on to play in the NBA. Landry Shamet (2016) and Ron Baker (2012) were in the lineup as redshirt frosh, and Toure' Murry (2008) and Demetric Williams (2009) started opening night as true freshmen... The only time under Marshall that WSU started multiple players who were brand new to the program (no redshirts) was the 2008 opener when Murry started alongside JUCO transfer Clevin Hannah in the backcourt.
*WSU has won 72 of its last 75 games at Charles Koch Arena, dating back to the 2013-14 opener. The losses: UNI (Feb. 13, 2016), SMU (Jan. 17, 2018) and Cincinnati (Mar. 4, 2018)... 72 of the 75 games in that stretch have come in front of capacity crowds.
 
EXHIBITION LEFTOVERS:
*Samajae Haynes-Jones (19 points), Jamarius Burton  (16) and Markis McDuffie (14) combined to score 49 of the Shockers' 75 points.
*WSU won its 25th-straight preseason exhibition game and improved 14-0 under Gregg Marshall.
*Burton scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half to give WSU a 34-31 at the break. Tied at 51 with 8:06 remaining, WSU launched a 9-0 run, sparked by a Haynes-Jones three and two McDuffie jumpers. Erik Stevenson's fast break turned into a three-point play, and Haynes-Jones hit a 19-footer to stretch the lead to 12 with 2:42 remaining.
 
ABOUT THE SHOCKERS:
*The Shockers (25-8, 14-4 AAC) tied for second-place in their inaugural season in The American and earned a No. 4 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament but now face a significant rebuilding project after the loss of six seniors, two transfers, and one early entry to the NBA Draft (Landry Shamet; 26th overall by the 76'ers). 
*For the first time since 2012, the Shockers open a season without receiving votes in either of the major national polls. WSU had been preseason nationally ranked in four of the five previous years.
*WSU was picked eighth in the 12-team AAC preseason coaches poll.
*Roles were largely defined at this time a year ago. WSU returned over 91% of its scoring and rebounding (among the top-five in Division I). This year's squad ranks among the bottom-five nationally in minutes returning (11.2%).
*Three scholarship players are back from last year's active roster: seniors Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones and sophomore Asbjørn Midtgaard.
*McDuffie is a preseason second team All-AAC pick. The former first team All-MVC selection is looking to bounce back after an injury-plagued junior season.
 
NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES:
*Since 2011-12, the Shockers are 71-15 (.826) in regular season non-conference games.
*WSU has had a winning non-conference record in each of the last 20 seasons.
*Shocker teams have put up double-digit victories in the non-conference portion of the schedule in four of the last five years.
*WSU is 76-7 in home non-conference games under Gregg Marshall.
*In the Marshall Era, the Shockers are 67-3 in regular season non-conference games at Charles Koch arena with one-point losses to UT Arlington (Dec. 7, 2007) and VCU (Feb. 18, 2011). The most lopsided defeat was a 66-63 setback against UMKC (Nov. 19, 2008).
 
RANDOM KNOWLEDGE:
*WSU dropped its 2017-18 regular season finale to Cincinnati. The Shockers haven't lost consecutive home games since February, 2011 (SIU & VCU).
*WSU has won 15-straight against Louisiana schools and is 24-6 against them all-time, last losing in 1984 to McNeese State... LA Tech will be the 12^th different Louisiana opponent that the Shockers have faced... WSU is 5-1 against its most frequent foe, LSU... The Shockers downed new American conference rival Tulane last February in the first-ever meeting between the programs...Louisiana schools are 3-18 all-time in Wichita.
*The Shockers have won 13-straight Tuesday games, last losing at Tulsa on Nov. 17, 2015. Last season they were a perfect 5-0 on Tuesday.

ABOUT LA TECH:
*LA Tech defeated Division II Union College on Thursday night in an exhibition game, 103-58. Amorie Archibald and Ra'Shawn Langston scored 19 points each to lead a group of five double-figure scorers. Daquan Bracey chipped in 15 points and seven assists without a turnover, and Mubarak Muhammed posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. LA Tech shot 60 percent for the game and outrebounded Union, 49-24.
*Bracey (the 2017 C-USA Freshman of the Year) was limited last year by a back injury. In 2016-17 he ranked fourth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.51).
*In August, LA Monroe took a foreign tour through Costa Rica and played two games. A trio of sophomores led the scoring: Archibald (16.5 points), Exavian Christon (14.0) and JaColby Pemberton (12.5).
*Fourth-year head coach Eric Konkol has led the Bulldogs to three straight winning seasons. Last year he became the fastest head coach in program history to reach 50 wins, needing just 70 games.
*A young LA Tech team went 1-10 on the road last year (but did win five of its six neutral court contests).
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*This is the first of three Shocker non-conference matchups against C-USA schools. Rice (picked 14^th out of 14 teams) and Southern Miss (7^th) also visit Wichita in the coming weeks. Last March, C-USA Tournament champion Marshall bounced WSU from the NCAA Tournament.
*WSU has never faced LA Tech, nor has Gregg Marshall.
*Prior to joining Marshall's staff, fifth-year Shocker assistant Isaac Brown spent four seasons (2011-14) as assistant coach at LA Tech under Michael White. Brown helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back regular season titles in 2013 (WAC) and 2014 (C-USA). The latter group won a school record 29 games and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
*First year WSU assistant Lou Gudino also spent two years at LA Tech (2005-07) as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Keith Richard.
*Dexter Dennis (Baker, La.) is the first Louisiana native to play for WSU in its 74 year D-I history.
*Notably, the Shockers will have more Louisiana natives on the floor than LA Tech. McNeese State transfer Kaleb Ledoux is the lone rep on the roster, and he is sitting out this year.
*A year ago, LA Tech led C-USA in three-point percentage (.375). Jacobi Boykins (98 threes on .390 shooting) graduated, but Bracey (26/64 .406) and C-USA leader Derric Jean (50/114, .439) are back… With largely different personnel, WSU finished 10th out of 12 American schools last season in three-point field goal defense (.363).
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… make WSU 1-0 for the 17th consecutive year and for the 84th time in 113 seasons.
… give them a perfect 12-0 record in season-openers under Gregg Marshall.
… up their all-time record in home openers to 97-18 (56-7 at the Roundhouse and 16-0 post-renovation).
… give them 29-straight November home wins, dating back to 2008.
… give them 46-straight non-conference regular season wins at Charles Koch Arena, dating back to 2011.
… give them a 1-0 lead in the all-time series with Louisiana Tech.
… up Gregg Marshall's career mark to 481-181 (.727) in 21 seasons.
… up Gregg Marshall's WSU mark to 287-98 (.745) in 12 seasons. 
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… snap a 16-game winning streak in regular season-openers.
… drop them to 0-1 for the first time since 2001 when they opened up with a loss to Delaware at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
… snap a 22-game winning streak in home openers and be their first such loss since Dec. 4, 1995 vs. Northern Illinois.
… be their first November home loss since Nov. 19, 2008 vs. UMKC and snap a 28-game streak.
… be their first non-conference loss at Charles Koch Arena since February, 2011 when they fell to Final Four-bound VCU in a Bracket Busters matchup.
… snap a 45-game non-conference winning streak at Charles Koch Arena.
… drop WSU to 71-16 (.816) in regular season non-conference games since the start of the 2011-12 season.
… give Louisiana Tech a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
… be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT:
VETERANS CLASSIC vs. PROVIDENCE (Friday, Nov. 9 / 5 p.m. CT / CBSSN):
*Following its season opener against Louisiana Tech, Wichita State hits the road for Annapolis, Md. and a neutral court matchup against Providence (5 p.m. CT, Nov. 9) at the U.S. Naval Academy. The Frairs have appeared in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments and are receving votes in both top-25 polls. The trip will also provide some learning opportunities off the court. The team will spend a day touring Washington D.C. and experience life among the midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy.
*The fifth annual Veterans Classic doubleheader airs on CBS Sports Network. Host Navy meets Maryland in the nightcap. CBSSN will also air a half-hour special featuring behind-the-scenes footage.
*WSU's only two meetings with Providence both came under Mark Turgeon, who will fittingly be in the house coaching the Maryland Terrapins. The Shockers swept a home-and-home, winning 90-86 in Providence on Dec. 11, 2004. A year later, WSU's eventual Sweet 16 team defeated the Friars at Charles Koch Arena, 82-74.