WICHITA, Kan. -- No. 22/21 Wichita State (18-5, 8-3) battles UConn (11-12, 4-6) for the second time this year, Saturday evening at Charles Koch Arena.
 
The 5 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on ESPN2. Kevin Brown and John Thompson III have the call.
 
The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy runs his streak of consecutive games to 1,180 on  Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and GoShockers.com/Listen). Join Kennedy and analyst Dave Dahl for a one-hour pregame show, beginning at 4 p.m.
 
WSU pulled away late for an 85-65 win at Memphis on Tuesday. Austin Reaves (22) and Landry Shamet (20) were a combined 9-of-16 from three, and Darral Willis Jr. (13 pts, 12 reb) notched his fifth double-double. The Shockers outrebounded Memphis 39-28 and finished a season-best +10 in turnovers (18 to 8).
 
UConn snapped a three-game slide with Wednesday night's 68-65 home win over USD. Led by Jalen Adams (19 points), the Huskies shot a season-best 54.3 percent from the field.
 
This is the second meeting of the year between WSU and UConn. In their Dec. 30 American conference debut, the Shockers defeated the Huskies, 72-62, in front of the sellout crowd at the XL Center in Hartford.


 

GAME 24

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena (10,506)

Tickets

Game Notes: WSU | UCONN

MATCHUP

#22/21 Wichita State (18-5, 8-3 American) vs. UConn (12-12, 5-6 American)

Saturday, Feb. 10

5:00 P.M. CT

ESPN2 (WatchESPN)

KEYN 103.7 FM

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

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@GoShockersMBB | #watchus

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STARTING FIVE:
 
1 --- WELCOME WAGON:
UConn is one of four American schools visiting Wichita for the first time this year. In January the Shockers gave rude welcomes to USF (95-57) and UCF (81-62). Tulane makes its Charles Koch Arena debut on Feb. 21. ECU's first trip to Wichita will wait until at least 2018-19.
 
2 --- 20-20-20:
Austin Reaves has topped 20 points in each of the last three games. Prior to that, the sophomore had cracked double-figures just three times this year (10 vs. Marquette, season-high 12 against Savannah State and 11 at UConn)… This is just fourth time in the Marshall Era that a player has hit 20 in three consecutive games. Ron Baker was the last to do it (Nov. 2014)… If Reaves scorers 20+ again on Saturday, he would tie the Marshall Era standard set by Baker (Nov./Dec., 2013) and Garrett Stutz (Jan./Feb., 2012).
 
Austin Reaves Splits: First 20 Games vs. Last 3 Games
Minutes:  18.7 ---> 31.7
Points: 6.2 ---> 21.7
Field Goals: 40-87 (.460) ---> 21-35 (.600)
3-Pointers: 26-59 (.441) ---> 15-27 (.556)
Free Throws: 17-19 (.895) ---> 8-9 (.889)
 
3 --- TALENT SHOW:
WSU ranks in the top-10 nationally in rebounding margin (2nd, +10.5), assists (3rd, 19.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (6th, 1.59). In addition, the Shockers' +13.9 scoring margin is 13th best. Landry Shamet ranks among the nation's top-50 in multiple categories: assist-to-turnover ratio (2.57, 47th), assists per game (5.3, 50th) and three-point percentage (.446, 23rd).
 
4 --- WINNING IN HIGH VOLUME:
Gregg Marshall goes for his 150th victory at Charles Koch Arena (excluding exhibitions). He's lost just 21 times in his 11 seasons (.876).  Marshall has won more games than any other basketball coach, but he's not the building's overall wins leader. That distinction belongs to volleyball's Chris Lamb, who recently completed his 18th year with a 169-48 mark.
 
5 --- BOARD CHOPS:
WSU has been outrebounded just once this year (36-35 by Houston; Jan. 4)... The Shockers have posted double-digit margins in 14 of the 23 games... Throw out the aforementioned Houston game, and WSU has been +7 or better on the glass against every other conference foe... In the Dec. 30 win in Hartford, WSU outrebounded the Huskies 47-34.
 
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THE SERIES WITH UCONN:
This is just the third meeting all-time between WSU and UConn and the first in Wichita. Each side has a victory to its credit… The Shockers won 72-62 in Hartford back on Dec. 30 in their American conference debut… On Nov. 22, 2010, the Shockers dropped a quarterfinal heartbreaker to eventual national champion UConn (83-79) at the Maui Invitational. WSU led that game by 9 with 9:55 to play but Kemba Walker scored 29 of his 31 points in the second half to help the Huskies rally. The loss likely cost the Shockers an NCAA Tournament bid, but they recovered to win the 2011 NIT title.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
WSU's Landry Shamet (14.7 points) and UConn's Jalen Adams (17.7) were preseason first team all-conference picks and lead their respective teams in scoring… Gregg Marshall is 3-1 this year against the league's three other Final Four coaches: UConn's Kevin Ollie (1-0), Houston's Kelvin Sampson (1-1) and Memphis' Tubby Smith (1-0)… No player in the American has seen more minutes than Adams, who averaged 38.2 per game. The junior scored 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting in the first meeting with WSU and tallied six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
 
TRENDING:
Tuesday's win at Memphis was Landry Shamet's 15^th game this year with 5+ assists… WSU has had multiple 20-point scorers in each of the last three games…. 19 of Shaquille Morris' has a team-high 29 dunks have come in conference play… Austin Reaves is a league-best 20-of-38 from three since the start of conference play… The Shockers are 1-3 this year in games decided by five points or less.
 
AT HOME IN THE ROUNDHOUSE:
WSU is averaging 89.6 points this year at Charles Koch Arena. A 78-point effort against SMU marked the only time in 11 tries that they've failed to break 80… The Shockers are 10-1 and have outscored opponents by an average of 21.2 points… On campus, the Shockers are averaging nearly two assists (21.8 per game) for every turnover (11.0)… The Shockers have connected on just over 41 percent of their threes on the home rims, led by Shaquille Morris (9-of-14, .643). They're shooting over 52 percent overall from the field… Opponents are shooting just 39 percent from the floor and average more turnovers (12.6) than assists (9.5).
 
AN EVERY DAY GUY:
"Every day guy" is a phrase often used by Gregg Marshall to describe his ideal player, and Rashard Kelly is one of the players who best fits that description. The veteran forward has never missed a game in four seasons as a Shocker. In fact, he's never even missed a practice… The consistent Kelly is ninth on WSU's career games played list (129)…  As of Feb. 7, just 12 active NCAA Division I players have played more games than Kelly.
 
ON THE LEADERBOARD (as of 2/8):
Wichita State leads the American in scoring offense (83.3), field goal percentage (.476), rebound margin (+10.5), assists (19.0), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), defensive rebound percentage (.778) and three-pointers per game (9.3)… Landry Shamet leads the league in assists (5.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6). He's third in threes-per-game (2.5), fourth in three-point percentage (.446), and eighth in scoring (14.7)… Rashard Kelly is The American's top offensive rebounder (3.3) and is fourth in total boards /game (7.7)… Shaquille Morris leads the league in blocks per game (1.7) and ranks fifthh in field goal % (.548)… Austin Reaves ranks second in the league in three-point percentage (.477).
 
MORE MORRIS = MOMENTUM:
After playing a career-high 35 minutes at Temple, foul trouble limited Shaquille Morris to just 16 minutes at Memphis. Morris finished with five points (his lowest output of the conference season) on 2-of-8 shooting. In the three games prior, the 6-8 senior had averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds on 68 percent shooting… For the year, Morris leads the team in plus-minus (+19.2 per 40), and Tuesday played out no differently. In his 16 minutes, WSU outscored Memphis 36-18… Morris picked up his third foul at the 16:40 mark of the second half with WSU leading by 12. Six minutes later -- after the Tigers had whittled that margin to five -- Morris returned to the floor to help spark a 17-3 run.
 
MAKE IT - TAKE IT:
Over the last two seasons, WSU is 45-1 when outshooting its opponent from the field (and 4-9 when outshot).
 
RPI IN THE SKY:
 RPI team sheets used by the NCAA Selection Committee will have a new look this year. Wins and losses were previously grouped into categories based solely on opponent RPI (games vs. top-50, top-100, etc.). In 2018, the committee will now also take location into account. The committee will evaluate teams based on four quadrants:
 
Quadrant 1 – Home vs. RPI 1-30, Neutral vs. RPI 1-50, Road vs. RPI 1-75
Quadrant 2 – Home (31-75), Neutral (51-100), Road (76-135)
Quadrant 3 – Home (76-160), Neutral (101-200), Road (136-240)
Quadrant 4 – Home (161+), Neutral (201+), Road (241+)
 
As of Wednesday, WSU owns 10 RPI Quadrant 1 or 2 wins -- second most in The American behind Cincinnati (12) and tied for eighth nationally… The Shockers will have opportunities to add to their resume over the next month. Four of their last five regular season games currently qualify for Q1 status… Starting next week, the Shockers play six of their last seven games against RPI top-100 teams. A year ago, the they played just six top-100 teams during the entire 31-game regular season.
 
WINNER WINNERS:
Rashard Kelly participated in his 100^th career victory on Jan. 7 against USF… Shaquille Morris joined the 100-win club Jan. 25 against UCF… Zach Brown needs 3 more to become the eighth in program history to reach the century mark.
 
HOME SWEET HOME:
The Shockers have won just over three-quarters of their games all-time at Charles Koch Arena (1955-Pr.), going 700-217… In the 15 seasons since the renovation, the Shockers are 198-35 on campus. That includes a 149-21 mark under Gregg Marshall… WSU has won 69 of its last 71 games at Charles Koch Arena over the last five seasons. The only losses came against UNI (Feb. 13, 2016) and SMU (Jan. 17, 2018)... 68 of the 71 games in that stretch have come in front of capacity crowds (10,506)… Throw in a 6-2 record at downtown INTRUST Bank Arena, and WSU is 102-6 (.944) overall in Wichita since the start of the 2011-12 campaign… WSU has been outrebounded just 16 times at Charles Koch Arena under Marshall (170 games).
 
LOUD NOISES:
Charles Koch Arena has played host to 208-consecutive regular season crowds of 10,000+, dating back to December of 2004… WSU has sold out its last 18 home games, dating back to last year (17 at Koch Arena and one at 15,004-seat INTRUST Bank Arena)… 2017-18 season tickets are sold out, marking the fifth consecutive year that WSU has unloaded its entire allotment (just over 9,000 total).
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… improve their record to 19-5 (9-3 American).
… tie Rashard Kelly (106-24) for fifth on WSU's career wins list with Ron Baker (106-18).
… make them 11-1 at Charles Koch Arena this year.
… be Gregg Marshall's 150^th victory at Charles Koch Arena (excluding exhibitions) in 11 seasons (150-21).
… be win No. 199 since the building's 2003 renovation that helped spark the program's resurgence (199-35).
… give them a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with UConn and their second regular season sweep of an American conference foe (WSU went 2-0 against Tulsa and split with Houston).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… drop their record to 18-6 (8-4 American).
… be their fourth in seven games.
… give UConn a 2-1 lead in the all-time series.
… be just their third Charles Koch Arena loss in the last five seasons.
… be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT:
WSU enjoys a five-day break before hosting Temple next Thursday night (6 p.m., ESPN2). The Owls won the first meeting in Philadelphia, 81-79 in overtime back on Feb. 1. Temple leads the all-time series 4-0, winning twice in Wichita in December, 1983 and December, 1985.