WICHITA, Kan. -- The American Athletic Conference regular season title is at stake Sunday morning when No. 11 Wichita State (24-5, 14-3) hosts the frontrunner, No. 10 Cincinnati (26-4, 15-1) at Charles Koch Arena.
 
The ball tips at 11:06 a.m. CT.
 
CBS began carrying NCAA basketball games in 1981. This will be the network's first-ever broadcast from the Roundhouse. Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas have the call.
 
The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy, describes the action on Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and GoShockers.com/Listen).
 
A win gives the Shockers a share of the crown and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament (via head-to-head tiebreaker). A loss drops WSU into second place and likely the No. 2 seed, although a six-step scenario still exists where the Shockers could drop to the No. 3 line.
 
Cincinnati is already guaranteed a piece of the crown after Thursday night's victory at Tulane but can earn it outright by defeating the Shockers on their home floor.
 
American Athletic Conference Standings
No. 10 Cincinnati (15-2) –
No. 11 Wichita State (14-3) 1.0
No. 25 Houston (13-4) 2.0


 

GAME 30

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena

Game Notes: WSU | CIN

MATCHUP

#10/10 Cincinnati (26-4, 15-2) at #11/11 Wichita State (25-4, 14-3)

Saturday, March 4

11:00 A.M. CT

CBS

KEYN 103.7 FM

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

SOCIAL

@GoShockersMBB | #watchus

@goshockers | #watchus

Go Shockers

OPENING TIPS:
 
*WSU won the first meeting, 76-72, back on Feb. 18, snapping the Bearcats' nation-best 39-game home winning streak.
 
*Cincinnati is just the second AP top-10 opponent in 26 years to face the Shockers on their home floor. The other came under similar circumstances. In the 2015 finale, 11th-ranked WSU battled No. 10 Northern Iowa in a winner-take-all affair for the Missouri Valley Conference crown. The Shockers won 74-60 to secure a 17-1 finish.
 
*Under Gregg Marshall, WSU is 6-1 at home against Top-25 foes.
 
*WSU won 11 regular season titles in 72 seasons as a member of the MVC. The Shockers won or shared the crown in each of their last four seasons while going 68-4.
 
*This is the fifth time in eight years that WSU has played for a title on the final day of the regular season last. Last year, the Shockers won on the road at Missouri State to secure a 17-1 finish and a tie atop the standings with Illinois State. The 2015 showdown with UNI featured two 16-1 teams. Prior to that, the Shockers lost winner-take-all finals at Creighton (2013) and Missouri State (2011).
A victory would give the Shockers 25 wins for the ninth-consecutive year. Just three schools have longer active streaks in Division I basketball: Kansas (12), Gonzaga (11 including this year) and Duke (9). KU and Duke each have 24 wins heading into Saturday.
 
*The Shockers have captured seven-in-a-row, last losing Feb. 1 in overtime at Temple.
 
*WSU enters the weekend ranked fifth out of 351 teams in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency measurements. Cincinnati has KenPom's No. 2 rated defense… The Shockers have scored 75-or-more in 10 straight games. UC has allowed 75 just once in in the last 22 games (Feb. 18 vs. WSU).
 
###
 
THE SERIES WITH CINCINNATI:
*This is meeting No. 31 in the series. Cincinnati leads 18-12. The Shockers have won 8-of-15 in Wichita.
*The teams last played in Wichita on Dec. 5, 1981 when the building was known as Henry Levitt Arena. The future NBA trio of Xavier McDaniel, Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds, and the Shockers pulled away for an 87-67 victory. Michael Williams (24 pts, 13 reb) and Dwight Jones (13 pts, 16 reb) starred for Cincinnati.
*WSU and Cincinnati met 26 times from 1958-70 while Cincinnati was a member of the MVC.
*The Bearcats won six-straight conference titles from 1958-63 and played in five-consecutive Final Fours, winning national titles in 1961 and 1962. The Shockers supplanted Cincinnati with back-to-back titles in 1964 and 65. The latter group reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*Cincinnati's Gary Clark and WSU's Landry Shamet were both are both in the mix for conference player of the year honors.
*Both sides are coming 30-win seasons last year that ended in the NCAA Second round. The Shockers returned all five starters from a 31-5 team. The Bearcats have four starters back from a unit that finished 30-6.
*Cincinnati edged WSU by a single point in the preseason American coaches poll.
*Cincinnati has appeared in seven-straight NCAA Tournaments. The Shockers have made the field in each of the last six seasons.
*Cincinnati has been ranked has high as No. 5 this year (Feb. 13). WSU topped out at No. 3 in the polls back on Dec. 11.
*The league's two best offensive rebounders, Rashard Kelly (33rd, 3.1) and Gary Clark (54th, 3.0), both rank high on the national lists. Clark is the league's all-time leading rebounder with over 1,000 total boards.
*Nobody has made more threes in The American than Wichita State (9.3 per game), but nobody has allowed fewer than Cincinnati (6.4). The Bearcats are also holding opponents to a league-low 31.2% from deep.
*Either Wichita State or Cincinnati leads The American in 19 of the 21 major statistical categories.
 
LAST MEETING WITH CINCINNATI:
Feb. 18, 2018 at Highland Heights, Ky. – #19 Wichita State 76, #5 Cincinnati 72
*The Shockers ended No. 5 Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak and scored their first top-5 road win in 54 years.
*Landry Shamet scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the first half and dished out five assists.
*The Shockers forged ahead 42-40 on a pair of free throws just before halftime and led wire-to-wire in the second half.
*The win pulled WSU back within a game of first-place with four to play and left them in control of their own destiny in the conference race.
*WSU won in Cincinnati for just the fourth time ever in the first meeting between the programs since 1981.
*Shaquille Morris (13 points) and Austin Reaves (12) also finished in double-figures for WSU.
 *The Shockers' 52.8% shooting was a season-high for a Cincinnati opponent, and their 76 points was the most surrendered by the Bearcats in conference play. Cincy came into the day ranked second nationally in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
*Cincinnati became just the second team to outrebound the Shockers in 26 games, finishing with a 27-26 margin on the glass.
 
TOP-25 SHOWDOWNS AT THE ROUNDHOUSE:
*Sunday's game marks only the fifth time in Roundhouse history that a ranked Shocker team has faced another top-25 opponent. WSU is 3-1 in such games.
 
Ranked Shocker Teams vs. Top-25 Opponents at the Roundhouse (1955-Pr.)
Dec. 17, 1960 -- #1 Ohio State def. #16 Wichita (92-83)
Dec. 12, 1981 -- #4 Wichita State def. #9 UAB (65-60)
Feb. 28, 2015 -- #11 Wichita State def. #10 Northern Iowa (74-60)
Mar. 4, 2018 -- #11 Wichita State vs. #10 Cincinnati
 
*WSU's last home game against a top-25 opponent was Dec. 12, 2015 in its annual downtown INTRUST Bank Arena. The Shockers defeated No. 25 Utah, 67-50, with freshman Markis McDuffie hitting 4-of-5 looks from three.
*It's been just over three years since a top-25 opponent ventured into Charles Koch Arena. On Feb. 28, 2015, No. 11 WSU downed No. 10 UNI. Freshmen Shaquille Morris, Zach Brown and Rashard Kelly combined for 23 minutes.
 
WSU vs. AP-TOP 10:
All-time WSU is 11-13 against AP Top-10 opponent at the Roundhouse. That includes a 2-2 record against Cincinnati... The Shockers snapped a 27-game Bearcat winning streak on Dec. 18, 1961. It was the first top-10 victory in arena history and Wichita's first win of any kind vs. UC... Over the next five years, WSU teams won nine-straight home games against top-10 foes...  The most famous was Feb. 16, 1963 when All-American Dave Stallworth scored 46 points to lead the Shockers to a 65-64 upset of No. 1 ranked Cincinnati that also snapped the Bearcats' school-record 37-game winning streak.
 
WSU vs. Top-10 Cincinnati Teams at the Roundhouse (1955-Pr.)
Feb. 21, 1959 -- #6 Cincinnati 88, Wichita 74 * (UC made the Final Four in '58-59)
Jan. 7, 1960 -- #1 Cincinnati 76, Wichita 69 * (UC made the Final Four in '59-60)
Dec. 18, 1961 -- Wichita 52, #2 Cincinnati 51 % (UC was national champion in '61-62)
Feb. 16, 1963 -- Wichita 65, #1 Cincinnati 64 (UC was national runner-up in '62-63)
Mar. 4, 2018 -- #11 Wichita State vs. #10 Cincinnati
 
ODE TO OSCAR:
60 years ago this weekMatchup, former Bearcat legend Oscar Robertson set the Roundhouse's single-game scoring record (50 point). That mark -- set on March 1, 1958 in the Bearcats' first-ever visit to Wichita -- still stands. It came in the arena's third year of existence when the building was simply known as WU Fieldhouse.
 
ONE-OR-TWO PUNCH:
The Shockers are guaranteed a top-2 finish for the ninth consecutive year. Just three other programs have longer active streaks:  Gonzaga (21) and Kansas (18) won the WCC and Big 12 titles outright this year. Belmont (13) was the OVC runner-up. WSU won MVC titles in 2012, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and finished second in 2010, 11 & 13.
 
25-ALIVE:
The Shockers can secure a ninth-straight 25-win season by defeating Cincinnati on Sunday. Kansas and Duke shoot to extend their own streaks this weekend to 13 and 10, respectively. Both teams had 24-wins heading into Saturday games.
 
Consecutive 25-Win Seasons (Active)
12 – Kansas (24-6) – Saturday @ Okla. St.
11* -- Gonzaga (27-4) – Saturday @ WCC Tournament
9 – Duke (24-6) – Saturday vs. UNC
8 – WichitaState (24-5) – Sunday vs. Cincinnati
7 – VCU (16-14)         
* = Includes 2017-18 season
 
A SENIOR MOMENT:
*WSU will honor its six seniors immediately after Sunday's game. The group has combined for 670 games and over 11,000 minutes of court time.
*The six-man class is WSU's largest in 42 years. The 1975-76 Shockers (who also had six seniors) won the MVC title and became just the third WSU team to qualify for NCAA Tournament play.
*WSU doesn't just have seniors, it has old seniors. Five of the six players have either redshirted or taken a prep year since graduating high school.
*Shaquille Morris is the last remaining link to WSU's 2013-14 undefeated team. He redshirted that year.
 
Wichita State's senior class (2014-18):
 111-24 (.821)
 56-2 record at Charles Koch Arena
 37-8 record in true road games (2nd highest % in D-I)
 3 MVC regular season titles (2015, 16, 17)
 1 MVC Tournament title (2017)
 3 NCAA Tournament bids (2015, 16, 17) & 5 wins
 1 NCAA Sweet 16 (2015)
 
*Rashard Kelly has participated in 111 career victories -- tied for the second highest active total in college basketball. Shaquille Morris is tied for fifth on the list. with 108.
*Among active seniors who have appeared in at least 90 games,  Rauno Nurger (99-18, .846), Morris (108-22, .831) and Kelly (111-24, .822) all rank in the top-5 nationally in winning percentage.
 
Active Career Wins Leaders (by participation, through March 1)

1. Silas Melson (Gonzaga) – 121-16
2. Rashard Kelly (Wichita St.) – 111-24
3. Dusan Ristic (Arizona) – 111-25
4. Devonte' Graham (Kansas) – 109-24
5. Shaquille Morris (Wichita St.) – 108-22
6. Grayson Allen (Duke) – 108-27

 
Winningest 2018 Seniors (by percentage, minimum 90 GP, through March 1)

1. Phil Booth (Villanova) – 92-10, .902
2. Silas Melson (Gonzaga) – 121-16, .883
3. Rauno Nurger (Wichita St.) – 99-18, .846
4. Shaquille Morris (Wichita St.) – 108-22, .831
5. Rashard Kelly (Wichita St.) – 111-24, .822

 
 
HOME SWEET HOME:
*In the 15 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's renovation, the Shockers are 201-35 on campus. That includes a 152-21 mark under Gregg Marshall.
*WSU has won 72 of its last 74 games at Charles Koch Arena over the last five seasons. The only losses came against UNI (Feb. 13, 2016) and SMU (Jan. 17, 2018)... 71 of the 74 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 105-6 (.946) overall in Wichita since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.
*WSU has been outrebounded just 16 times at Charles Koch Arena under Marshall (173 games).
 
LOUD NOISES:
*Charles Koch Arena has played host to 211-consecutive regular season crowds of 10,000+, dating back to December of 2004.
*WSU has sold out its last 21 home games, dating back to last year (20 at Koch Arena and one at 15,004-seat INTRUST Bank Arena.
*A previous 45-game campus sellout streak ended on Nov. 29, 2016 when the ticket office reported 70 unsold general admission seats. That run began on Senior Day 2013 and lasted for nearly three-and-half years.
*2017-18 season tickets are sold out, marking the fifth consecutive year that WSU has unloaded its entire allotment (just over 9,000 total).
*WSU's home court advantage is owed largely to the school's passionate fan base, with a little assist from science. The arena's circular shape and highly-reflective dome roof amplifies sound and funnels it downward toward center court.
 
AT HOME IN THE ROUNDHOUSE:
*WSU is averaging 90.5 points this year at Charles Koch Arena. A 78-point effort against SMU marked the only time in 13 tries that they've failed to break 80.
*The Shockers are 13-1 and have outscored opponents by an average of 19.2 points.
 On campus, the Shockers are averaging over two assists (21.2 per game) for every turnover (10.4).
*The Shockers have connected on 41.7% of their threes on the home rims. They're shooting nearly 51.5 % overall from the field.
*Opponents are shooting 41.3% from the floor and average more turnovers (12.0) than assists (10.4).
 
###
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… give them a share of their first American Athletic Conference title.
… be their fifth-straight conference regular season crown and sixth in the last seven years.
… lock up the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. WSU would open Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2 against the winner of a first round game between the No. 8 and 9 seeds.
… secure a ninth-straight 25-win season at 25-5 (15-3 American).
… run their winning streak to a season-high 8 games.
… make them 73-2 at Charles Koch Arena over the last five seasons.
… give them their fourth series sweep. WSU took home-and-homes from UCF, UConn and Tulsa and split with Houston, SMU and Temple.
… make Rauno Nurger the ninth member of WSU's 100-win club, joining teammates Kelly, Morris & Brown.
… close the gap in the all-time series to 18-13 and make WSU 9-7 against the Bearcats in Wichita.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… drop their record to 24-6 (14-4 American).
… (in all likelihood) make them the No. 2 seed in next weeks conference tournament. The Shockers would open Friday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU against the winner of Thursday's 7-10 game.
… give Cincinnati the conference title outright.
… be their third loss at CKA in the last 5 seasons (72-3).
… snap a seven-game winning streak.
… give Cincinnati a 19-12 series lead (8-8 in Wichita).
… be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT:
Wichita State heads back to Orlando to compete in the Aaron's American Athletic Conference Tournament, March 8-11 at the Amway Center. The Shockers will play their quarterfinal opener on Friday, March 9 at a time to be determined. Brackets will be released this Sunday evening.