WICHITA STATE (5-0) vs. SOUTH CAROLINA (4-1)
CANCUN CHALLENGE | RIVIERA BRACKET SEMIFINAL
TUESDAY, NOV. 26, 2019 | 5 P.M. CT (6 P.M. ET)
CANCUN, MEXICO | HARD ROCK HOTEL RIVIERA MAYA
TV: CBS SPORTS NETWORK (CBS All-Access)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: FIRST MEETING
 
The Wichita State Shockers (5-0) meet South Carolina Gamecocks (4-1) in a Cancun Challenge semifinal matchup at 5 p.m. CT (6 ET) Tuesday inside the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.
 
WSU will face either Northern Iowa (6-0) or West Virginia (4-0) on Wednesday evening. The third-place game tips at 5 p.m. CT (6 ET) with the championship to follow at 7:30 p.m. ET (8:30 ET).
 
All four Riviera Bracket games air on CBS Sports Network with the team of Brett Dolan and Pete Gillen.
 
Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull describe the action on Shocker Radio. Fans can tune in locally on KEYN 103.7 FM or stream the Shockers from anywhere in the world at goshockers.com/Listen.
 
Go behind the scenes throughout the week by following @GoShockersMBB on twitter and Instagram.
 
For more information on the 2019 Cancun Challenge visit the tournament's website: CancunChallenge.Net
 

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OPENING TIPS:

•  The Shockers won the 2012 Cancun Challenge, defeating Depaul (75-62) and Iowa (75-63). Four months later, they played in the Final Four.
• South Carolina native Gregg Marshall is 0-2 against his favorite team from childhood. Both encounters came during his Winthrop days. The Shockers and Gamecocks meet for the first time.
• Wichita State is looking to reach 6-0 for the first time since its historic 35-0 start during the 2013-14 season.
• Despite heavy minutes from underclassmen, the Shockers enter the week ranked among the national leaders in A:TO ratio (10th, 1.73), turnovers-per-game (7th, 9.6) and scoring defense (25th, 58.0). Erik Stevenson's 9.00 A:TO ratio ranks second nationally.
• WSU has not allowed more than 63 points in a game this year and has held all five of its opponents under 40% from the field.
• Five Shockers are scoring in double-figures, and 11 are averaging 10+ minutes-per-game.
• Trey Wade -- a transfer from South Plans College who started his career at UTEP -- is the team's leading scorer (12.0), rebounder (8.0) and shot-blocker (6).
• WSU is one of just four programs that have won at least 22 games in each of the last 10 seasons, along with Duke, Kansas and Gonzaga.
• Marshall joined college basketball's 500-win club last March. He has guided the Shockers to 11-straight postseasons, including a run of seven-straight NCAA bids from 2012-18. 

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CANCUN CAPSULE:

• WSU won its only other appearance in the Cancun Challenge in November, 2012. That year the Shockers defeated Western Carolina (79-63) and Howard (69-50) in campus games, then took care of Depaul (75-62) and Iowa (75-63). The title was WSU's first outside of Wichita in a regular season tournament since winning the 1963 All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.
• Four months after winning the 2012 Cancun Challenge, ninth-seeded Wichita State made its run to the 2013 Final Four, defeating Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, La Salle and Ohio State along the way. Malcolm Armstead (a member of the all-tournament team in Cancun) was the West Regional MVP.
• WSU's championship roster in Cancun featured three future NBA players: Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet and tournament MVP Cleanthony Early.
• Six of the last seven Cancun Challenge champions have gone on to make the NCAA tournament: Bradley (2018), Purdue (2016), Maryland (2015), UNI (2014), Wisconsin (2013) and Wichita State (2012).
• Two games in Mexico will be the Shockers' first international action since November, 2016 at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament (Paradise Island, Bahamas). WSU took fourth out of eight teams, defeating LSU in the quarterfinals before dropping back-to-back games to nationally-ranked Louisville and Michigan State.
• The 2013 CBE Classic (Kansas City, Mo.) was WSU's last tournament title. The Shockers earned runner-up finishes in both the 2014 Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii) and in the 2017 Maui Invitational.

CANCUN CAPSULE: SOUTH CAROLINA (4-1)

• This is the first meeting all-time between WSU and South Carolina.
• The Gamecocks (16-16) shook off a slow start last year to earn the SEC tourneys No. 4 seed but missed the postseason.
• Both WSU and USC are surrendering less than 60 points-per-game.
• USC ranks 10^th nationally in field goal percentage defense. Opponents are shooting just 34.2%.

CANCUN CAPSULE: NORTHERN IOWA (6-0)

• The teams have split 56 meetings. All but one took place between 1992 and 2017 when the schools were Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
• Gregg Marshall is 12-10 against UNI. All 22 games have come against Ben Jacobson. WSU won 10 of the last 14 encounters and swept the 2016-17 season series, winning 80-66 in Cedar Falls and 73-44 in Wichita.
• A potential second day battle in the Cancun Challenge would be WSU's first action against an MVC opponent since its departure for The American. The Shockers were members of the MVC for 72 years (1945-2017).
• Both WSU (2012) and UNI (2014) won Cancun Challenge titles in their most recent appearances.
• UNI (16-18) came within a game of the 2019 NCAA tournament, losing to Bradley in the MVC final.

CANCUN CAPSULE: WEST VIRGINIA (4-0)

• WSU and West Virginia have never met but came close on a couple of recent occasions during the NCAA tournament. Both teams lost 2015 Sweet 16 games in Cleveland (WSU to Notre Dame and WVU to undefeated Kentucky). The 2018 bracket called for a second round matchup between No. 4 seed WSU and No. 5 WVU in San Diego, but the Shockers were upset by No. 13 Marshall University.
• The head coaches -- Marshall (507) and Bob Huggins (864) -- have combined for 1,371 victories.
• Just 10 active D-I coaches have over 500 wins and a .700+ winning percentage. That list includes both Marshall and Huggins.
• Marshall is 7-5 against Big 12 competition at WSU with wins in seven of the last 10 encounters.
• WVU ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage defense (.347) and among the top-25 in rebound margin (+10.3).
• The Mountaineers (15-21) accepted a 2019 CBI bid and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2018-19. It was the school's 15th postseason appearance in 16 years.

BOLSTERED BY BURTON:

• Jamarius Burton is averaging 15.7 points on 65.5% shooting over the last three games.
• Burton suffered an ankle injury just four minutes into the season opener and missed the subsequent game against Texas Southern. He returned Nov. 16 and has been on a tear ever since, averaging 15.7 points on 65.5% shooting over the past three games.
• Burton spent the off-season refining his jumper, and the work has paid off. He's 6-of-9 (.667) from three this year after making just 10-of-38 as a freshman (.263).

ENTER ECHENIQUE:

• Senior center Jaime Echenique logged 11 minutes in Saturday's win over Oral Roberts and recorded five pointrs, four rebounds and two blocks. It was his first action in four weeks -- since fracturing his left (non-shooting) hand during the team's Oct. 26 closed door scrimnage.
• Echenique was hardly timid in his return. He dunked twice and even took a charge.
• Echenique (9.1 ppg in 2018-19) made 34 starts last year and was WSU's leading rebounder (6.0) and shot blocker (51).
• Per KenPom, in 18 conference games last year Echenique led The American in block percentage (11.2) and defensive rebound percentage (27.8).

TRENDING:

• Freshman Tyson Etienne leads the American Athletic Conference in three-pointers-per-game (2.6) and ranks second in percentage (.464). The latter percentage ranks among the top-50 nationally (minimum 2.5 makes-per-game).
• Etienne is averaging 25.8 points-per-40 minutes, edging out Jamarius Burton (24.1) and Morris Udeze (21.5) for the team lead.
• Gregg Marshall has gone with the same starting five in each of the last three games. The quintet of Sherfield/Stevenson/Dennis/Wade/Udeze is 3-0 together.
• Wichita State has the American Athletic Conference's top scoring defense. Foes are averaging 58.0 points.
• A year after ranking second-to-last in the 12-team American Athletic Conference in three-point percentage (.310), the Shockers rank second at .361 (43-of-119). The five WSU newcomers have combined to hit 23-of-58 (.397).
• Dexter Dennis has the team's longest active starting streak: 18-straight going back to last Feb. 20.
• Last Tuesday's 22-point win over Gardner-Webb marked the 191st time in the last 10 seasons that the Shockers have won by double-digits. That total is second only to Gonzaga (222). Duke (185), UNC (185) and Kentucky (181) rank third through fifth.
• Freshmen guards Tyson Etienne and Grant Sherfield have as many combined steals (12) as turnovers (12) in 207 total minutes.

CENTER ROULETTE:

• With incumbent starter Jaime Echenique out, WSU started a different center in each of its first three games.
• Sophomore Morris Udeze's first two starts at center were an unqualified success. In wins over UT Martin and Gardner-Webb the 6-foot-8 bruiser averaged 14.5 points on 12-of-16 shooting (.750) while clocking 18.0 minutes-per-game.
• Udeze leads the team in plus-minus (+29.2-per-40)
• Sophomore Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler started the Texas Southern game (also his first career start), and junior Asbjorn Midtgaard got the nod in the season opener.
• The three-headed monster performed admirably in Echenique's absence. In four games they collecively averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in roughly 40-minutes-per-game.

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… Earn them a spot in Wednesday night's Riviera Bracket final (7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 ET, CBSSN) against the winner of UNI and West Virginia.
… Make them 6-0 for the first time since their historic 35-0 start in 2013-14.
… Give them 10-consecutive regular season wins going back to Feb. 28.
… Give WSU a 1-0 series lead on USC.
… Make Gregg Marshall 1-2 all-time vs. USC.
… Make WSU 3-0 all-time in Cancun Challenge games (7-0 including preliminary games).
… Give them three-straight wins against "Power 5" schools.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… Send them into Wednesday's third-place game against the UNI/W.Va. loser (5 p.m. CT/ 6 ET on CBSSN).
… Snap a five-game winning streak.
… Be their first Cancun Challenge setback (6-1 including prelims).
… Give USC a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
… Make Marshall 0-3 against USC.
… Snap a nine-game regular season winning streak going back to Feb. 28.
… Be less good than a win.