GAME 01
OMAHA (0-0) at WICHITA STATE (0-0)
TUESDAY, NOV. 5, 2019
WICHITA, KAN. / CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: YURVIEW KS (COX HD 2022 / YURVIEW.COM/KANSAS)
RADIO: KEYN (103.7 FM / GOSHOCKERS.COM/LISTEN)

The Wichita State Shockers tip off their 114^th men's basketball season at 7 p.m. Tuesday night against the Omaha Mavericks at Charles Koch Arena. Tickets are still available for this game, as well as for Saturday afternoon's home matchup with Texas Southern, at 316-978-FANS or goshockers.com/MBBTickets.
 
FOLLOW THE SHOCKERS:
The game will air statewide on YurView Kansas, available to Cox subscribers on HD 2022 and to fans in all 50 states on YurView.com/Kansas. Shane Dennis and Bob Hull have the call. Division I basketball's most-tenured tandem, Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl, now in their 39th season together on radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and online at goshockers.com/listen). Track the Shockers throughout the season on social media. Follow @GoShockersMBB and @GoShockers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and be sure to use the hashtag #WATCHUS.

THE GREGG MARSHALL SHOW:
Join host Mike Kennedy and Coach Gregg Marshall LIVE from 6-7 p.m. on Mondays throughout the season at A.J.'s Sports Grill at The Alley, or listen on KFH (97.5 FM / 1240 AM). The Gregg Marshall Show is rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on YurView Kansas (Cox 2022).
 

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OPENING TIPS:

• This is the first meeting with Omaha in 25 years. The Shockers lead the all-time series 2-0 with both wins coming in Wichita.
• It's the first of two matchups against the Summit League during the month of November. Oral Roberts visits on Nov. 23.
• As many as seven newcomers could be making their Shockers debuts (redshirt freshman Tate Busse, junior college transfer Trey Wade and true freshmen Josaphat Bilau, Tyson Etienne, Noah Fernandes, DeAntoni Gordon and Grant Sherfield).
• WSU/Omaha is one of 148 games taking place on college basketball's opening day. Nov. 5 is the earliest start date in Shocker history, topping last year's Nov. 6 opener.
• WSU has opened at home in each of the 16 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's 2003 renovation and grand re-opening. They're 15-1 in those games.
• The Shockers are 24-2 in season openers, dating back to 1992. Last year's loss to LA Tech snapped what had been a 16-game winning streak.
• Since 2009, WSU is 28-1 in November home games.
• Going back to the 2011-12 season, the Shockers are 78-20 (.796) in regular season non-conference games. They've posted a winning non-conference record in each of the last 21 years.

EX ECHENIQUE:

• Gregg Marshall announced on Oct. 28 that senior center Jaime Echenique will miss at least four weeks with a fractured left hand, suffered prior to the team's Oct. 26 closed door scrimmage with Nebraska. No surgery is required.
• Echenique (9.1 ppg) made 34 starts last year and was WSU's leading rebounder (6.0) and shot blocker (51 total).

MATCHUP MASHUP:

• Matt Pile was a two-time first team all-state selection for Goddard Eisenhower High School. He and Shocker walk-on Brycen Bush were in the same graduating class, and the pair helped lead Eisenhower to 23-2 record as seniors along with a third-place finish at the 2017 Class 5A state tournament.
• Omaha's Director of Basketball Operations is Jake Koch, who was a 1,000-point scorer and frequent Shocker tormenter during his four-year career at Northern Iowa (2009-13).
• Former WSU walk-on Brett Barney transferred to Omaha prior to last year. He appeared in 31 games for the Mavericks off the bench and averaged 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds in 10.8 minutes-per-game.
• WSU sophomore Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler was an all-state performer at Omaha Central High School and helped lead the team to the Class A state quarterfinals as a senior (Nebraska's largest classification).

SCOUTING OMAHA:

• For the sixth-straight year WSU opens against an opponent coming off of a winning season.
• Omaha finished 21-13 in 2018-19 and was runner-up in both the Summit League regular season and conference tournament.
• Coach Derrin Hansen was the 2019 Summit League Coach of the Year.
• Omaha is picked fourth out of nine teams in the Summit League preseason poll.
• The Mavericks have a veteran squad back in 2019-20 with three double-figure scorers returning to the lineup. Two members of the that trio, JT Gibson (12.9 ppg) and Matt Pile (11.2 ppg), were preseason second team all-league picks.
• Senior point guard K.J. Robinson ranked eighth nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.06).
• Omaha is ranked No. 170 (out of 353 teams) in KenPom's preseason ratings.
• Ball security and pinpoint shooting  helped key the 2018-19 Mavericks. They averaged almost as many triples (8.8) as turnovers (9.8) last year. Only Virginia, Michigan and St. Joseph's average fewer giveaways, and the Mavericks ranked 10^th nationally in three-point accuracy (.392).

THE SERIES: WSU leads 2-0

• This is the first meeting with Omaha in 25 years. The Shockers lead the all-time series 2-0 with both wins coming in Wichita.
• Dec. 3, 1994: Larry Callis (11 pts, 16 reb) and Jamie Arnold (24 pts, 10 reb) finished with double-doubles, and L.D. Swanson narrowly missed out on a triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and nine assists in an 89-66 triumph.
• Dec. 14, 1984: Senior All-American Xavier McDaniel – who would go on to lead the nation in both scoring and rebounding --  finished with 22 points, 13 boards and six steals in a 70-43 Shocker victory.

ABOUT THE SHOCKERS:

• Wichita State was picked fourth out of 12 teams in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll behind co-favorites Memphis (No. 15 in the AP poll) and Houston (receiving votes) and third-place Cincinnati (also receiving votes).
• The Shockers (22-15, 10-8 AAC) return three starters and seven of the top-nine scorers from last year's roster, which ranked as one of the youngest in college basketball. After a rough start, the team pulled together to win 14 of their last 18 games and reached the NIT semifinals.
• Last year's NIT run marked the program's 11th straight postseason appearance. WSU scored road wins at Furman, Clemson and Indiana, becoming the first team in NIT history to knock off the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds in its region on the way to Madison Square Garden.
• WSU has won at least 22 games in each of the last 10 seasons.
• Roles must be redefined. Markis McDuffie (a stretch-four who earned second team all-conference honors) and lightning-quick shooting guard Samajae Haynes-Jones (11.9 pts, 2.7 ast) started every game last year and took most of the big shots. It's unlikely that any one player will match McDuffie's 18.3 points-per-game, but with added depth that won't likely be necessary.
• WSU is still young; 10 of its 13 scholarship players are underclassmen and only junior center Asbjorn Midtgaard has spent more than one year in the program.
• Sophomore guard Dexter Dennis (8.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) was named to last year's AAC All-Freshman Team. His streak of 17-straight games with a three-pointer is currently the fifth-longest in school history.
• Sophomore guard Jamarius Burton set a WSU freshman record last year with 126 assists and was twice named AAC Freshman of the Week.
• Senior center Jaime Echenique (9.2 ppg) led the team in rebounds last year (6.0) and ranked third on the AAC leaderboard in blocked shots (51).
• On paper, WSU's recruiting class is Marshall's best.. Freshmen guards Tyson Etienne (No. 115) and Grant Sherfield (No. 116) both made the Rivals150 list, and forward Trey Wade was listed as one of the nation's 25-best JUCO transfers.

EXHIBITION LEFTOVERS:
Oct. 29 | Wichita, Kan. | WSU 92, Northeastern St. 57

• WSU newcomers made a strong first impression, combining for 52 points in a 92-57 exhibition victory.
• The Shockers won their 26th-straight preseason exhibition game and improved to 15-0 under Gregg Marshall .
• Freshman Grant Sherfield celebrated his 20th birthday with a game-high 18 points (14 before halftime).
• Junior college transfer Trey Wade narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
• Freshman guard Tyson Etienne put up 12 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting.
• Jamarius Burton tacked on 14 points and dished out a game-high six assists without a turnover.
• Up 27-23 near the 7:00-mark of the first half WSU used a 10-0 run to create separation. Runs of 13-0 and 12-0 in the second half helped push the margin to as many as 41 points late.
• The Shockers committed just one second-half turnover (and only eight total).
• WSU outrebounded NSU 45-33 and finished +7 in turnovers while committing only 11 team fouls.
• The Shockers posted a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• All 13 players that dressed saw at least three minutes of action. None played more than 22.

A STEP FORWARD FROM A STEP BACK:

• The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee and the Playing Rules Oversight Panel incorporated a series of rule changes for the 2019-20 season, designed to enhance the pace and flow of the game. The most-talked about change involved the three-point line, which is now 22-feet-1 ¾ inches at the Division I level (back from 20'9"). The committee hopes to open up the lane for dribble/drive plays from the perimeter, curb the growing prevalence of three-point shooting, assist in offensive spacing and increase the use of mid-range jump shots.
• WSU played four NIT games last year under those experimental rules. Notably, the Shockers were slightly more accurate from the longer distance (29-of-93, .312) than they had been during the regular season (.310).
• The Shockers set a school record last year for total three-point attempts – both total (890) and per-game (24.1) yet shot their worst percentage since the 2007-08 season.
• Notably, the last time the NCAA's last adjustment to the three-point shooting distance came after that dismal 2007-08 season (from 19'9" to 20'9"), but the 2008-09 Shockers actually improved their accuracy (from .308 to .322) on roughly the same number of attempts.

BETTER WITH AGE:

• Last year, Wichita State survived a nightmare scenario after the departure of six seniors, two transfers and sophomore Landry Shamet's early entry to the NBA Draft. On paper, the Shockers had one of the nation's least-experienced rosters with only 11% of minutes returning.
• Shocker freshmen accounted for over 45% of minutes played during the 2018-19 season, and Marshall had at least one freshman on the floor for every minute of every game. The Shockers averaged 33 minutes-per-game with at least two rookies on the court and 14 minutes with three-or-more.
• In his first 11 seasons at WSU, Marshall had just one true freshman average more than 20 minutes-per-game (Toure' Murry in 2008-09). Last year he has three of them: Erik Stevenson (21.8), Dexter Dennis (26.0) and Jamarius Burton (24.1). All three started double-digit games -- something that had happened just two other times in the Marshall Era.
• The roster eventually gelled. After an 8-11 start (1-6 in conference), the youthful Shockers won 14 of their last 18 games. 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
… make them 1-0 for the 17th time in 18 years.
… make them 3-0 all-time against Omaha.
… give them five-straight regular season victories going back to Feb. 28, 2019.
… be Marshall's 503rd career victories and move him to No. 97 on the all-time Division I wins list.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
... give WSU consecutive 0-1 starts for just the second time since World War II (the other came in 1989 and 1990 with losses to Houston and Georgia).
… be just their ninth loss in 65 home openers at the Roundhouse (1955-pr.).
... mark the first time ever that WSU has lost its home opener in consecutive years.
... make WSU 2-1 all-time against Omaha.
... be less good than a win.
 

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UP NEXT: Saturday vs. Texas Southern

• WSU continues a five-game homestand to begin the 2019-20 season when it plays host to Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon. The 7 p.m. CT tip will air statewide on YurView Kansas (Cox HD 2022) and streams in all 50 states on YurView.com/Kansas and ESPN3.
• The Shockers are 3-0 against Texas Southern (2-0 under Marshall). All three games took place in Wichita. The sides last met in November, 2010.
• TSU piled up three postseason wins last year, advancing to the semifinal round of the CIT. It was the school's longest run since winning the 1977 NAIA championship.
• The Tigers (24-14, runner-up in the SWAC regular season) came up a win short of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Prairie View A&M in the conference tournament final.
• TSU played 24 true road games in 2018-19 and banked non-conference wins at Baylor, Oregon and Texas A&M.