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Jaime Echenique

Shockers Clash with Cougars Saturday on ESPN2

1/17/2020 3:49:00 PM

rv/rv HOUSTON (13-4, 3-1) at 16/16 WICHITA STATE (15-2, 3-1)
SATURDAY, JAN. 17, 2020 | 3:05 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: ESPN2 (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: WSU leads 17-12 (12-2 in Wichita)
LAST: 1/12/2019 in Houston (UH, 79-70)
 
>>> Coming off of their first loss in 49 days, the Wichita State Shockers (15-2 and a consensus No. 16 in the national polls) return home Saturday for a key American Athletic Conference matchup against the Houston Cougars (13-4 and receiving votes).
 
>>> Saturday's matchup airs nationally on ESPN2 with streaming available through the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smart phones, tablets amd devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Anish Shroff & Mark  Wise have the call.
 
>>> Division I college basketball's most-tenured tandem, Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl, tip off their 39th season together on radio (KEYN 103.7 FM and online at goshockers.com/listen). Kennedy, who is now in his 40th year as Voice of the Shockers, will call is 1,245th consecutive game.
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • Four one-loss teams, including WSU (3-1) and UH (3-1), are tied atop the standings. The winner maintains at least a share of first-place. Tulsa (3-1) plays at Tulane on Saturday. No. 22 Memphis (3-1) has the weekend off.
  • WSU's Gregg Marshall will coach his 200th game at Charles Koch Arena. He's 173-26 (.869) in 13 seasons.
  • WSU is 12-0 at home this year (11-0 CKA). Its 14-game home winning streak is one of the nation's 10-longest active and is tied for eighth-longest in Shocker history. The last loss was Feb. 25, 2019 vs. Memphis.
  • It's been more than two years since Houston's last Roundhouse visit. The Cougars were guest of honor for WSU's American conference home debut on Jan. 4, 2018 -- an 81-60 Shocker win. Houston has won each of the three games since (two in Houston and one in the 2018 AAC semifinals in Orlando).
  • WSU spent five days on the east coast and split a pair of road games. Sunday's win at UConn (89-86, 2OT) was the Shockers first double-overtime action in nearly eight years. Wednesday night's 65-53 loss at Temple snapped a nine-game winning streak as well as a run of eight-consecutive true road wins. WSU led by six at halftime but shot just 30% for the game. Jaime Echenique (career highs 20 points and 13 rebounds) and Jamarius Burton (16 points) were a combined 14-of-27 from the field. The rest of the team hit just 5-of-32.
  • The Shockers rank among the national leaders in turnover margin (20th, +4.2) and field goal percentage defense (32nd, .386).
  • KenPom rates the Shocker defense 20th nationally in efficiency. Houston is 10th in offensive efficiency.
  • Houston leads the nation in rebound margin (+11.5) and is No. 2 in offensive rebounds-per-game (15.6).
  • A projected sellout on Saturday would be WSU's sixth-straight.
 
 
THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT:
  • Wichita State has one of the nation's youngest teams and  -- according to the rankings -- one of its best. The Shockers are 19th in the latest NCAA NET ratings. They rejoined the AP Top-25 on Dec. 30 after a season-and-a-half absence and have climbed to No. 16 over the past three weeks.
  • Ten of WSU's 13 scholarship players are underclassmen, though many of them gained valuable experience in 2018-19. The rebuilding Shockers missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011 but rode a second-half surge to 22 wins and the NIT semifinals.
  • This year's goal: return to the NCAA tournament. The Shockers have put together an at-large quality resume that includes five Quadrant I or II wins. Their only losses have come in QI settings.
  • The 2018-19 team found an identity with defense, rebounding and ball security. Those qualities still apply, but the current group packs a little more scoring punch and has had greater success creating turnovers.
  • KenPom rates the Shocker defense 20th nationally in efficiency (up from 44th last year). WSU has held 13 of its 17 opponents under 40% from the field. Only two teams have scored more than 70 points against the Shockers this year in regulation and none more than 75.
  • The Shockers' core rotation runs eight-deep. All are averaging at least 5.8 points and 12 minutes-per-game. The starting lineup of (1) Burton, (2) Etienne, (3) Stevenson, (4) Wade and (5) Echenique has started every game since Dec. 5 and is 9-1 together.
  • Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson -- a two-time AAC player of the week pick -- leads the Shockers in points (13.2) and steals (31) and is the team's third-leading rebounder (5.1). He's topped 20-points three times.
  • Sophomore Jamarius Burton (11.1 ppg) can play point guard or on the wing, as needed. He's averaging a team-high 3.7 assists with a 1.64 A:TO ratio and has scored in double-figures in seven-straight games. Burton has been the Shockers' top scorer in conference play at 15.0 points-per-contest.
  • The team's lone senior -- 6-11 center Jaime Echenique -- averages 11.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He's coming off two stellar road games at UConn (19 points, eight rebounds) and Temple (career-highs 20 points and 13 rebounds). 
  • 6-foot-6 forward Trey Wade -- a JUCO transfer from South Plains (Texas) College -- has been an impactful addition at the four-spot. He puts up 8.2 points-per-game and is the team's top rebounder (6.2).
  • A couple of four-star freshman guards have also helped elevate the Shockers. Tyson Etienne (9.8 ppg) has nailed a team-high 37 triples with 41.6% accuracy. He ranks among the AAC's top-five in threes-per-game and three-point percentage. Combo guard Grant Sherfield (8.9 ppg) has been the team's other primary point guard while providing scoring off the bench.
  • Sophomore Dexter Dennis (7.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg) -- an athletic wing and the team's most versatile defender -- was an AAC All-Freshman pick last year.
  • The Shockers are one of the league' deepest teams in the post with Echenique backed by 6-9 sophomore Morris Udeze (5.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg). 7-foot junior Asbjørn Midtgaard and 6-9 sophomore Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler are  also capable contributors.
  • Three other true freshmen are on the roster: Forward DeAntoni Gordon (11 games) and point guard Noah Fernandes (12) have shown flashes of potential. 6-10 forward Josaphat Bilau is redshirting.
 

BUILDING MOMENTUM:
  • Wichita State is 12-0 at home this year (11-0 at CKA).
  • The Shockers' 14-game home-winning streak is one of the 10-longest in school history. A win over Houston would tie for sixth on the list.

Wichita State's Longest Home Winning Streaks (All-Time):
43 – Nov. 9, 2013 to Feb. 13, 2016 – NORTHERN IOWA (50-53)
22 – Feb. 17, 1982 to Dec. 22, 1983 – TEMPLE (73-78)
20 – Dec. 12, 1987 to Jan. 16, 1989 – CREIGHTON (80-81 ot)
20 – Jan. 10, 2012 to Jan. 29, 2013 – INDIANA ST. (55-68)
17 – Nov. 15, 2009 to Mar. 17, 2010 – NEVADA (70-74), NIT 1st Round
15 – Mar. 1, 1965 to Dec. 8, 1966 – CREIGHTON (88-91)
15 – Dec. 13, 1986 to Dec. 3, 1987 -- #11 PURDUE (78-80, ot)
14 – Nov. 28, 1980 to Feb. 16, 1981 – TULSA (72-74, 2ot)
14 – Dec. 22, 2016 to Dec. 16, 2017 – OKLAHOMA (83-91) at Intrust Bank Arena
14 – Feb. 28, 2019 to Present

 
 
TAKING IT FAST:
  • Tyson Etienne has recorded a steal in all but one game this year. His active streak of 12-straight is a WSU freshman record. It's also one of the longest by a Shocker of any age since the turn of the century.
  • Etienne is on pace to break Toure' Murry's freshman steals mark (44 in 2009). He's on pace for 49 by the end of the regular season.

Consecutive Games with a Steal (since 1999-00):
25 – Tekele Cotton (2013-14 to 2014-15) Jr./Sr.
17 – Ron Baker (2013-14) So.
15 -- Jason Perez (1999-00) Sr.
12 – Tekele Cotton (2014-15) Sr.
12 – Fred VanVleet (2014-15) Jr.
12 – Demetric Williams (2012-13) Sr.
12 – Tyson Etienne (2019-20) Fr.

 
 
TRENDING:
  • Wednesday's loss at Temple was the first for the staring lineup of Burton/Etienne/Stevenson/Wade/Echenique in 10 starts together (9-1). That group made its debut on Dec. 5.
  • Erik Stevenson and ECU's Jayden Gardner are the only two-time American Athletic Conference Player of the Week winners so far this year.
  • The Memphis game was WSU's fifth-straight sellout at Charles Koch arena (capacity: 10,506) and the 174th in the 16 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's renovation. It was also be the Shockers' 14th sellout in 20 American Athletic Conference home games.
  • In its two-game road swing through Hartford and Philadelphia, WSU forced 41 turnovers and tallied 20 steals.
  • In four conference games, the Shockers have scored a league-best 73.2 points-per-game and our holding foes to a league-low 23.5% from beyond the arc (16-of-68).
  • A 74-54 win over Ole Miss on Jan. 4 was WSU's 99th 20-point victory under Marshall (2007-Pr.).
  • This is WSU's 160th week all-time in the AP Poll. Just over half of them (81) have come in the Marshall Era.
  • WSU is 83-30 in January games under Marshall (.735).
  • Somewhat surprisingly, the Shockers have been out-rebounded in all four of their conference games. They had won the battle of the boards in 12 of their 13 non-conference contests.
 

SCOUTING HOUSTON:
  • Houston is the defending American Athletic Conference champion and made last year's Sweet 16.
  • The Cougars lost four starters but were preseason co-favorites (tied with Memphis) in the AAC preseason poll.
  • UH has won seven of its last eight games and is part of a four-way tie for first-place in The American standings at 3-1. The Cougars have split conference road games, winning at Temple and losing Tulsa. They own home victories over UCF and SMU.
  • UH leads the nation in rebounding margin. The Cougars have out-rebounded all 17 of their opponents this year – 11 of them by double-digits.
  • Four Cougars are scoring in double-figures, led by redshirt freshman guard Caleb Mills (13.1).
  • Nate Hinton – a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard – averages nearly a double-double with 12.0 points and 9.9 rebounds and leads the team in steals (22), three-pointers (29 on 40.3% accuracy) and minutes-per-game (30.0).
  • Sophomore Quentin Grimes – a Kansas transfer – scores 13.0 points-per-game.
  • 6-7 forward Fabian White Jr. averages 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds and DeJon Jarreau -- a preseason first team all-conference pick – averages 9.1 points and a team-best 3.3 assists.
 

MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • Sophomore center Morris Udeze is a Houston native and a graduate of Fort Bend Travis High School. He played prep school ball for a year in Florida before signing with the Shockers. Udeze logged five minutes in the game at Houston last year and recorded two rebounds.
  • WSU has had at least one Houston-area native on the roster in every season since 2001-02. That run began with 1,600-point scorer Randy Burns (out of Booker T. Washington HS). P.J. Couisnard and Karon Bradley were key contributors on the Shockers' 2006 Sweet 16 team. One of Marshall's first WSU recruits, Toure' Murry (Klein Forrest HS) finished with 1,539 points from 2008-12 and went on to play parts of two NBA seasons.
  • Gregg Marshall (518) and Kelvin Sampson (629) have combined for nearly 1,150 victories. Both have coached in the Final Four.
  • Marshall is 1-4 against Sampson. The two faced off in the 2000 NCAA tournament. Sampson (then head coach at Oklahoma) led his third-seeded Sooners past Marshall's 14th-seeded Winthrop team, 74-50, at the McKale Center in Tucson.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... make them 16-2.
... give them at least a share of the league lead (4-1).
... up their home record to 13-0 (12-0 CKA).
... extend their home winning streak to 15 games -- tied for sixth-longest in school history.
... snap a three-game skid vs. Houston and make them 2-3 against the Cougars in the American Era.
... boost their lead over UH to 18-12 (13-2 Wichita).
... make Gregg Marshall 174-26 at CKA (.870).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…   
... drop them to 15-3 (3-2) and out of first-place.
... give them back-to-back losses for the first time since a three-game skid from Jan. 19-26, 2019.
... make them 12-1 at home this year (11-1 at CKA).
... snap a 14-game home winning streak and be their first home loss since Feb. 23, 2019 vs. Memphis.
... be UH's first win at CKA since the 1989 preseason NIT and just their third all-time (3-12).
... be their fourth-straight to UH and narrow their all-time series lead to 17-13.
 
 
UP NEXT:
The Shockers are in Tampa, Fla. Tuesday for a date with South Florida. The 6 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on ESPNEWS. This only the third series meeting in three years. WSU won in 2018 in Wichita. USF returned the favor last year at the Yeungling Center.
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