OLE MISS (9-3, 0-0 SEC) at 24/23 WICHITA STATE (12-1, 1-0 AAC)
SATURDAY, JAN. 4, 2020 | 3:05 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: ESPNU (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: OLE MISS LEADS 3-2 (1-1 in Wichita)
LAST: NOV. 18, 2001 IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA (MIS, 80-68)
 
>>> No. 24/23 Wichita State (12-1) battles Ole Miss (9-3) on Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
 
>>> Tickets are available through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS or online at GoShockers.com/Tickets.
 
>>> Wednesday's matchup airs nationally on ESPNU and via the ESPN App, accessible on computers, smart phones, tablets and other devices to fans who receive their video subscription through an affiliated provider. Paul Sunderland (pbp) & Mark Wise (analyst) 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 1,241st consecutive game.
 
>>> Wichita State coaches will wear green ties on Saturday to promote childhood reading as part of the #Fight4Literacy. Fans are invited to join in the effort to help kids in Wichita become better readers. Donate $10 today to give 2 books to a kid in Wichita. To learn more text 'SHOCKERS4LIT' to 71-777 or visit: www.fightforliteracygames.org.
 

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OPENING TIPS:

• The Shockers opened conference play Wednesday with a 75-69 win over ECU. Erik Stevenson put up 17 points, nine boards, five steals, five assists and a block.
• WSU-Ole Miss is one four matchups arranged through a scheduling alliance between the American Athletic Conference and the SEC. The Shockers will make a return trip to Oxford in December of next season.
• Ole Miss leads the all-time series 3-2. This is the first meeting since November, 2001 when the Rebels defeated the Shockers in the fifth-place game at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. WSU and Ole Miss split four games in four seasons from 1994-97. The Rebels' last visited Wichita on Dec. 13, 1997.
• WSU is 4-0 against 2019 NCAA tournament teams (Gardner-Webb, Oklahoma, VCU, Abilene Christian) and will look to continues that success against Ole Miss.
• Gregg Marshall is 9-6 against SEC teams as Shocker head coach, helped by a recent win over South Carolina in the Cancun Challenge. He has never faced Ole Miss.
• Monday's AP ranking (No. 24) was WSI's first since going wire-to-wire during the 2017-18 season.
• Saturday begins a stretch of five-straight games that would currently qualify for Quadrant I or II status. The Shockers are 4-1 in such contests.
• WSU ranks among the national leaders in scoring margin (25^th, +14.4), turnover margin (25^th, +4.5) and A:TO ratio (26^th, 1.30).
• WSU has won its last six games. A Saturday victory would match its longest streak since joining the AAC.
• The Shockers have defeated 57 of their last 58 non-conference opponents at CKA. The lone loss was to LA Tech in the 2018-19 opener. WSU's 14-game non-conference home winning streak (which includes one downtown game) is the seventh-longest in school history.
• The Shockers also have a 12-game home winning streak, last losing to Memphis on Feb. 23, 2019.
• As of Thursday, the Shockers are one of only 11 teams with one loss or fewer. No. 16 West Virginia (which handed them their only loss) is on that list, as is Thursday's opponent, No. 9 Memphis.

 

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THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT:

• WSU is out to a 12-1 start, which includes a 3-1 record against "Power 5" teams: vs. South Carolina (W), vs. West Virginia (L), at Oklahoma St. (W), Oklahoma (W).
• 10 of the 13 Shocker scholarship players are underclassmen, though many of them gained valuable experience during last year's run to the NIT semifinals.
• KenPom's advanced metrics rate the Shocker defense 18th nationally in efficiency. WSU has held 10 of its 13 opponents under 40% from the field.
• Only two teams have scored more than 70 points against the Shockers this year: West Virginia (75 points) and Oklahoma (75).
• Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson leads the team in points (12.9), steals (1.9) and minutes (28.7) and is WSU's second-leading rebounder (5.5). He's topped 20 points on two occasions this year.
• JUCO transfer Trey Wade has been an impact addition. He's the team's top rebounder (6.8) and has three games with 10+ boards plus a pair of double-doubles.
• 6-11 center Jaime Echenique -- the team's lone senior -- missed the first four games with a fractured hand but has averaged 9.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks since returning on Nov. 23. He's dunked at least once in each of his nine games and has a team-high 13 for the year. On a per-40-minute basis, Echenique leads the team in plus-minus (+24.1), points (22.5), rebounds (11.4) and blocks (2.8).
• Freshman guard Tyson Etienne (11.2 ppg) began the weekend ranked 20th nationally (and third among freshmen) in three-point percentage. He's nailed a team-high 34 triples with 44.7% accuracy this year. His 2.62 threes-per-game top the AAC leaderboard and are tied for seventh nationally among freshmen.
• Freshman point guard Grant Sherfield (9.2 ppg) has hit a team-high 39 free throws and is shooting 83%.
• Sophomore Jamarius Burton is averaging a team-high 3.9 assists and ranks fifth on the AAC leaderboard in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.96).

TRENDING:

• 12 of Erik Stevenson's 25 steals have come over the last three games (5 vs. VCU, 2 vs. ACU, 5 vs. ECU). That ties Fred VanVleet for the most-productive three-game stretch of the Marshall Era. VanVleet set a school record with seven steals in the 2014-15 opener against New Mexico State then added four against Memphis and one against Newman.
• WSU is 1-0 in conference play for the 10th straight  year.
• Wednesday's ECU game marked only the 19th time in 197 games under Gregg Marshall that the Shockers have been out-rebounded at the Roundhouse.
• Tyson Etienne has hit multiple treys in 11 of the 13 games this year, including an active run of six-straight. The school record (10-straight) is shared by Landry Shamet, Ron Baker and two others.
• Over that six-game stretch Etienne is 18-of-37 from distance (.486).

WORKING AHEAD:

• The Shockers opened the 2018-19 campaign at 8-11 but are 26-5 since.
• Last year's team didn't win its 13th game until Feb. 20. A win Saturday (Jan. 4) would beat that mark by 47 days.
• The Shockers have recorded double-digit non-con wins for the tenth time in Marshall's 13 seasons.

SCOUTING OLE MISS:

• In his first season in Oxford, Kermit Davis Jr. turned a 20-loss Ole Miss team into 20-game winners. The Rebels (20-13, 10-8 SEC in 2018-19) improved by eight wins and advanced to their first NCAA tournament since 2015 as a No. 8 seed.
• With three starters returning and a top-20 recruiting class, Ole Miss was picked eighth out of 14 teams in the 2019-20 SEC preseason poll.
• The Rebels have won four-straight and are currently 9-3. They're one of just two teams that have beaten current AP No. 21 Penn State (74-72 on a neutral floor at the NIT Preseason Tip Off). Ole Miss' only losses have come to teams ranked inside KenPom's top-50: at Memphis (No. 30), vs. Oklahoma State (No. 42) and at home against Butler (No. 7).
• Senior guard Breein Tyree was a first team All-SEC performer last year. He's the team's leading scorer at 17.1 points and has taken over 25% of the shots.
• Sophomore guard Blake Hinson averages a team-second 12.4 points. He's shooting 45% from distance.
• Junior point guard Devontae Shuler (10.8 ppg) has 19 steals and paces the Rebels in assists (4.3) and minutes-per-game (31.3)
• 6-foot-7 sophomore K.J. Buffen (10.8 ppg) tops the team in rebounds (7.0) and steals (22) and blocks (10).

MATCHUP MASHUP:

• Sixth-year Shocker assistant Isaac Brown played for Kermit Davis at Texas A&M during the 1990-91 season. Brown – a junior that year – averaged 12.0 points and 3.4 assists.
• Dodge City native L.J. Goolsby played for Ole Miss in 1994 when Wichita State won in Oxford. He transferred to WSU the following spring, sat out the 1995-96 season and then suited up for the Yellow-and-Black in December, 1996 when they returned to Oxford.
• Aside from two games against the Shockers, Ole Miss has visited Wichita one other time. The Rebels played their first-ever NCAA tournament game in this building back on Mar. 11, 1981, losing 69-66 to Kansas. The Jayhawks went on to upset No. 2 seed Arizona State in the second round before falling to Wichita State in the Sweet 16 in New Orleans.
• Ole Miss' former home, Tad Smith Coliseum (1966-2016), was a sister arena to Charles Koch Arena (1955-Pr.). Like many new arena builds in the 1950s and 60s, both had "futuristic" circular designs.
• Both teams play unselfish styles. Ole Miss averages nearly 17 assists-per-game. Per Ken Pom, the Rebels rank eighth nationally in assist percentage. 65.5 percent of all Rebel field goals come with an assist attached. WSU is No. 39 in that category (59.2%).
• The teams share common opponents. Ole Miss fell 78-37 to Oklahoma State on Nov. 29 in the championship game of the NIT Tip-Off in Brooklyn. The Shockers defeated OSU nine days later in Stillwater by a score of 80-61. WSU's next game comes against a Memphis squad that nipped the Rebels 87-86 in Memphis back on Nov. 23. The Shockers defeated Ole Miss' SEC rival South Carolina, 70-47, in the Cancun Challenge.
• WSU freshman Grant Sherfield and Ole Miss freshman Austin Crowley were high school teammates just down the road at Sunrise Christian Academy. The pair helped lead Sunrise to its first-ever appearance at the GEICO High School Nationals.
• In addition to Crowley, Ole Miss sophomore Blake Hinson and WSU sophomore Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler also played at Sunrise during the 2017-18 school year.

MORE RANDOM KNOWLEDGE:

• Under Gregg Marshall, WSU is 3-0 against SEC foes in Wichita. Ole Miss is the first such visitor since Dec. 16, 2014 when the 11th-ranked Shockers downed Alabama, 53-52. On that night, WSU erased an 11-point deficit over the last 5:00 with Fred VanVleet feeding Darius Carter for the game-winning dunk with 11 seconds to play. That win was the Shockers' 23rd-straight at home, breaking the school record.
• Downtown INTRUST Bank Arena has helped WSU secure a number of high-profile matchups, but "Power 5" visits to the Roundhouse are rare. This is the only the sixth in Marshall's 13 seasons. The Shockers are 4-1.

"Power 5 Schools at the Roundhouse" // Marshall Era (2007-Pr.):
12/19/2007 -- LSU (SEC) -- W, 67-47
3/23/2009 -- Stanford (Pac-10) -- L, 56-70 (CBI Quarterfinals)
12/19/2009 -- #16 Texas Tech (Big 12) -- W, 85-83
3/16/2011 -- Nebraska (Big 12) -- W, 76-49 (NIT 1st Round)
12/1/2018 -- Baylor (Big 12) -- W, 71-63
1/4/2020 -- Ole Miss (SEC)

• Four Wichita State teams have finished with a winning percentage of .900 or better in regular season non-conference play. Not surprisingly, they're some of the most-accomplished in school history. The 2019-20 Shockers can join them with a win on Saturday.

Wichita State All-Time // Non-Conference Regular Season Winning Percentages
2013-14 -- 13-0 (1.000) -- NCAA No. 1 seed
1953-54 -- 19-1 (.950) -- First NIT bid in school history
2012-13 -- 12-1 (.923) -- Final Four
2019-20 -- 11-1 (.917)
1980-81 -- 9-1 (.900) -- Elite Eight

• ESPN's BracketBusters series provided some interesting interludes during the month of February, but the Shockers haven't played a January non-conference game in 15 years. A 64-59 home loss to Manhattan on Jan. 3, 2005 spoiled a 9-0 start to the season.
• WSU is 80-29 in January games under Marshall (.734).
• WSU is 25-9 all-time on Jan. 4, making it the winningest date in Shocker history. Feb. 15 (24-11) is second.

 

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PAST MEETINGS WITH OLE MISS:
 
Dec. 10, 1994 (Oxford) – WSU 71-70

• L.D. Swanson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 16 seconds to play, to help WSU snap a 25-game road losing streak. The Shockers took a 69-62 lead with 2:02 to play on a Darin Miller three-pointer, but the Rebels reeled off seven-straight to tie it with 50 seconds left. Swanson's off-balance 15-foot jumper gave WSU a 71-69 lead. Ole Miss' Cedric Brim hit one free throw with five seconds to play but missed the second. The Rebels won a scramble for the rebound, but J.J. Sims' putback try rimmed out as time expired.

Dec. 17, 1995 (Wichita) – WSU, 72-59

• WSU held Ole Miss to just two field goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half while knocking down seven of their first nine tries on the other end to turn a 34-31 halftime deficit into a 47-39 lead. Carter Arnett scored 24 points and Darin Miller added nine points and 11 boards to lead the Shockers.

Dec. 14, 1996 (Oxford) -- Ole Miss, 68-65

• WSU turned the ball over 21 times and committed twice as many fouls as Ole Miss, which converted 25-of-40 free throws. The Shockers hit 11-of-13. Jamie Arnold scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Helped by that victory, the 1996-97 Rebels went on to post the first 20-win season in program's post-World War II era. They finished exactly 20-9 that year.

Dec. 13, 1997 (Wichita) -- #21 Ole Miss, 71-48

• The Shockers managed just 48 points on 29 percent shooting. Jason Perez scored 15 of WSU's 20 first-half points and finished the night with 20, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the nationally-ranked Rebels who want on to win the SEC West title and play in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

Nov. 18, 2001 (Fairbanks) – Ole Miss, 80-68

• An Ole Miss team coming off a Sweet 16 appearance hit 11-of-18 three-point attempts to outdistance the Shockers in the Top of the World Classic fifth-place game. Six of the 10 WSU players in the box score were true freshmen and three of them started. Randy Burns finished with a team-high 15 points.

 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... make them 13-1.
... be seventh-straight matching their streak since joining the AAC.
... give them 13-straight home wins -- tied for the 10th-longest streak in school history.
... give them 15-straight non-conference home wins ...make them 5-1 against "Power 5" teams at CKA under Marshall.
... even the all-time series with Ole Miss at 3-3.
... make them 10-6 vs. the SEC under Marshall.
... make them 81-29 in January under Marshall.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
... drop them to 12-2 and end a 6-game win streak.
... snap an 12-game home win streak (11 at CKA).
... be their first at home since 2/23/19 (Memphis).
... give Ole Miss a 4-2 series lead (2-1 in Wichita).
... be just their 12thsetback in Wichita in the last nine seasons (126-12).
... be less good than a win.
 

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UP NEXT:

• Conference play resumes next Thursday, Jan. 9 when Wichita State takes on No. 9 Memphis at Charles Koch Arena. The 6 p.m. CT tip will air on ESPN2.