The RoundHouse | 1/8/2020 3:32:00 PM

 
The idea of Koch Arena as a living, breathing, screaming participant in basketball games is never more prominent than during the lead-in to a big one.
 
Thursday's game vs. No. 21 Memphis is one of those games, talked about from the moment of schedule release and subject to extraordinary hype and an all-black color scheme. Shockers who played in those games over the years remember the environment fondly.
 
"You know ahead of time – there's an energy that is building," said former Shocker Zach Bush, who played from 2013-17. "You come out for warmups and there's more people than normal. You know this is going to be one of those nights."
 
For the previous generation of Shockers, those games meant Creighton coming to town with a conference title at stake, ESPN Game Day and Northern Iowa or a grudge match with Illinois State. They could feel it when they saw the student section filled to the top row – fans appearing stack on top of one another - and the arena lights seemed brighter. They sensed it in coach Gregg Marshall's preparation, the way he highlighted a quote or a slight from a previous meeting.
 
"People come earlier with those games, people come prepared," said former Shocker Ehimen Orupke, who played from 2010-13. "They come with a different energy."
 
Memphis, with its top-ranked recruiting class and famous coach, checks most of the boxes for a landmark evening (6 p.m., ESPN2). While the rivalry is young, the 23^rd-ranked Shockers and Tigers appear set to battle at the top of the American Athletic Conference, a good start to future hostilities. The Shockers thumped Memphis 85-65 in Memphis in its first season as an AAC member. Last season, the Tigers won both meetings.

"It's a big game for them," Memphis coach Penny Hardaway told reporters on Monday. "They're wearing black uniforms and they want the crowd to wear all black. They want it to be, I guess, intimidating to come into their building. So, yeah, they'll be rowdy."
 
Current Shockers heard about the Koch Arena atmosphere during recruiting pitches. While crowd size and enthusiasm played out unevenly for much of November and December, fans stepped up for wins over VCU and Mississippi. 
 
"It's definitely been crazy and I love every single minute of it," Wichita State forward Trey Wade said. 
 
Marshall recalls games against Creighton and the Cincinnati game of two seasons ago. The Jan. 17, 2009 visit by Creighton, also one in which fans wore black, holds a special place in program lore. The Shockers entered that game 0-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play and 4-20 in Marshall's two seasons. A 74-61 win signaled a turn and the Shockers went 130-26 in MVC regular-season games until leaving the conference in 2017.
 
"It's going to be electric," he said this week. "It's big boy basketball in early January."
 
Bush remembers senior night against Illinois State in 2016 and the highlights from Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker on their way to a 74-58 win. Dunks, three-pointers, taking charges can make the crowd more of a factor. 

"It feels like the roof is going to rip off," Bush said. "I don't know how a team could come in there and not be affected. There are one or two games every year that are going to be the ones players remember."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.