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Morris Udeze

Reinforcements on the Way as Shockers Host Unbeaten OSU

12/10/2020 6:18:00 PM

rv/rv OKLAHOMA STATE (5-0) at WICHITA STATE (1-1)
SATURDAY, DEC. 12, 2020 | 2:01 P.M CT
WICHITA, KAN. / CHARLES KOCH ARENA
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: OSU leads 30-10 (15-5 in Wichita)

Wichita State will have fans and potentially a full roster when it takes on Oklahoma State Saturday (2 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
 
After two games in an empty Charles Koch Arena, Sedgwick County has given permission for up to five-percent capacity (approximately 525 fans).
 
WSU suited up just eight scholarship players for the opener against ORU and nine against Mizzou last Sunday but could have all 13 in uniform for the first time against the Cowboys.
 
 
TICKETS:
Access to tickets will be based on SASO priority points. The Shocker Ticket Office will reach out to those who qualify.
  
#WATCHUS:
Watch live or on demand on ESPN+ with Shane Dennis (pbp) and Bob Hull (analyst) on the call.
  
SHOCKER RADIO:
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Division I college basketball's longest-tenured duo, Mike Kennedy (pbp) and Dave Dahl (analyst) are in their 40th season together on radio.
  
THE ISAAC BROWN SHOW:
Join Kennedy and interim head coach Isaac Brown LIVE from 6-7 p.m. every Monday throughout the season at A.J.'s Sports Grill at The Alley, or listen to the show on KFH (97.5 FM / 1240 AM). The show is rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on Yurview (Cox HD 2022 in Kansas and online everywhere at YurView.com/Kansas. Next Show: Dec. 28
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • WSU saw its 16-game non-conference home winning streak come to an end Sunday against Missouri, 72-62. Tyson Etienne and Clarence Jackson scored 14 points each and Alterique Gilbert chipped in 13 points with six assists. WSU shot a chilly 33% from the field.
  • Etienne was named to the The American's weekly honor roll after scoring a career-high 26 points in the Dec. 2 season opener against Oral Roberts.
  • Oklahoma State (5-0 and receiving votes) has won nine-straight going back to last season, including an 83-78 win over the aforementioned ORU on Tuesday.
  •  The Cowboys have one of the nation's top freshmen in Cade Cunningham (20.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.2 apg). Eight others average at least 6.0 points.
  • This is game No. 41 in the series. WSU is looking to win three-straight against OSU for the first time ever. 
  • Last December, Etienne scored a game-high 19 points to key an 80-61 Shocker victory at Gallagher-Iba Arena. On Dec. 7, 2017 (also in Stillwater), Landry Shamet's career-high 30 points sparked a 78-66 win.
  • This is the second in a four-game contract that continues with dates in Stillwater (2021) and Wichita (2022). 
  • Saturday's contest was originally planned for INTRUST Bank Arena but moved back to campus due to COVID-19 concerns. It will be the Cowboys' first Roundhouse visit since Dec. 6, 2000 (WSU, 61-59).
  • Sunday is WSU junior Morris Udeze's 22nd birthday.
 
 
ON THIS DATE (DEC.12):
  • 1934 -- The first-ever meeting between WSU and Oklahoma State was also the debut of new head coach Henry Iba. The Cowboys prevailed, 24-17.
  • 1955 -- The Shockers defeated Nebraska, 71-46, for their first victory in the newly-dedicated WU Fieldhouse (now Charles Koch Arena). Bob Hodgson led the way with 25 points.
  • 1968 – WSU spoiled former head coach Ralph Miller's homecoming, upending his 19th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, 93-88. Ron Washington (30 points) and Greg Carney (23) led the fast-breaking Shockers.
  • 1981 – No. 4 WSU hammered ninth-ranked UAB, 75-60, in a battle of top-10 teams inside Birmingham Coliseum.
 
 
POWERED BY TYSON:
Sunday's game against Mizzou was sophomore Tyson Etienne's 33rd in a Shocker uniform. His 68 three-pointers are the most ever by a WSU player at that stage.

WSU All-Time // Most 3-Pointers in First 33 Career Games:
68 -- Tyson Etienne (Fr.-So.) – Arrived 2019
67 -- Aaron Hogg (Jr.-Sr.) -- 2002
65 -- Chad Elstun (Fr.-So.) -- 1992
63 -- Ron Baker (Fr-So.) -- 2012
63 -- Clevin Hannah (Jr.-Sr.) -- 2007
62 -- Randy Burns (Fr.-So.) -- 2001
62 -- Landry Shamet (Fr.-RFr.) -- 2015

 
 
TRENDING:
  • The Shockers averaged just 8.5 turnovers in their first two games. As of Thursday, that was tied for the sixth-fewest nationally.
  • WSU also ranks among the leaders in fewest fouls (14.0, 17th).
  • Tyson Etienne is 12-of-13 at the foul line (.923) after hitting an even 80 percent as a freshman.
  • In seven career starts at center, Morris Udeze has never lost an opening tipoff (7-0).
  • Four of Alterique Gilbert's team-high eight assists have come to Clarence Jackson.
  • Jackson's 3.00 offensive rebounds-per-game is tied with Houston's Brycen Greshman for the AAC lead.
 
 
MILESTONES:
Dexter Dennis' 108 career triples are already tied for 22nd on WSU's all-time chart. He needs just six more to move into the top-20. Randy Burns (2001-05) tops the all-time list with 248 career threes

WSU All-Time 3-Point Leaders:
17. Dwight Praylow (1985-89) -- 125
17. Graham Hatch (2007-11) -- 125   
19. Maurice Evans (1997-99) -- 118   
20. PJ Couisnard (2004-08) -- 114      
21. Cleanthony Early (2012-14) -- 113           
22. Dexter Dennis (2018-Pr.) -- 108    
22. Tekele Cotton (2011-15) -- 108    
22. Kyle Wilson (2004-07) -- 108        

 
Alterique Gilbert ranks among the American Athletic Conference's active leaders in assists. He banked 227 at UConn and will continue to build on those totals at Wichita State.

American Active Career Assist Leaders (as of 12/10/2020):
254 -- David Collins (USF)
250 -- Alex Lomax (Memphis)
235 -- Alterique Gilbert (Wichita St.)
223 -- Elijah Joiner (Tulsa)
220 -- Dejon Jarreau (Houston)
205 -- Kendric Davis (SMU)

 
 
"POWER" OUTAGE:
Downtown INTRUST Bank Arena has helped WSU secure a number of high-profile matchups, but "Power 5" visits to the Roundhouse are rare. Visits from Mizzou and Oklahoma State are just the seventh and eighth in the 17 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's renovation. The Shockers are 5-3.

"Power 5" School at Charles Koch Arena (Dec. 2003 to Present):
3/19/2004 -- Florida State (ACC) -- L, 65-76 2ot (NIT 1st Round)
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) -- W, 74-54          
12/6/2020 -- Missouri (SEC) -- L, 62-72          
12/2/2020 -- Oklahoma St. (Big 12)               

 
 
THE SERIES vs. OKLAHOMA STATE:
  • WSU has won back-to-back games for only the second time in the series' 86-year history. The other instance included a 25-year gap between games (1965 to 1990).
  • WSU is just 5-15 against OSU in Wichita, though only five have taken place inside the Roundhouse. The Shockers are 2-3 in those games.
  • OSU's last visit to the Roundhouse came pre-renovation when the building was known as Levitt Arena. On Dec. 6, 2000, playing in just its fifth game under new head coach Mark Turgeon, WSU stunned Eddie Sutton's Pokes, 61-59. Down 29-19 at halftime, the Shockers rallied behind Terrell Benton's 16 second-half points.
  • OSU has made two visits to Wichita since then, winning at the old Kansas Coliseum in 2002 and at INTRUST Bank Arena in 2016.
  • The Shockers are 4-15 all-time in Stillwater (4-14 at GIA) but have won back-to-back for the first time ever.
  • The series began in December, 1934 when first-year head coach Henry Iba swept a home-and-home. Iba is the head coach of record for 31 of the 40 series games. 
  • WSU is 4-5 against OSU coaches not named Henry Iba, including 2-0 against Mike Boynton.
  • OSU was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference for 31 years back when the school was known as Oklahoma A&M. The Cowboys (Aggies) won 19 of the 24 conference meetings against WSU (University of Wichita) between 1945 (when the Shockers joined) and 1956 (when OSU made its exit).
  • The most important series meeting took place in the 1965 Midwest Regional Final at Ahearn Fieldhouse in Manhattan, Kan. The Shockers stuck with their starting-five for all 40 minutes in a 54-46 victory to advance to their first-ever Final Four. Kelly Pete finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to go with 12 points from Vernon Smith and 11 from Dave Leach. WSU scored on its first nine possessions to open the game, then bled the next 35 minutes of clock.
  • The series took a 25-year hiatus from 1965 to 1990 before Eddie Sutton and Mike Cohen brought it back.
  • A home-and-home series in 2016 and 2017 ended another 14-year series drought.
  • On Dec. 17, 2016, OSU handled the Shockers, 93-76 at INTRUST Bank Arena in a battle of eventual NCAA tournament teams. The loss snapped a school-record 42-game non-conference home winning streak.
  • The Shockers returned the favor in December, 2017 behind Landry Shamet's career-high 30 points. It was their first win at Gallagher-Iba Arena in 60 years.
  • The teams did not officially play in 2018-19 but took part in a preseason closed-door scrimmage at CKA.
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • Oklahoma State is WSU's closest Division I neighbor. Gallagher-Iba Arena is roughly 123 miles from Charles Koch Arena by car. By contrast, K-State's Bramlage Coliseum is 129 miles door-to-door and KU's Allen Fieldhouse is 169.
  • The Shockers defeated all four of Oklahoma's Division I schools in 2019-20: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and Tulsa. They won't face the Sooners this season but already have a win in hand against ORU and will travel to Tulsa next week.
  • WSU has won nine of its last 14 against Big 12 foes dating back to the 2009-10 season. That includes a 2-1 mark against OSU.
  • OSU's staff includes some familiar faces: Fourth-year assistant Scott Sutton was head coach for 18 years at Oral Roberts and won two of his three meetings with the Shockers. On Dec. 30, 2003, ORU became the first visiting team to win a game at CKA post-renovation.
  • Barry Hinson is his second year as an analyst for OSU. He faced the Shockers 32 times as head coach at Missouri State and Southern Illinois.
 
 
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE:
  • OSU is picked seventh out of 10 in the Big 12 preseason poll after tying for seventh last year (18-14, 7-11).
  • OSU returns just one starter (Isaac Likekele) but adds arguably the nation's best freshman recruit in Cade Cunningham.
  • The Cowboys are 5-0 for the second year in a row (last year's team opened 7-0) and already own a pair of true road wins at Texas Arlington and Marquette.
  • OSU earned votes in both major polls this week and is the equivalent of No. 31 nationally in the AP.
  • The 6-8 Cunningham is the Big 12's preseason freshman of the year . He tops the team in points (20.2) and assists (4.2) and has knocked down 25-of-29 free throws (.862) and 8-of-17 three-point tries (.471).
  • Cunningham has reached the 20-point threshold three times, including a personal-best 29 in Tuesday's win over ORU.
  • Likekele (who missed the game against WSU last year while battling mononucleosis) is OSU's leading rebounder (8.0) and second-leading scorer (10.2).
  • Seven other Cowboys are averaging at least 6.0 points and 16.0 minutes-per-game.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... make them 2-1.
... be their third-straight against OSU (their longest streak ever against the Cowboys).
... make them 10-5 against the Big 12 since 2009-10.
... make them 7-3 against "Power 5" opponents at CKA since its 2003 renovation.
... close the all-time series gap with OSU to 11-30 (6-15 in Wichita).
... be their 100th at CKA since the start of the 2013-14 season (100-10, .909).
  
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...   
... drop them to 1-2.
... give them consecutive home losses for the first time since January, 2018 (Temple & Cincinnati).
... be just their 11th at CKA since the start of the 2013-14 season.
... make them 10-31 all -time vs. OSU (5-16 Wichita).
... be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:
The Shockers hit the road for the first time and open up their American Athletic Conference schedule on Tuesday night at Tulsa (6 p.m. CT, ESPNU).
The teams split last years series. WSU lost on a buzzer-beater at Tulsa but won the regular season finale in Wichita, 79-57.
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