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Jaden Seymour

Shockers Look to Continue Momentum Against Newman

12/29/2020 11:01:00 PM

NEWMAN (2-4, 2-4 MIAA) at WICHITA STATE (4-2, 2-0 AMERICAN)
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30 | 6:01 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN. / CHARLES KOCH ARENA (15% Capacity)
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM
SERIES: WSU LEADS 2-0 (Regular Season), 5-0 (Including Exhibitions)
 

TICKETS:
WSU has been granted permission by Sedgwick County to increase attendance to 15% of capacity (1,575 fans). No single-game tickets are available. Season ticket holders who qualify for seats (based on SASO priority points) will be contacted directly.
 
#WATCHUS:
The game will air on ESPN+ with Shane Dennis and Bob Hull on the call. ESPN+ subscribers can stream live and on demand via the ESPN App. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $5.99 monthly or $49.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services.
 
SHOCKER RADIO:
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen with Mike Kennedy (pbp) and Dave Dahl (analyst). Kennedy is in his 41st season as Voice of the Shockers and will call his 1,265th-consecutive game (excluding exhibitions). Pregame coverage begins one hour prior to tipoff.
 
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: Jan. 4
 

OPENING TIPS:
  • Wichita State welcomes crosstown rival Newman University for some impromptu non-conference action.
  • WSU's conference home opener -- originally on tap for Wednesday -- was postponed Monday morning due to a positive COVID-19 test within the ECU program.
  • WSU and ECU are searching for a mutually available date for a makeup game. If none can be found, the Feb. 21 game at ECU will shift to Wichita, and the teams will play back-to-back on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.
  • WSU is riding a three-game winning streak, including a pair of American Athletic Conference road victories at Tulsa (Dec. 15) and South Florida (Dec. 22).
  • Tyson Etienne (AAC Player of the Week) scored 21 of his game-high 25 points after halftime to spark an 82-77 overtime win at USF. He also matched career-highs with six boards, four assists and 10 free throw makes.
  • Afterward, players took three days off for the holidays and returned to the practice floor on Dec. 26.
  • Houston's loss at Tulsa on Tuesday left WSU (2-0) and SMU (1-0) as the AAC's last two unbeatens.
  • WSU and Newman have met five times since 2009 when Newman completed its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Games in 2011 and 2014 counted toward WSU's regular season record and statistics, while all five were considered exhibitions for Newman.
  • WSU is a combined 5-0 in those games, topping 100 points in each of the last three meetings.
  • Since 1973, when the NCAA reorganized into three divisions, WSU is 34-0 in regular season games against non-D-I programs (including their Dec. 18 win over Emporia State) and 22-0 in preseason exhibitions.
  • For the first time since the 1980-81 campaign, WSU will play multiple games against Non-D-I's. That year, Gene Smithson's Shockers opened with a record-setting rout of Division II Abilene Christian (101-60), followed later by a 93-60 win over Denver.
  • Etienne is averaging an AAC-best 2.8 three-pointers-per-game and also ranks among the top-10 in scoring (5th, 17.0 ppg) and free throw percentage (6th, .853).
  • UConn grad transfer Alterique Gilbert (12.3 ppg) leads the team in assists (3.7) and steals (1.5). His next assist will be the 250th of his career.
  • Six other Shockers average between 4.3 and 8.0 points.
  • WSU hasn't shot the ball well (.382 is 303rd nationally) but ranks among the leaders in offensive rebounds (11th, 14.83) and fewest turnovers (18th, 10.5).
  • WSU plays its next two on the road: Saturday at Ole Miss (5 p.m. CT, ESPNU) and Jan. 6 at No. 5 Houston (7 p.m., ESPN+).
 
 
TRENDING:
  • 41 Division I teams are shooting less than 40 percent for the year. WSU is one of only three from that group -- along with Tulane (.395, 5-2) and UNCG (.399, 5-3) -- that have a winning record against D-I competition.
  • The Shockers were out-shot in each of the first five games before finally bucking the trend at USF (40.9 to 33 percent).
  • The Shockers are 3-1 in close games (decided by five points in either direction).
  • WSU is bracing for a tough stretch. Each of the next six games will be against KenPom top-100 teams with four of those on the road.
  • Tyson Etienne isn't listed as a point guard, but he sure he plays like one. Isaac Brown loves the sophomore's decision-making (3.75 A:TO ratio) and his ability to create for himself and others with shot clock winding down. 
  • Etienne has committed just four turnovers in 182 minutes this year, and KenPom rates him 23rd nationally in turnover rate (4.6-per-100 possessions).
  • Etienne's 2.8 three-pointers-per-game leads the American Athletic Conference and is ahead of Landry Shamet's school record pace from the 2017-18 season (2.63). Etienne has connected at least once in each of the first six games this year.

American Athletic Conference Leaders // 3-Point Field Goals Per Game:
1. Tyson Etienne (Wichita St.) – 2.8 (17 in 6 games)
2. Jaylen Forbes (Tulane) – 2.7 (19 in 7 games)
t3. Landers Nolley II (Memphis) – 2.5 (25 in 10 games)
t3. J.P. Moorman II (Temple) – 2.5 (5 in 2 games)
5. Darin Green Jr. (UCF) – 2.4 (12 in 5 games) 

 

CHANGING OF THE GUARDS:
  • WSU's three primary ball-handlers Tyson Etienne, Alterique Gilbert and Craig Porter Jr. have combined for 47 assists with just 17 turnovers (2.76 ratio).
  • WSU fans are accustomed to those kinds of efficiency numbers, but this backcourt adds another less familiar element -- they aggressively and successfully attack the basket.
  • Etienne and Gilbert combine to average 11 free throw attempts-per-game. KenPom rates them both among the top-200 nationally in rate of fouls drawn (5.5 and 5.8 respectively). Those would be the two-highest rates for a Shocker point or shooting guard in the KenPom era (2002-Pr.).

Fouls Drawn-Per-40-Minutes // WSU Point & Shooting Guards // KenPom Era (2002-03 to Pr.):
5.8– Tyson Etienne (2020-21)
5.5 – Alterique Gilbert (2020-21)
4.9 – Fred VanVleet (2014-15)
4.8 – Fred VanVleet (2015-16)
4.7 – Toure' Murry (2010-11)
4.6 – Toure' Murry (2011-12)
4.5 – Randy Burns (2003-04)

 
 
A RICK ROLL:
  • Ricky Council IV was unavailable for the Shockers' first two games and clocked just four minutes in the third (a last-second loss to OSU). However, the freshman guard has made a major impact in each of the three games since, averaging 11.3 points on 14-of-23 shooting (.609) with 6.3 rebounds in 17.9 minutes.
  • He finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the win at Tulsa and duplicated those numbers three nights later against Emporia State to carve out a spot on the AAC's weekly honor roll. On Dec. 22 at USF, Council answered the bell again with eight points and two steals in a season-high 20 minutes of work.
  • Council is quickly gaining a reputation as a ferocious dunker. Click here for highlights.
  
 
ON THIS DATE: DEC. 30
1959 – Lanny Van Eman sank a 25-foot jumper with 1 second remaining to give Wichita an 84-82 win over Bowling Green in the championship game of the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.
1966 – WSU trailed visiting Hardin-Simmons, 62-49 with 17 minutes to play, but rallied to tie it with 8:18 left and won 90-87.
1974 -- WSU upset No. 16 Memphis, 95-91, in front of 11,200 fans at the Old Mid-South Coliseum. Robert Elmore finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds and the trio of  Cal Bruton, Robert Gray and Neil Strom supplied 18-each.
1994 -- L.D. Swanson beat the buzzer for the second-straight night, this one in overtime against Centenary, to give WSU the Cessna Classic crown.
 
 
SCOUTING NEWMAN:
  • Newman is in its second season as a member of the MIAA, arguably the toughest hoops conference in NCAA Division II.
  • Newman lost the top-four scorers from last year's 9-19 (3-16) team yet appear much improved. The Jets are 2-4 in MIAA play. Two of their losses were one-possession games and a third went to overtime.
  • Picked last out of 14 teams in the MIAA preseason poll, the Jets already own wins over Nebraska-Kearney (picked 10th) and Central Oklahoma (sixth). In the season opener, Newman played preseason runner-up Missouri Southern (a team that ranked No. 21 nationally at the time) to within three points.
  • Newman's turnaround has been helped by a pair of junior college additions. Branden Bunn (from Allen Community College) and Joel Boyce (South Puget Sound CC) average 14.3 and 12.8 points respectively. Eight other Jets average between 4.7 and 6.6 points.
  • The Jets average just under 10 threes-per-game (57 in six contests) and entered the week ranked 17th nationally (out of 102 D-II teams) in three-point accuracy (.396).
  • Ten different Jets have made at least one triple. Bunn averages 3.0 triples-per-game and is shooting 42.9 percent (18-of-42).
  • Newman connected on 13-of-23 from deep in their last game against Central Oklahoma (Dec. 19), including 9-of-13 in the first half to build up a 46-19 halftime lead. Newman's bench supplied 47 points and combined to hit 7-of-8 three-point tries.
  • Before moving to the MIAA, Newman enjoyed a successful run in the Heartland Conference. The Jets made their first Division II NCAA tournament appearance in 2013 and were on the bubble again in 2018-19 after winning 20 games in the regular season.
  • Head coach R.J. Allen is in his fourth season at Newman after six years as an assistant under Mark Potter.
  • Newman dives back into MIAA play on Saturday at Emporia State.
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • Senior walk-ons Brycen Bush and Jacob Herrs are the only Shocker holdovers from the last WSU-Newman game (a charity exhibition prior to the 2017-18 season). Both played three minutes. Bush scored WSU's 115th-and-final point of the night on a free throw.
  • Newman has three holdovers. Redshirt senior Jacob Birnbaum started and scored four points and a team-high five rebounds in nine minutes of action. Senior Tyjil Hereford contributed four points in 13 minutes off the bench, and redshirt junior DeAndre Johnson clocked eight minutes.
  • Newman coach R.J. Allen is the son of former Shocker assistant Ron Allen. The elder Allen worked three seasons under Mike Cohen (1989-92) before transitioning to a successful high school coaching career. In two decades at Wichita West (1992-94) and Wichita East (1994-2012), he won more than 300 games and a pair of 6A state titles.
  • R.J. Allen played for one of those title teams (2002). Former Shocker Samajae Haynes-Jones was part of the other (2015).
  • WSU strength coach Kerry Rosenboom pitched for the Newman baseball team back in the day.
  • Likewise, Newman's athletic department has a number of Shocker ties, starting at the top. Athletic director Joanna Pryor earned her undergraduate degree at Wichita State. Head golf coach Taryn Torgerson won the American Athletic Conference individual title as a WSU senior in 2018. Cross country coach Josh Schepis was an all-conference runner and bowling coach Billy Murphy a three-time All-American for the Shockers.
 
 
THE SERIES:
  • WSU and Newman have met five times since 2009 when Newman completed its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Games in 2011 and 2014 counted toward WSU's regular season record and statistics, while all five were considered exhibitions for Newman.
  • WSU is a combined 5-0 in those games, topping 100 points in each of the last three meetings.
 
Nov. 6, 2017 (CKA) | #7 WSU 113, NU 55 (Exh.)
Preseason top-10 WSU teamed up with Newman to raise money for the American Red Cross in a special charty exhibition game… The Shockers took Newman's best shot for 13 minutes, then returned the favor over the next 13. After the Jets buried four straight three-point attempts to pull within 32-26 at the 6:37-mark of the first half, the Shockers spanned halftime with a 44-7 run to take control… WSU hit its last 10 shots heading into the break and hounded the visitors into 10-straight misses to begin the second half… A 29-point halftime lead grew to 50 by the 9:45-mark and to as many as 58 in the waning minutes… The Shockers shot 56.3% from the field and finished +11 in turnovers and +19 on the boards… Rauno Nurger led a group of five double-digit scorers with 16 points… Landry Shamet made his triumphant return after a preseason stress fracture and clocked 12 minutes (3/3 FG, 2/2 3pt, 8 pts, 2 A).
 
Nov. 23, 2014 (CKA) | #11 WSU 105, NU 57
The Shockers hit 10 threes in a 67-point first-half (tied for the most by a WSU team in the shot clock era) and rolled to a 48-point victory… A couple of Bakers led the scoring. Junior guard Ron Baker finished with a game-high 18 points in 24 minutes, while Reggie Baker paced Newman with 14… WSU's 57 bench points broke a 36-year old school record, though it has since been surpassed on three other occasions… WSU led by 34 at halftime (67-33) and by as many as 51 near the 5:00-mark of the second half.
 
Dec. 19, 2011 (CKA) | WSU 102, NU 53
The Shockers shot a sensational 62.9% and held Newman to 28.1% from the field... The five WSU starters combined to sink over 70% of their tries: Ben Smith (6/7), Garrett Stutz (6/7), Joe Ragland (5/7), Carl Hall (5/8) and Toure' Murry (2/5)… Smith and Stutz led the way with 16 points apiece, and Ragland tallied six assists… Eric Saunders (14 points) led the Jets... WSU outscored NU 52-16 in the paint… Nine Shockers combined for 15 steals.
 
Nov. 10, 2010 (CKA) | WSU 80, NU 62 (Exh.)
Four Shockers reached double figures, paced by Garrett Stutz (4/4 FG, 14 pts, 7 reb), and Ehimen Orukpe snagged 11 rebounds in an exhibition tune-up for the eventual NIT Champions… Bobby Wesley (11 points) and former Shocker Mason Felter (team-high six rebounds) fueled Newman.
 
Nov. 7, 2009 (CKA) | WSU 81, NU 69 (Exh.)
WSU never trailed but struggled to put away the visiting Jets in the first-ever meeting between the programs. Sophomores Toure' Murry (team-high 16 points) and Garrett Stutz (12 points, seven rebounds) led the charge… Newman's Chip Steven finished with 15 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting… Up 11 at halftime, WSU hit eight of its first 12 shots to start the second half for a 58-41 lead.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... make them 5-2 with four-straight wins.
... be their longest win streak since a nine-gamer in December/January of last season.
... make them 6-0 against Newman (3-0 exhibitions).
... make them 35-0 in regular season games against non-Division I opponents since 1973.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... drop them to 4-3 (2-1 AAC).
... snap a three-game winning streak.
... be their first to Newman and their first since the NCAA restructed to three divisions (34-1).
... be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers head back out on the road Jan. 2 at Ole Miss and Jan. 6 at Houston.
  • The game at Ole Miss is part of the AAC-SEC schedule alliance. The Shockers defeated the Rebels in Wichita (Jan. 4, 2020) by a score of 74-54. Saturday marks their first trip to Oxford since Dec. 13, 1997.
  • WSU will look to a snap a five-game losing streak against Houston. The Cougars are No. 5 in the latest AP rankings.
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