WICHITA STATE (20-6, 8-5) at rv/rv CINCINNATI (17-9, 10-4)
SUNDAY, FEB. 23, 2020 | 12:01 P.M. CST (1:01 p.m. EST)
CINCINNATI, OHIO | FIFTH THIRD ARENA (12,012)
TV: ESPN (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: CIN leads 23-12 (12-4 in Cincinnati)
LAST: Feb. 6, 2020 in Wichita (CIN, 80-79)
>>> The Wichita State Shockers (20-6, 8-5) head to Cincinnati for a Sunday matinee at Fifth Third Arena against the Bearcats (17-9, 10-4 and receiving votes in both major polls). Tipoff is set for Noon CT.
>>> Sunday's matchup airs nationally on ESPN with streaming available through the ESPN App, accessible on computer, smart phones, tablets and devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Kevin Brown and Bryce Drew have the call.
>>> Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull describe the action on 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 1,254th consecutive game (not including exhibitions).
>>> Catch the
Gregg Marshall Show on Monday nights throughout the season. Join Marshall and host Mike Kennedy LIVE from 6-7 p.m. at A.J.'s Sports Grill at The Alley, or listen on KFH (97.5 FM / 1240 AM). The show is rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on YurView Kansas (Cox 2022). Upcoming Show Dates: February 24 • March 9
>>> From now until Mar. 1, fans can bid on game-worn jerseys and shorts from the Feb. 20 Pink Game and other unique items. Auction proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. Place your bid now at ebay.com/e/charity/coaches-vs-cancer.
OPENING TIPS:
- WSU clinched its 11th straight 20-win season on Thursday, downing USF 65-55. Jaime Echenique matched his career-high with 20 points to go with nine boards, four blocks and two steals.
- WSU is one of just eight programs that have won 20+ games in every season since 2010, joined by Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, St. Mary's and Vermont.
- The Shockers upset the fifth-ranked Bearcats two years ago at the BB&T Center in the first American Era meeting but Cincinnati has won each of the last five. Three of those games have come down to the final possession.
- Cincinnati won Feb. 6 in Wichita, by a score of 80-79. Grant Sherfield's three-pointer gave the Shockers a two-point lead with 16 seconds to play, but Jarron Cumberland converted a three-point play with 3.5 seconds remaining to lift the Bearcats. Cumberland finished with 24 points. Echenique paced WSU with 19 points, 11 boards and three blocks.
- WSU has held 10 opponents under 60 points this season, including each of its last three. UC's 80-point effort in Wichita was the most that the Shockers have allowed this season in regulation.
- Sunday's game qualifies as a Quadrant I contest for the Shockers (road games against NET top-75 foes). WSU is a combined 8-6 in Q-I and Q-II games this season. Upcoming road trips to SMU and Memphis also fall into that category.
- Wichita State ranks among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense (21st, .389) and offensive rebounds-per-game (27th, 12.35). KenPom rates the Shocker defense 10th nationally in efficiency.
- WSU has led at halftime in six of its seven true road games this year (Houston being the exception). The Shockers are 4-3 in enemy territory (3-3 in AAC games).
- Four American Athletic Conference players are averaging north of 20 points-per-40-minutes. WSU's Echenique (20.6 ppg) is joined by Houston's Caleb Mills (23.4), ECU's Jayden Gardner (23.1) and Memphis' Precious Achiuwa (20.7).
SECOND HALF SURGES:
- Gregg Marshall teams are known for getting better and better as the season progresses. In parts of three years in The American, WSU is a combined 17-5 in the second half of its 18-game league schedule (compared to 15-12 in the first half of the conference season).
- In 2017-18, WSU opened 7-3 then ripped off seven-straight victories before falling to UC in the season finale. The 2018-19 Shockers started 1-6 but rallied to win nine of their last 11 games. The 2019-20 Shockers have won three-straight on the heels of a 5-5 start.
WINNING UGLY:
- The Shockers shot 35.2% vs. USF. It marked the sixth time this season that WSU has managed to win a game while hitting 40%-or-less from the field. That total is tied for second nationally behind Virginia (7).
- Over the last two seasons, the Shockers have won a nation-best 15 times while shooting 40%-or-worse from the field. Conference foes Houston (10), Cincinnati (9) and Temple (9) also rank inside the top-10.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:
- Cincinnati is in its first season under head coach John Brannen following the departure of Mick Cronin for UCLA. Brannen spent the past four years at Northern Kentucky where he led the Norse to two NCAA tournaments and an NIT over his last three seasons.
- The Bearcats (28-7, 14-4 last year) were runner-up to Houston during the 2019 regular season but downed the Cougars in the AAC title game. They've played in each of the last nine NCAA tournaments.
- Three starters are back for UC including reigning AAC player of the year Jarron Cumberland. The Bearcats were picked third in the conference preseason poll behind Houston and Memphis.
- Cincinnati (17-9, 10-4) enters the weekend in second place -- one game back of Houston (11-3).
- UC is 11-2 at home this year and 27-4 in the two seasons since Fifth Third Arena's renovation. Thursday's loss to UCF was only the second against AAC opponent (the other came in last year's regular season finale against Houston).
- UC is big and experienced. Seven of its top-eight scorers are juniors or seniors. All but one rotation player is listed at 6-foot-3 or taller. Cumberland – a 6-foot-5 senior -- tops the team in points (15.2) and assists (4.9).
- 7-foot-1 center Chris Vogt (12.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg) followed Brannen over from Northern Kentucky and has started all 26 games. He ranks second nationally in field goal percentage (130-of-194, .670) and has 32 blocks.
- 6-5 junior wing Keith Williams averages 12.7 points and 4.9 boards.
- 6-8 senior Trevon Scott is the league's leading rebounder (10.4). He also paces the team in steals (43) and minutes (33.5).
- Oakland graduate transfer Jaevin Cumberland (Jarron's cousin) brings scoring off the bench (9.2 ppg). He's hit a team-best 60 threes on 36.4% accuracy.
MATCHUP MASHUP:
- Cincinnati has gone to overtime in each of its last four games, tying the NCAA Division I mark shared by Jacksonville (1982), Illinois State (1985) and Dayton (1988). Notably, the Shockers kicked off ISU's record streak with an 86-80 loss in Normal on Jan. 12, 1985.
- Cincinnati's seven OT games is one shy of the NCAA season record (8), shared by Western Kentucky (1978), Portland (1984) and Valparaiso (1993).
- Bradley played an NCAA record 13 OT periods in 1982-83, helped by a 7OT game against Cincinnati.
- The Shockers have a pair of three-game overtime streaks. In 1987-88, under Eddie Fogler, they lost three-straight to Purdue, George Mason and Hartford. In February, 2008 (Gregg Marshall's first season at WSU), the Shockers played (and lost) three-straight OT games to UNI, Southern Illinois and Indiana State.
- UC is in search of its 10th straight 20-win season. WSU clinched its 11th-straight earlier this week.
- Marshall coached John Brannen during the latter's senior year at Marshall University. Marshall joined Greg White's staff as an assistant prior to the 1996-97 season. Brannen was the SoCon's leading scorer that year. The Thundering Herd finished 20-9, won a division title and narrowly missed out the NCAA tournament, losing in overtime to Chattanooga on a last-second tip-in.
- Last year, UC became the first to sweep three games from Marshall. He's been a head coach since 1998.
- In the last four meetings between the teams, the Bearcats have attempted twice as many free throws as the Shockers (102-51) and outscored them 71-42.
- Per KenPom, WSU's offensive performance against Cincinnati in the Feb. 6 meeting was the second-best by an opposing offense against the Bearcats this year. Likewise, Cincinnati's offensive performance was the second-best by a Shocker opponent in 2019-20.
- On a per-40-minute basis, Cincinnati's Trevon Scott (12.5) and Mamoudou Diarra (12.1) and WSU's Jaime Echenique (11.8) are three of The American's four-best rebounders.
AAC Leaders // Rebounds-Per-40-Minutes (as of Feb. 21):
13.83 -- Precious Achiuwa (Memphis) -- 29.8 mpg
12.45 -- Trevon Scott (Cincinnati) – 33.5 mpg
12.05 -- Mamoudou Diarra (Cincinnati) – 9.1 mpg
11.79 -- Jaime Echenique (Wichita State) – 22.0 mpg
11.76 -- Nate Hinton (Houston) -- 30.4 mpg
AMERICAN ERA MATCHUPS WITH CINCINNATI:
2/18/2018 | Highland Heights, Ky. | #19 WSU 76, #5 CIN 72
The Shockers ended Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak and scored their first top-5 road win in 54 years behind Landry Shamet's 19 points and five assists. WSU scored 76 points on 52.3% shooting against a UC team that came in ranked second nationally in both scoring and field goal percentage defense.
3/4/2018 | Wichita | #10 CIN 62, #11 WSU 61
The Bearcats spoiled senior day and denied the Shockers a share of the AAC regular season title. UC, which entered the day with a one-game lead, claimed the crown outright. WSU trailed by a point with 17 seconds to play but missed three shots. Shamet's driving layup was blocked out of bounds, Conner Frankamp missed a three and Darral Willis' putback was snuffed out.
1/19/2019 | Wichita | CIN 66, WSU 55
In front of another national network audience on CBS -- UC broke open a close game in the final minutes. Jarron Cumberland and Justin Jenifer sank back-to-back threes to give the Bearcats a 51-46 edge with 5:50 remaining. UC padded its lead over the next minute with six free throws, helped by a pair of technical fouls.
2/23/2019 | Cincinnati | CIN 72, WSU 62
Dexter Dennis (14 pts, 13 reb) became the first Shocker freshman in 11 years to post a double-double, but WSU couldn't overcome a 26% shooting performance and Cumberland's 27 points.
3/15/2019 | Memphis | #24 CIN 66, WSU 63
The Shockers showed just how far they'd come when the teams met for a third time in the AAC semifinals (Mar. 16). WSU battled from 13 down in the second half to tie it at 63, but Cane Broome's layup with 23 seconds left gave No. 24 UC the lead for good in a 66-63 win.
Markis McDuffie couldn't convert a potential game-tying layup in the final seconds.
2/6/2020 | Wichita | CIN 80, WSU 79
WSU lost its second-straight game on a last-second shot. Jarron Cumberland's three-point play with 3.5 seconds remaining lifted Cincinnati, 80-79…
Jaime Echenique finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Shockers.
Dexter Dennis added 16 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting to go with
Jamarius Burton's 13 points and four assists... The lead changed hands four times in the final minute… Dennis grabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled out to the corner and drilled a three-pointer to give the WSU a 76-75 advantage with 50 seconds remaining... Cumberland answered 10 seconds later with two free throws...
Grant Sherfield was nearly the hero for the Shockers, swishing a three-pointer from the left wing with 16 seconds to go to put the hosts ahead, 79-77... Out of a timeout, Cincinnati put the ball in the hands of the reigning AAC player of the year. Cumberland probed the right baseline and banked in a layup while drawing contact. His free throw put the Bearcats ahead to stay...
Erik Stevenson's last-gasp three missed the mark… Cincinnati shot 68.2% in the first half and 54.5% for the game – both season-highs for a Shocker opponent… The Bearcats led 41-35 at halftime and by as many as nine points early in the second half… WSU shot 48.5% – its best in nine conference games – but was outscored 14-5 at the foul line.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES:
- This is series game No. 36. Cincinnati leads 23-12. WSU took the inaugural meeting in Feb. 2018 but UC has won the last five.
- UC is 10-8 in Wichita and has won its last three visits.
- The Bearcats swept all three meetings in 2018-19, including a 66-63 win in the AAC semifinals in Memphis.
- The teams split two epic games during the 2017-18 season. On Feb. 18, 2018, then-No. 19 WSU ended No. 5 Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak (76-72). Two weeks later, in the regular season finale, the tenth-ranked Bearcats returned the favor with a 62-61 win at Charles Koch Arena that denied the 11th-ranked Shockers a share of the conference crown.
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENTS:
- WSU and Cincinnati played 26 times from 1958-70 while Cincinnati was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bearcats won six-straight conference titles from 1958-63 and played in five-consecutive Final Fours, winning national titles in 1961 and 1962. The Shockers supplanted Cincinnati with back-to-back MVC titles in 1964 and 1965. The latter group reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.
- 62 years ago, Bearcat legend Oscar Robertson set the Roundhouse's single-game scoring mark (50 points). The record – set Mar. 1, 1958 in Cincinnati's first-ever visit to Wichita – still stands. It came in the arena's third year of existence.
- WSU's first series win came in 1961 (52-51). Lanny Van Eman hit the game-winning jumper with three seconds to play to stop the defending national champion Bearcats' 27-game winning streak.
- The Shockers lost six-straight times to Cincinnati before finally breaking through in 1963-64 with a 59-58 overtime victory. The sixth-ranked Shockers thought they had won the game, 56-54, in regulation on a corner jumper by Dave Stallworth, but the timekeeper ruled otherwise and officials forced the Shockers to return to the court at UC Armory Fieldhouse. After the Shockers rallied to win (again), 59-58, some 2,000 fans were on hand to greet them at the Wichita airport with a trophy that included an inscription "One Game-Won Twice."
- In 1963, Stallworth produced what is regarded as the greatest game ever by a Shocker in a 65-64 win over No. 1 Cincinnati. He scored 46 points, including the game's final seven, to rally from a six-point deficit. That win ended a 37-game Bearcat streak.
- In 1969, the Shockers trailed 10th-ranked UC 54-42 with 11:30 to play but won 67-66 with reserve guard Greg Rataj scoring eight points in the final minutes.
- Prior to 2018, the teams had last played on Dec. 5, 1981 at Levitt Arena (now Koch Arena). The future NBA trio of Xavier McDaniel, Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds, and the Shockers pulled away for an 87-67 victory. Michael Williams (24 pts, 13 reb) and Dwight Jones (13 pts, 16 reb) starred for the Bearcats.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... improve their record to 21-6 (9-5 American).
... give them four-straight victories.
... make them 5-3 in true road games.
... snap a five-game losing streak vs. Cincinnati.
... make them 13-23 all-time vs. UC (5-12 in Cincy).
... make them 2-1 at Cincinnati in the AAC Era.
... be Marshall's 523rd, tying him for 89th on the D-I all-time wins list with Fred Enke and Larry Eustachy.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
... snap a three-game winning streak.
... drop them to 20-7 (8-6 American).
... be their sixth-straight vs. Cincinnati.
... give UC a 24-12 series lead (13-4 in Cincy).
... drop their true road record to 4-4.
... be less good than a win.
UP NEXT:
- The Shockers are back home Thursday night to face Temple. The 7 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on ESPN.
- On Jan. 15, the Owls upset then-No. 16 WSU in Philadelphia (65-53).
