Skip To Main Content

Wichita State Athletics

Events

Full Schedule
Jaime Echenique Flexing

Shockers Host Temple 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN

2/26/2020 9:03:00 AM

TEMPLE (14-13, 6-8) at WICHITA STATE (20-7, 8-6)
THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2020 | 7 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN. | CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: ESPN (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: Temple leads 6-3 (3-1 in Wichita)
LAST: Jan. 15, 2020 in Philadelphia (TEM, 65-53)
 
One of the American Athletic Conference's most-entertaining rivalries continues Thursday night at Charles Koch Arena when the Wichita State Shockers (20-7, 8-6) take on the Temple Owls (14-13, 6-8).
 
Start time has been pushed back an hour to 7 p.m. CT to accommodate a national broadcast window on ESPN. Streaming is available through the ESPN App, accessible on computer, smart phones, tablets and devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. Adam Amin and Bryce Drew have the call.
 
Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl 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 1,255th 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). Next Show:  March 9
 
As part of the conference's Mental Health Awareness Week, coaches will wear green "Pow6rful Minds" pins in an effort to spread awareness about mental health issues and end the stigma surrounding them.
 

OPENING TIPS:
  • Gregg Marshall turns 57 on Thursday. Marshall teams are 18-3 all-time in whichever game falls closest to his birthday. Last year (on Feb. 28) it was a buzzer-beater against UConn for his 300th win as Shocker head coach.
  • The Shockers are coming off of a 67-64 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday. Jaime Echenique logged his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Jarron Cumberland (24 points) connected on 16 of his conference record 22 free throw attempts to pace the Bearcats.
  • Temple leads the all-time series 6-3 (3-1 in Wichita).
  • Temple won the first meeting on Jan. 15 in Philadelphia by a score of 65-53. Echenique set career-highs with 20 points and 13 rebounds for WSU, which came into the day at 15-1 and ranked No. 16 in the AP. The Shockers led 32-26 at halftime but missed all 10 three-point tries in a 22% second-half shooting performance.
  • The schools have split six American Era meetings -- all closely contested. The team trailing at halftime has come back to win five of them. Two of the most memorable happened in Wichita. In 2018, the Shockers erased a 14-point halftime deficit to win 93-86. In 2019 Temple trailed by 13 at the half and by 11 with 3:00 to go but stormed back to win in OT. WSU has eliminated Temple from each of the last two AAC tournaments.
  • 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.
  • WSU (20th, .389) and Temple (33rd, .397) rank among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense.  The Shockers have held 20 of their 27 opponents under 40% and 10 of them to less than 60 points. KenPom rates the WSU defense eighth nationally in efficiency.
  • WSU is a combined 8-7 in Quadrant I and II games this season. Upcoming trips to SMU and Memphis fall into that category. The Shockers are 12-0 in Q-III/IV games.
  • WSU is shooting 10 percentage points better from three in home games (36%) than on the road (26%).
 

PER-FECTION:
  • On a per-40-minute basis, Jaime Echenique has been one of the American Athletic Conference's most-productive scorers and rebounders. He's one of only six players averaging 20+ points-per-40 and he's one of just three averaging more than 12 rebounds.
AAC Leaders // Points-per-40-minutes (as of 2/25/2020):
23.38 -- Caleb Mills (Houston)
23.08 -- Jayden Gardner (ECU)
20.51 -- James Bouknight (UConn)
20.35 -- Precious Achiuwa (Memphis)
20.34 -- Martins Igbanu (Tulsa)
20.08 -- Jaime Echenique (Wichita St.)
 
AAC Leaders // Rebounds-per-40-minutes (as of 2/25/2020):
13.56 -- Precious Achiuwa (Memphis)
12.48 -- Trevon Scott (Cincinnati)
12.02 -- Jaime Echenique (Wichita St.)
11.76 -- Nate Hinton (Houston)
11.59 -- Josh Carlton (UConn)
 

POP'N FRESHMAN:
  • Tyson Etienne is shooting 80% at the foul line (56-of-70). Just four Shocker freshmen have made at least 80% over a full season (minimum one made free throw per game).
  • Etienne is 18-of-20 (.900) from the stripe since the start of February.

WSU Freshman Records // Free Throw Percentage (min. 1 FTM/game):
.824 – Randy Burns (2001-02) – 70/85
.822 – Ron Baker (2012-13) – 37/45
.802 – Landry Shamet (2016-17) – 69/86
.800 – Sean Ogirri (2004-05) – 44/55
.800 – Tyson Etienne (2019-20) – 56/70

  • Etienne is third on WSU's freshman three-point list and needs just 15 more to match Landry Shamet's rookie record (72 during the 2016-17 season). Etienne ranks among the league's top-five in three-point shooting, by both percentage (.410) and volume (2.10).

WSU Freshman Records // 3-Point Field Goals Made:
72 -- Landry Shamet (2016-17)
59 -- Chad Elstun (1992-93)
57 -- Tyson Etienne (2019-20)
57 -- Randy Burns (2001-02)
54 -- Dexter Dennis (2018-19)

 

ABOUT TEMPLE:
  • Temple won 23 games last year and earned an NCAA at-large bid to the First Four where it lost to Belmont. It was the final game under coach Fran Dunphy, who retired last spring after amassing nearly 600 career victories, including 270 in 13 seasons at Temple.
  • Former Temple standout Aaron McKie was promoted last spring after five years working under Dunphy. McKie played for four teams, including the hometown 76'ers, during a 13-year run in the NBA (1994-2007).
  • McKie has a pair of preseason all-conference guards to lean on in senior Quinton Rose (first team) and junior Nate Pierre-Louis.
  • The Owls (14-13, 8-6) have won three of their last four AAC games to move into a tie with UConn for seventh.
  • The Owls are 4-6 in true road games (2-5 in conference) with victories at UCF and Tulane. They're coming off a 67-63 setback at ECU on Sunday.
  • Rose is the league's second leading scorer (16.3) and also ranks among the top-10 in steals (3rd, 2.04), assists (9th, 3.5).
  • Pierre-Louis (11.5 ppg) ranks among the league leaders in steals (4th, 2.00) and rebounding (5th, 8.3).
  • The duo of Rose and Pierre-Louis have combined for 109 steals. Both rank among the top-40 nationally in steals-per-game. Not surprisingly, the Owls rank 38th nationally as a team at 8.0 steals-per-contest.
  • De'Vondre Perry is shooting a league-best 42.3% (22-of-52) from three-point range. Teammate Alani Moore II ranks third in threes-per-game (2.1) and sixth in accuracy 39.5% (58-of-147).
  • Defense has been the Owls' calling card. They ranks 45th in KenPom's defensive efficiency rankings, compared to 226th on offense. Temple is the league's second fastest-paced team behind Memphis, per KenPom's tempo measurement.
 

LAST TIME vs. TEMPLE:
Jan. 15, 2020 | Philadelphia | Temple 65, #16 WSU 53
  • Temple's smothering defense put a stop to WSU's nine-game winning streak and also ended a run of eight-straight true road victories.
  • Jaime Echenique recorded career-highs with 20 points and 13 rebounds to go with 16 points from Jamarius Burton.
  • Quinton Rose scored 19 points to lead Temple. Jake Forrester and Monty Scott added 11-each to go with Nate Pierre-Louis' eight points and 12 boards.
  • The Shockers led by six at halftime but managed just five points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
  • Temple opened the period with an 11-0 run and played from in front the rest of the night.
  • The Shockers shot 30.2% for the game, including 3-of-21 from distance. They missed all 10 three-point tries in the second half.
  • Temple shot 45.7% and outscored WSU 20-12 at the charity stripe.
  • WSU forced 20 Temple turnovers and limited the hosts to five offensive rebounds, outscoring the Owls 12-2 on second-chances.
 

THE SERIES WITH TEMPLE:
  • Temple leads the all-time series 6-3. The teams have split six meetings in the The American Era.
  • The Shockers have eliminated the Owls from each of the last two AAC tournaments -- both times in the quarterfinal round. WSU was one of the very last teams invited to the 2019 NIT. Its semifinal run may not have been possible without an 86-80 upset of the third-seeded Owls. Markis McDuffie's 34-point outburst carried the Shockers that day. In 2018, No. 2 seed WSU rode 24 points from first round NBA draft pick Landry Shamet for an 89-81 win over No. 7 seed Temple. Shamet was 6-of-8 from three in that game.
  • Closely contested games were the norm between Marshall and Dunphy. Three of the six meetings, including a chance encounter in the 2010 Puerto Rico Tipoff,  went to overtime. The other three were single-digit margins.
  • In the 2011 Puerto Rico tipoff, the Shockers battled back from down eight at the 7:00-mark to force overtime, but Temple won 78-74 in extra time behind 23 points from Ramone Moore. Toure' Murry scored a game-high 24 for the Shockers, who went on to win 25 of their next 27 games en route to the first NCAA Tournament bid of the Marshall Era.
  • On Dec. 22 1983, Temple ended WSU's 22-game home winning streak with a 78-73 victory. Junior All-American Xavier McDaniel played all 40 minutes and tallied 24 points and 18 rebounds. That streak stood for more than three decades as the school record.
  • A year later (Jan. 27, 1985), the Owls squeezed out a 62-60 win in the championship game of the Pizza Hut Shoot Out. The Shockers held a 51-42 advantage with 8:56 remaining, but Tim Perry's three-foot jumper at the buzzer capped a furious Temple comeback.
 

 MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • Heading into the week, 42 teams were holding opponents to 40% or worse from the field. Six of them reside in The American. WSU (19th, .389) and Temple (33rd, .397) are joined by Memphis (1st, .366), Houston (9th, .381), Tulsa (32nd, .397) and Cincinnati (40th, .400).
  • Throw in non-conference games against West Virginia (11th), South Carolina (20th), Oklahoma State (44th) and Thursday night will mark the 11th time that the Shockers will have faced a top-50 field goal percentage defense this season. Two more regular season games remain against Memphis and Tulsa.
  • Temple junior Justyn Hamilton and WSU freshman Jamarius Burton were teammates at Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C. (or at least that was the plan). Shortly after transferring to Independence, Burton tore his ACL and missed the entire 2016-17 season. He returned for his senior year and led Independence (minus Hamilton, who had already graduated) to North Carolina's 2018 Class 4A state title.
  • Temple is one of just two American teams that the Shockers haven't beaten on the road since joining. Houston (0-3) is the other.
 

 NO LEAD IS SAFE:
  • Beware. No lead is safe when WSU and Temple battle. Halftime leaders have lost five of six AAC Era meetings.
  • Ranked Shocker teams have fallen twice in Philly.
  • Ahead by eight points at halftime, the Shockers lost their first Liacouras Center visit on Feb. 1, 2018 (81-79 in OT). WSU led by seven with 5:02 to go  but managed just two more points in regulation. Shizz Alston Jr. forced overtime on layup with seven seconds remaining and delivered two go-ahead free throws with 18 seconds to play in overtime. Markis McDuffie missed a potential game-winning three before the final buzzer.
  • Down 14 at halftime two weeks later in Wichita (Feb. 15, 2018), the Shockers rallied for a 93-86 win, overcoming Temple's arena record 16 three-pointers. It was one of the largest comebacks in school history.
  • Last year in Wichita (Jan. 6, 2019), the Shockers led by 13 at halftime and by 11 with just over 3:00 to play. Temple scored the last 11 points of regulation to force overtime and went on to win, 85-81. It was one of the largest opposing team comebacks in Shocker history.
  • Earlier this season in Philadelphia the Shockers led by six at halftime but scored just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Temple roared back to win by 12.

No Lead is Safe // WSU-Temple in the American Era:
Feb. 1, 2018 (Philadelphia) – Halftime: WSU, 48-40 // Final: TEM, 81-79 ot
Feb. 15, 2018 (Wichita) – Halftime: TEM, 56-42 // Final: WSU, 93-86
Mar. 9, 2018 (Orlando) – Halftime: WSU, 42-36 // Final: WSU, 89-81
Jan. 6, 2019 (Wichita) – Halftime: WSU, 45-32 // Final: TEM, 85-81 ot
Mar. 15, 2019 (Memphis) – Halftime: TEM, 37-35 // Final: WSU, 80-74
Jan. 15, 2020 (Philadelphia) – Halftime: WSU, 32-26 // Final: TEM, 65-53

 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... improve their record to 21-7 (9-6 American).
... make them 16-2 at home (15-2 at CKA).
... make them 4-6 all-time vs. Temple (4-3 AAC Era).
... salvage a regular season split with Temple.
... finish out a 4-4 February.
... 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…
... give them back-to-back defeats.
... drop them to 20-8 (8-7 American).
... give Temple a regular season sweep.
... make them 3-7 all-time vs. Temple (3-4 AAC Era).
... drop their home record to 15-3 (14-3 at CKA).
... be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers play their next two games on the road beginning Sunday at SMU (3 p.m. CT on ESPNU) and continuing next Thursday at Memphis (8 p.m. CT on ESPN or ESPN2).
  • This will be the only regular season matchup between WSU and SMU.
  • The Shockers defeated Memphis on Jan. 9 in Wichita by a score of 76-67. Both squads were nationally-ranked at the time.
WSU, SMU and Memphis all enter the week with 8-6 conference records (tied for fourth in the standings). The top-4 seeds earn first round byes in next month's AAC tournament.
Print Friendly Version
Wichita State Shockers
NCAA, opens in a new tab
American Athletic Conference, opens in a new tab
Nike, opens in a new tab