Skip To Main Content

Wichita State Athletics

Events

Full Schedule
Dexter Dennis

Shockers Set for Exhibition Opener

10/31/2021 3:33:00 PM

MISSOURI SOUTHERN at WICHITA STATE
Preseason Exhibition Game
Monday, Nov. 1, 2021 | 6:02 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
 
TV: None
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
Tickets: 978-FANS (3267) or GoShockers.com/Tickets
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
 
 
Wichita State welcomes NCAA Division II Missouri Southern State for an exhibition tune-up Monday evening at Charles Koch Arena. Game time is 6 p.m. CT.
 
WATCHUS LIVE:
Tickets are available for Monday night as well as next Tuesday's season opener against Jacksonville State by calling the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS or by logging on to goshockers.com/Tickets.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Go behind the scenes with the Shockers all season long. Follow @GoShockersMBB on facebook, twitter and Instagram. For feature stories and podcasts bookmark The Roundhouse page at GoShockers.com and follow @RoundhouseNews.
 
ON THE AIR:
Monday's game will not be televised, however fand can 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 41st season together on radio. Kennedy is in his 42nd season as Voice of the Shockers.
 
THE ISAAC BROWN RADIO SHOW:                                                 
Beginning Nov. 8, join Kennedy and head coach Isaac Brown LIVE from 6-7 p.m. every Monday throughout the season at A.J. 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 at 9 p.m. Monday night and throughout the week on Yurview Kansas (available to Cox subscribers statewide on channel 22 and HD 2022).
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • The Shockers open up their 115th season Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Jacksonville State (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
  • This is the first men's basketball meeting of any kind between the Shockers and Lions. The WSU women will also play host to MSSU in an exhibition this Thursday.
  • This is the Shockers' first exhibition game since the 2019 preseason. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the start of the 2020-21 campaign by more than three weeks and canceled college basketball's entire slate of exhibition contests.
  • Monday night's attendance will be the largest for a Shocker game since the 2019-20 finale when a sellout crowd (10,506) watched WSU bury rival Tulsa, 79-57. WSU started the 2020-21 season behind the closed doors and gradually ramped up arena capacity to 25% in February (2,625).
  • WSU has won 26-straight exhibitions dating back to 2001. The last loss came 30 years ago to the day (Nov. 1, 2001 vs. Athletes First).
  • WSU (16-6, 11-2 AAC last season) has played in eight of the last nine NCAA tournaments.  The defending American Athletic Conference champions welcome back three starters: AAC co-player of the year Tyson Etienne and fourth-year veterans Morris Udeze and Dexter Dennis. They're joined by four other returning lettermen, including AAC All-Freshman pick Ricky Council IV. A group of six newcomers includes Division II All-American Qua Grant as well as Joe Pleasant, an All-Southland Conference forward who helped Abilene Christian to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances.
  • Isaac Brown is back for a second year after acing a four-month test as the program's interim leader. His  2020-21 winning percentage (16-6, .706) was the highest by a first-year head coach in WSU's modern era.
  • Exhibition rules allow eligible players to participate without burning a potential redshirt year, though Brown may not have that luxury with only 13 players.
  • In lieu of its second exhibition, WSU played an Oct. 16 scrimmage with Texas Tech in Wichita Falls, Texas.
 
 
THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT:
  • Wichita State returns four of the top-five scorers, including American Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year, Tyson Etienne, from a team that came out of nowhere to win the league's regular season title and earn at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
  • Etienne (6-2, So., G), Dexter Dennis (6-5, Jr., G) and Morris Udeze (6-8, Jr., F) started every game.
  • Also back from last year's rotation are Ricky Council IV (6-6, Fr., G), Craig Porter Jr. (6-2, Jr., G) and Clarence "Monzy" Jackson (6-7, So., F).
  • Council was an AAC All-Freshman pick last spring. He, Porter and Jackson are poised for larger roles with the departure two other starters: third team All-AAC selection Alterique Gilbert (10.2 ppg, team-high 4.1 apg) and forward Trey Wade (6.7 ppg, team-high 5.7 rpg).
  • Brown also added a pair of experienced transfers at those positions in Division II All-American Qua Grant (6-1, Jr., G, West Texas A&M) and All-Southland forward Joe Pleasant (6-7, Jr., F, Abilene Christian).
  • His first recruiting class also includes a trio of high-upside freshmen in Kenny Pohto (6-11, Fr., F, Sunrise Christian Academy), Jalen Ricks (6-7, Fr., G, Oakl Hill Academy) and Isaac Abidde (6-9, Fr., F, Westover HS).
 
SCOUTING MSSU:
  • MSSU is picked fourth in the MIAA preseason poll after tying for third last year.
  • The Lions averaged 83.4 points on 49% shooting. Both marks ranked among the top-20 nationally.
  • The team's top returner is 6-foot-4 senior guard Stan Scott, who averaged 14.1 points and 5.3 rebounds last season on his way to third team All-MIAA honors.
  • Eighth-year head coach Jeff Boschee led the Lions to three straight NCAA tournament bids from 2018-20. Boschee was an All-Big 12 performer at Kansas (1999-03) and helped the Jayhawks to the 2002 Final Four.
  • The MSSU roster includes six former Division I players. A trio of newcomers – Alex Jones (Lipscomb), Ndongo Ndaw (Indiana St.) and Odell Wilson (North Dakota State) – join up with holdovers Scott (Oakland), Avery Taggart (Southern Ill.) and RJ Smith (Sam Houston).
  • Notably, Jones faced WSU as a Lipscomb freshman inthe 2019 NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
  • MSSU's conference – the MIAA – is traditionally among the strongest in D-II. Four of the last seven national champions have come from its ranks (Central Missouri in 2014 and Northwest Missouri in 2017, '19 & '21).
 
OTHER EXHIBITION NOTABLES:
  • WSU is 23-0 in preseason exhibitions since CKA's 2003 renovation (average margin: 26.7 points).
  • The closest call in that stretch in 2016 against Augusta (Ga.) University. All-American Keshun Sherrill hit six threes and scored 28 of his 33 points after halftime to help the Jaguars whittle a 20-point Shocker lead down to a single point near the 4:00-mark. WSU recovered for a 73-67 victory and went on to post a 31-5 record.
  • The most-lopsided win came the following year against Newman (113-55, +58). A Shocker squad ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll hit 35 free throws, scored 52 points in the paint and finished +19 on the glass. The WSU bench accounted for 70 of the 113 points.
  • Since 2003, when the NCAA reorganized into three divisions, WSU is 35-0 in regular season games against non-D-I programs (including 2-0 last year) and 22-0 in preseason exhibitions.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... be their 27th straight exhibition win.
... make them 24-0 in exhibitions since the Roundhouses' 2003 renovation.
... in no way impact their season record.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... end a 26-game exhibition winning streak.
... be their first exhibition setback in exactly 30 years (Nov. 1, 2001, Athletes First, 93-88).
... be less good than a win but also have zero impact on their season record.
 
UP NEXT:
The Shockers open up their 115th season Tuesday, Nov. 9 against Jacksonville State (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+).
 
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