TARLETON STATE (0-2, 0-0 WAC) at WICHITA STATE (2-0, 0-0 AAC)
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021 | 7:02 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
 
Tickets: 978-FANS (3267), GoShockers.com/Tickets
TV: ESPN+
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
Series: First Meeting
 

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Wichita State wraps up a three-game homestand and looks to add to a 2-0 start when its plays host to Tarleton State, Tuesday evening at Charles Koch Arena, in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
BUY TICKETS:
Tickets are available for all remaining games – online at goshockers.com/tickets or through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS.
 
TELECAST:
The game will air on ESPN+ with Shane Dennis (PxP) and Bob Hull (Analyst) on the call.  ESPN+ subscribers can stream live and on demand via the ESPN App.  Subscriptions for ESPN+ are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 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. 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.
 
DIGITAL PROGRAM:
Flip through the 2021-22 Men's Basketball Digital Yearbook and access notes and rostercards for each game for free by visiting goshockers.com/programs.
 
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.
 

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OPENING TIPS:

• The Shockers have survived a couple of close scrapes. In last Tuesday's 60-57 win over Jacksonville State, Tyson Etienne hit a three from the center court logo with 2.2 seconds remaining. On Saturday, Ricky Council IV scored a game-high 19 points and WSU finished on a 10-2 run to defeat South Alabama, 64-58.
• Tarleton State (0-2) plays its third-straight road game to start the year after losses at Stanford (62-50) and No. 3 Kansas (88-62).
• WSU looks to reach 3-0 for the seventh time in 10 seasons.
• The Shockers have won 11-straight at home, last losing Dec. 12, 2020 to Oklahoma State. A victory would tie for the 12th-longest streak in program history.
• Going back to November, 2011, WSU is 62-3 in non-conference games at CKA. Two of the losses came last year in front of reduced-capacity crowds (0 & 525).
• Through the first week, 80 Division I teams are shooting less than 40%. WSU (.379) is one of only five that are still unbeaten, along with Rutgers (.350, 2-0),  TCU (.354, 1-0), UNLV (.336, 2-0) & Xavier (.390, 2-0).
• WSU is shooting 80% at the foul line (24-of-30) after making just 68% last season.
• A win Tuesday would give Isaac Brown (18-6 in parts of a two seasons) the best 25-game start by a Shocker coach, topping Gary Thompson (18-7; 1964-65).
• Council is averaging a team-high 12.0 points on 53% shooting. He's 3-of-5 deep. Saturday against USA he made his second career start in place of an under-the-weather Etienne.
• Dexter Dennis has been a stat-sheet stuffer at 10.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals. His next three-point will tie him with Paul Guffrovich for 10^th on the school's all-time list (he currently has 143).
• Etienne is averaging 10.0 points and a team-high 3.0 assists in 35.0 minutes-per-game. He had a team-high 16 points in Tuesday's opener.
• Morris Udeze (5.0 ppg) is the team's leading rebounder at 8.5-per-contest. He grabbed a career-best 12 boards in the win over USA on Saturday.

 
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LAST TIME OUT:
Saturday, Nov. 13 in Wichita | WSU 64, South Alabama 58

• Ricky Council IV scored a game-high 19 to help WSU close out South Alabama.
• Down 56-54 with just under 5:00 left, WSU switched to a zone defense and finished on a 10-2 run, beginning with Council's go-ahead three at the 4:19-mark.
• WSU grabbed four offensive boards on one pivotal possession that took up nearly a minute. On the last, Dennis went up for a contested rebound that ricocheted off his out-stretched arm and into the basket for a 61-56 lead with 2:13 remaining.
• Starting in place of an under-the-weather Tyson Etienne, Council clocked a career-high 30 minutes. He made 7-of-11 shots, including 3-of-4 from deep, and matched another personal-best with eight rebounds.
• Qua Grant added 13 points off the bench and Morris Udeze grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds.
• The Shockers struggled from the field (.373), but made a respectable 8-of-26 from three (.308).
• Javon Franklin tallied a double-double for South Alabama, with 18 points and 12 boards. The Jaguars used just eight players – five of them transfers from major programs. They shot 44.4% from the field but made just 3-of-16 from deep.
• The Shockers won the rebounding battle, 39-34, and limited USA to just five offensive rebounds.
• WSU's early 13-6 lead was the largest of the day for either side. The Jaguars led by as many as six early in the second half.
• The win was special for coach Isaac Brown, who spent five seasons as an assistant at USA (2002-07).

SCOUTING THE TEXANS:

• TSU is in the second of a four-year transition from NCAA Division II to Division I. During that time, the Texans can compete for WAC regular season titles but will not be postseason eligible until the 2024-25 season.
• TSU is led by Billy Gillispie, a former head coach at UTEP, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Texas Tech. Gillispie has been coach of the year in three different Division I leagues (WAC (2005), Big 12 (2005, '07) and SEC (2008) and coached in four NCAA tournaments, highlighted by a Sweet 16 run with A&M in 2006.
• TSU went 10-10 last year including 5-7 in WAC play.
• The Texans don't qualify for NCAA statistical rankings but would have otherwise led the nation in steals last year (10.5) and ranked second in turnovers forced (19.5). Opponents averaged just over 62 points against the Texan defense.
• TSU was picked in a tie for ninth out of 13 teams in the WAC preseason poll.
• Gillispie returns a quartet of honorable mention All-WAC performers: Montre Gipson, Freddy Hicks, Tahj Small and Shakur Daniel.
• A 5-11 senior guard, Gipson (preseason first team All-WAC) is averaging team-highs 17.0 points and 3.5 assists through the first two games and has played 78 of a possible 80 minutes.
• Hicks, a 6-6 swingman, was the 2021 WAC Freshman of the Year
• Small, a 6-5 senior, is averaging 11.5 points and tops the team at 7.0 rebounds-per-game.
• TSU faces a difficult schedule with six games against 2021 NCAA tournament teams, including the Shockers. The Texans will take on three preseason top-10 teams this month: No. 3 Kansas, No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 6 Michigan.
• The Texans have handled themselves well, so far. In last Wednesday's opener, they led Stanford at halftime (26-24). Friday evening they were within 13 points of the Kansas at the 6:32 mark of the second half before the Jayhawks mounted one last run to put the game out of reach.

MATCHUP MASHUP:

• TU guard Montre Gipson is a close friend of WSU's Qua Grant. The two were teammates at Waxahachie High School. As seniors, the pair led the Indians to a 33-5 record and a district title.
• Grant and Joe Pleasant are both well-acquainted with Tarleton.
• Grant's West Texas A&M team regularly faced the Texans in the Lone Star Conference before TU's move to Division I. He went 4-0 against them with a pair of 26-point performances. He totaled 16 steals, including a career-high seven in a Feb. 21, 2019 victory in Stephenville.
• Pleasant's Abilene Christian squad hosted Tarleton on Dec. 5 of last year after the Texans' move to Division I. Pleasant tallied seven points four rebounds and a block in 18 minutes in 69-48 win.
• TU's Javontae Hopkins played a year with WSU's Morris Udeze at Fort Bend Travis High School  in the Houston area. Udeze was a senior during Hopkins' sophomore year. The pair helped lead Travis to a 25-9 record and a bi-district playoff win.

Qua Grant vs. Tarleton (at West Texas A&M):
Jan. 19, 2019 – 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals
Feb. 21, 2019 – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 steals
Mar. 9, 2019 – 26 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
Feb. 13, 2020 – 26 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals
AVERAGE: 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 steals

TWO CLOSE FOR COMFORT:

• Wichita State has picked up where it left off last season – playing and winning close games.
• In 2020-21, 13 of the Shockers' 22 contests were decided by two-possessions in either direction (six points-or-less). They won 10 of them.
• WSU is already 2-0 in that category this year after a three-point win over Jacksonville State and a six-point victory over South Alabama.
• Both games have been closely-contested for all 40 minutes. The Shockers' largest lead of the season has been seven (early in the first half against USA) and they haven't trailed by more than six at any point.
• From 2003-04 (the first season after the renovation) to 2020-21, WSU played a total of six games at Charles Koch Arena in which neither side led by more than seven points. It's now happened in each of the first two games of the 2021-22 season.
• Notably, two other instances came in back-to-back home games. The 2007-08 Shockers won close games against Missouri State and Indiana State in late January and early February, albeit with two road games sandwiched in between. 

Charles Koch Arena (2003-Pr.) // Largest Leads of 7-or-Less
Jan. 17, 2004 – Indiana St. – L, 63-64 – WSU (largest lead: 7), INS (largest lead: 7)
Jan. 29, 2008 – Missouri St. – W, 70-62 ot – WSU (7), MSU (3)
Feb. 9, 2008 – Indiana St. – W, 65-60 – WSU (7), INS (7)
Feb. 23, 2011 – Creighton – W, 67-65 -- WSU (5), CU (5)
Nov. 9, 2019 – Texas Southern – W, 69-63 – WSU (6), TSU (7)
Feb. 27, 2020 – Temple – W, 72-69 – WSU (7), TEM (7)
Nov. 9, 2021 – Jacksonville St. – W, 60-57 – WSU (5), JSU (6)
Nov. 13, 2021 – South Alabama – W, 64-58 – WSU (7), USA (6)

FOR STARTERS:

• Isaac Brown didn't do much tinkering with his starting five last year. The group of Tyson Etienne, Morris Udeze, Dexter Dennis, Alterique Gilbert and Trey Wade collectively made 107 of a possible 110 starts (97.3) – the largest percentage by a group in the 40+ years that WSU has tracked starting lineups.
• It took just one game for Brown to make a change this year. Ricky Council made his second career-start in place of an under-the-weather Etienne and Craig Porter Jr. replaced Qua Grant at point guard after a strong opening day effort against Jacksonville State.
• The move snapped a string of 24-straight starts for Etienne going back to his freshman year, though he still clocked a team-high 32 minutes. The third-year guard has yet to miss a game in his Shocker career.
• Grant also played big minutes off the bench, finishing with 13 points in 28 minutes.
• Dennis has the team's longest string of consecutive starts (37) going back to the 2019-20 season, and Udeze has started 24-straight going back to the 2020-21 opener.

TRENDING:

• Dexter Dennis matched his career-high with three steals against USA. He ranks third on the conference blocks chart through the first week of the season at 2.0-per-game, helped by a three-block effort in the season opener.
• WSU's defense has held both opponents under 60.
• The Shockers have been out-shot from the field (43.4-37.9%) and from three (30.6-25.0%) but have outscored their two opponents 24-12 at the foul line, where they've converted opportunities at an 80% clip (24-of-30).
• The Shockers have been whistled for an AAC-low 22 fouls in two games, and opponents have missed nearly half of their free throw tries (12-of-23, .533).
• WSU has out-rebounded each of its two foes by an average of 5.5 boards and won the turnover battle by an average of 4.0-per-game (11.5 to 15.5). The Shockers played turnover-free basketball in the last four minutes of both games while forcing three.
• Etienne has made at least one free throw in 26-straight going back to his freshman year (2019-20). That's the longest Shocker streak since Cleanthony Early's 27-gamer during the 2013-14 undefeated season.

ON THIS DATE: Nov. 16

• 2019 – WSU drilled 10 first-half threes and tied the single-game school record with 15 on 28 attempts in a 103-62 rout of UT Martin. Freshman Tyson Etienne led the charge, hitting 5-of-8.
• 2016 – Helped by three extended scoring runs, Wichita State powered to its most lopsided series win over Tulsa in 44 years, 80-53. Markis McDuffie led the way with 18 points.
• 2013 – WSU improved to 4-0 (on the way to a 35-0 on start) with an 85-71 victory over Tennessee State. Tekele Cotton had 18 points and Ron Baker added nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

BROWN THRIVES THROUGH 25:

• A victory Tuesday would give Isaac Brown the best 25-game start by a head coach to his Shocker tenure, ahead of Gary Thompson who opened the 1964-65 season at 18-7 (on the way to a Final Four appearance).

WSU Coaches in the Modern Era (1945-Pr.) // Best 25-Game Starts:
Isaac Brown (2020): 18-6 (.750)
Gary Thompson (1964): 18-7 (.720)
Eddie Fogler (1986): 15-10 (.600)
Harry Miller (1971): 15-10 (.600)
Gene Smithson (1978): 13-12 (.520)
Randy Smithson (1996): 13-12 (.520)
Ralph Miller (1951): 11-14 (.444)
Gregg Marshall (2007): 10-15 (.400)
Scott Thompson (1992): 10-15 (.400)
Ken Gunning (1948) – 10-15 (.400)
Mark Turgeon (2000): 8-17 (.320)
Mike Cohen (1989): 8-17 (.320) 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
...  Make them 3-0 for the seventh time in 10 seasons.
... Give them a 1-0 series lead against TSU.
... Make WSU 63-3 at CKA against non-conference foes since the start of the 2011-12 season.
... Give them 10-consecutive regular season wins going back to last January.
... Extend their home winning streak to 12 games -- tied for the 12th-longest streak in program history.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 2-1.
... Be their first home loss since Dec. 12 of last year (vs. Oklahoma State) and snap an 11-game home winning streak.
... Be just their fourth non-conference loss at CKA in the past decade (2011-12 to present; 62-4).
... Be their first regular season loss since Jan. 21.
... Give TSU a 1-0 lead in the all-time series.
... Be less good than a win.
 

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UP NEXT:

• The Shockers will spend the weekend in Las Vegas as part of the Roman Main Event, beginning Friday against Arizona (9 p.m. CT, ESPNU).
• WSU holds a 2-1 series lead. The Shockers bounced the Wildcats from the 2016 NCAA tournament with a 65-55, Round-of-64 victory in Providence, R.I.
• WSU will face either No. 6 Michigan or UNLV on Sunday. The championship game tips at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and the third-place game airs at 11 p.m. CT on ESPN2.