rv/rv [1] WICHITA STATE (15-4, 11-2) vs. [8] SOUTH FLORIDA (9-10, 4-8)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
FRIDAY, MAR. 12, 2021 | 11:00 A.M. CT
FORT WORTH, TEXAS | DICKIES ARENA | 25% CAPACITY
TV: ESPN2 | RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM | TOURNEY HUB: theamerican.org/MBB
SERIES: WSU leads 5-1 (2-1 in Tampa, 3-0 in Wichita)
LAST: Mar. 6, 2021 in Wichita (WSU, 80-63)
 

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TICKETS:
Single-session tickets are available for purchase. Visit theamerican.org/MBB for details.
 
#WATCHUS:
Friday's matchup airs nationally on ESPN2 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 Dan Dakich have the call.

LISTEN:
Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull describe the action on KEYN 103.7 FM. Kennedy is in his 41st year as Voice of the Shockers.
 
THE VENUE:    
Dickies Arena is a new $540 million facility located in Fort Worth, Texas. The building normally seats 13,300 for basketball but will be at around 25 percent capacity for this year's American Athletic Conference Championship.The building opened in November, 2019 and features North America's second-largest 360-degree screen -- 105 feet across (longer than the width of the court) and 26 feet tall. On Dec. 6, 2019, USC used a last-second tip-in to defeat TCU, 80-78, in in the arena's first basketball game.
 

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OPENING TIPS:
Picked seventh in the preseason, Wichita State is regular season champion for the first time since joining the American Athletic Conference.
The top-seeded Shockers will meet South Florida in Friday's quarterfinal round (11 a.m. CT, ESPN2).
The WSU-USF winner advances to Saturday's semifinals against either No. 4 seed SMU or No. 5 Cincinnati (2 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
In a span of just three months, Isaac Brown went from "coach for a year" to "coach of the year" in The American. Brown was named interim coach on Nov. 17. WSU removed his interim tag on Feb. 26.
Sophomore guard Tyson Etienne -- the AAC's co-Player of the Year -- is averaging 17.1 points and 3.1 threes-per-game on 40% accuracy.
Point guard Alterique Gilbert transferred to WSU in search of a fresh start after four injury-plagued seasons at UConn. The former McDonald's All-American has been a catalyst for the Shockers, earning third team all-conference honors. He's set to make his AAC tournament debut on Friday after missing the 2017-19 tournaments due to injury and 2020 to COVID-19.
Ricky Council IV (AAC All-Freshman Team) has been a major scoring weapon off the bench, averaging 18.4 points-per-40-minutes.
Junior guard Dexter Dennis (Mar. 8 AAC Player of the Week) is one of the nation's elite defenders and has been an offensive surge of late with five-straight double-figure scoring games.
Junior forward Morris Udeze shot a league-best .662 from the field during conference play.
WSU ranks among the top-25 in field goal percentage defense (25th, .401) and three-point defense (13th, .287) and free throw attempts (18th, 22.8)
WSU is 8-1 in games decided by five points or less.
WSU has won seven-straight and 14-of-16, last losing more than seven weeks ago (Jan. 21 at Memphis).
WSU appeared in seven-straight NCAA tournaments from 2012-18 and reached the 2019 NIT semifinals. The Shockers were a consensus NCAA at-large pick in 2020 before the season's cancelation.
WSU swept USF in the regular season and leads the all-time series, 5-1. The Shockers defeated the Bulls Mar. 6 in Wichita (80-63) after their originally-scheduled game in Philadelphia was canceled.
WSU had 10 AAC postponements due to COVID-19 protocol -- all of them initiated by opposing teams.
Three teams separate WSU from the Coaches Poll top-25. The Shockers are the equivalent of No. 32 in the AP.
WSU has reached the semifinals in each of its last 10 conference tournaments (2010-17 MVC, 2018-19 AAC).
 

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AMERICAN TOURNAMENT ODDS & ENDS:

• This is the sixth year for the American Tournament. The winner earns the conference's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.
• WSU's addition boosted the field to 12 teams in 2018 and 2019. UConn's departure moves it back to 11. The top-five seeds earn first-round byes and the other six schools take part in Thursday's opening round.
• SMU (2015 & 2017) and Cincinnati (2018 & 2019) own multiple titles.
• Cincinnati and UConn have the most finals appearances with three-each. The Huskies played in each of the first three titles games (2014-16), while the Bearcats have made each of the last three (2017-19).
• The quartet of Wichita State, Cincinnati, Houston and Memphis have played on each of the last two semifinal Saturdays. It could happen again in 2021 if all four teams win quarterfinal games. Cincinnati has defeated Houston in each of the last two championship games.
• Play-in teams are a respectable 6-12 in quarterfinals games. No. 1 seeds are 6-0, No. 2 seeds are 5-1 (the lone loss coming in 2016 when No. 10 Tulane upset No. 7 UCF and No. 2 Houston before bowing to Memphis). No. 3 seeds have had the worst time, losing to the No. 6 seed in five of the six tournaments. Wichita State furthered that trend in 2019 with an upset of Temple in the quarterfinals.
• No. 6 seeds are 6-0 in their tournament openers and 10-6 overall. 2018 Houston is the only No 3 seed that has won a game in the tournament. UConn (2015) and Memphis (2016) reached the title game as six seeds.
• No. 1 seeds own three titles and one runner-up finish.

American Tournaments, by Year:
2014 -- Memphis, Tenn. (FedExForum) -- Louisville def. UConn, 71-61
2015 -- Hartford (XL Center) -- SMU def. UConn, 62-54
2016 -- Orlando (Amway Center -- UConn def. Memphis, 72-58
2017 -- Hartford (XL Center) -- SMU def. Cincinnati, 71-56
2018 -- Orlando (Amway Center) -- Cincinnati def. Houston, 56-55
2019 -- Memphis (FedExForum) -- Cincinnati def. Houston, 69-57
2020 -- Fort Worth (Dickies Arena) -- No tournament (COVID-19)
2021 -- Fort Worth (Dickies Arena)

 

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HEAVY IS THE HEAD:

• The Shockers are on top of the bracket for the first time since the 2016 MVC tournament.
• WSU teams haven't performed especially well as the favorite. Four of the six Shocker teams to earn an MVC No. 1 seed failed to reach the finals. Only the undefeated 2014 squad came away with a title.

 

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FORT WORTH NOTING:

• Wichita State is 363 miles (or a little over five hours by car) from Dickies Arena. Other area schools: SMU (40 miles), Houston (268), Tulsa (310) and Memphis (496).
• WSU has had a handful of Fort Worth natives on its roster of the years, including one of its all-time great, Nate Bowman. The 6-10 center out of Kirkpatrick High School teamed with Dallas-native Dave Stallworth to lead the Shockers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 1964. Six years later, they joined forces again on the Knicks' 1970 NBA championship squad.
• The Shockers are 0-2 all-time in Fort Worth. Both games were against TCU (Dec. 27, 1949 and Dec. 8, 2008).

 

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WICHITA STATE IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS:

• This is WSU's third go-around in the AAC tournament. They're 3-2 with consecutive semifinal appearances.
• The Shockers own a pair of quarterfinal wins over Temple. In 2018, as the No. 2 seed, they outscored the Owls 89-81 behind Landry Shamet's 24 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting. In 2019, seeded sixth, they dispatched ECU in the first round then took care of third-seeded Temple, 80-74, helped by Markis McDuffie's career-high 34 points and 12 rebounds and Dexter Dennis' 19 points and 12 rebounds.
• WSU has dropped close games on each of the last two semifinal Saturdays. In 2018 it was a 77-74 loss to Houston in a battle of nationally-ranked teams. Rob Gray scored 33 points to lead UH. In 2019 the Shockers pushed No. 25 Cincinnati to the wire in a 66-63 loss.
• WSU has won each of its last 11 conference tournament openers and made 10-straight semifinal appearances.
• From 1977 to 2017, WSU competed in 38 Missouri Valley Conference tournaments, going 35-34 with seven finals appearances and four titles (1985, 1987, 2014, 2017). Notably, the first two came at the expense of Tulsa on the Hurricanes' home floor.
• The Shockers cut down the nets in their final Arch Madness appearance (2017), winning by margins of 26, 15 and 20 points. Conner Frankamp knocked down 11 threes in three games on his way to MVP honors. He scored 19 in the championship game.
• This is head coach Isaac Brown's first conference tournament. He was on the bench for WSU's 2017 Arch Madness title and cut down nets with South Alabama at the 2006 Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

 

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THESE DAYS IN SHOCKER HISTORY:
It's been 56 years since WSU last played on March 12.
Mar. 12, 1965 – In an NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal battle, WSU subdued SMU, 86-81.
Mar. 13, 1956 -- Three months after the Roundhouse's dedication it hosted its first NCAA tournament games. SMU escaped Texas Tech, 68-67, and Oklahoma City downed Memphis, 97-81, in West Sub-Regional action.
Mar. 13, 1964 -- WSU's first NCAA tournament game (and win) came at the Roundhouse against Creighton. 
Mar. 13, 1965 – In one of the great wins in Shocker history, WSU punched its first Final Four ticket with a 54-46 win over Oklahoma State in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, played at Kansas State's Ahearn Fieldhouse.
Mar. 13, 1981 -- WSU defeated Southern at Levitt Arena in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Mar. 13, 1987 – The name "Marco Baldi" still stings for many longtime Shocker fans. His bucket for St. John's with two seconds remaining eliminated WSU from the NCAA tournament, 57-55, in a first-round matchup in Chicago.
Mar. 14, 1910 – In the first Shocker game played beyond state lines, Fairmount College (as if was known at the time) smacked Oklahoma Christian, 34-18, in Edmond.
 

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BELIEVING IN I.B.:
With a quarterfinal win, Isaac Brown would tie with Thompson for the best 20-game start by a first-year Shocker head coach (16-4). Thompson, a longtime Ralph Miller assistant, made an immediate splash. WSU spent a week at No. 1 in the national rankings, won the MVC and went on to play in its first Final Four. Fogler (a former UNC assistant under Dean Smith) took a veteran team to a 14-6 start.

Best 20-Game Starts by First-Year Shocker Head Coaches (Modern Era):
16-4 -- Gary Thompson (1964-65) --MVC COY, reg. champ, Final 4
15-4* -- Isaac Brown (2020-21) --AAC COY, reg. champ
14-6 -- Eddie Fogler (1986-87) --MVC COY, MVC Tourney Champ
13-7 -- Harry Miller (1971-72)

 

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TRENDING:

• WSU is once again receiving top-25 votes when it matters most. Shocker teams have earned March AP points in nine of the last 10 seasons.
• Dexter Dennis needs just nine more three-point field goals to move into the top-10 on WSU's all-time list. He has 135 currently (14th).
• On Mar. 3 at Tulane, Dennis (20 pts, 13 reb) and Morris Udeze (12 pts, 10 reb) became the first Shockers to record double-doubles in the same game since  the 2019 AAC quarterfinals (Mar. 15, 2019) when Dennis (19 points and 12 rebounds) teamed up with senior Markis McDuffie (34 points and 12 boards) in a quarterfinal upset of No. 3 seed Temple.
• Dennis came on strong late in the season with double-doubles in two of his last four games.
• Dennis has scored in double-figures six times during the Shocker's seven-game winning streak and is averaging 13.0 points while shooting 40.5% from three (15-of-37).
• The Shockers have made at least 40% of their threes in five straight games after doing so just twice in in their first 14 contests.
• Tyson Etienne has made at least one free throw in every game this season and in 21-straight going back to last year. That's tied for the eighth-longest Shocker streak in the last 25 years.

WSU Players // Consecutive Games with a Free Throw Make // Last 25 Years:
58 -- Jamar Howard (2001-02 to 2003-04)
30 -- Maurice Evans (1997-98 to 1998-99)
29 -- Randy Burns (2002-03 to 2003-04)
27 -- Cleanthony Early (2013-14)
25 -- Jason Perez (1997-98)
23 -- Carl Hall (2012-13)
23 -- Jamar Howard (2004-05)
21 -- Tyson Etienne (2019-20 to Present)
21 -- Markis McDuffie (2017-18 to 2018-19)
21 -- P.J. Couisnard (2007-08
21 -- Darrin Williams (1999-00

 

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HIT THE TARGET; WIN THE PRIZE:

• Shocker teams traditionally rebound and defend well, while taking good care of the basketball, allowing them to win games even when the ball doesn't go in the net. And when those shots do go in -- it's usually game over for the opposition.
• Over the last two seasons, WSU is 30-2 when hitting at least 40% from the field and 28-1 when making at least a third of its three-point tries.
• The Shockers have won 30-straight games when out-shooting their opponent.
• Over the last two seasons, the Shockers are 35-1 when scoring at least 65 points (compared to 2-11 when scoring less than 65). The exceptions are an 80-79 home loss to Cincinnati last February, a 54-41 road victory at USF in late January, 2020 and this year's 61-60 win at UCF.

 

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POWERED BY TYSON:

• Tyson Etienne was left off The American's All-Freshman team last spring. 12 months later he's the conference's co-player of the year.
• is just the fifth Shocker individual to win a conference player of the year award. A star-studded list features Antoine Carr (1983), Xavier McDaniel (1984 and 1985), Paul Miller (2006) and Fred VanVleet (2014 and 2016).
• WSU is 8-1 when Etienne scores at least 20 points. The lone loss came Jan. 6 at Houston.
• Etienne topped 20 in seven of WSU's 13 conference games.
• The regular season finale was Etienne's 50th career game. His 120 threes are, by far, the most by any Shocker at that stage. Landry Shamet (103) owns the next-best 50-game start.

Most 3-Point Field Goals // First 50 Games as a Shocker:
120 -- Tyson Etienne (Fr.-So.), 2019   
103 -- Landry Shamet (Fr.-RFr.), 2015
99 -- Chad Elstun (Fr.-So.), 1992         
98 -- Maurice Evans (Fr.-So.), 1997    
96 -- Randy Burns (Fr.-So.), 2001       
94 -- Clevin Hannah (Jr.-Sr.), 2007      
91 -- Ron Baker (Fr.-So.), 2012           

 

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RICKY THE FORCE:

• Ricky Council has been an impact player for the Shockers off the bench with his rebounding and ability to get to the rim.
• In league play, Council has been the Shockers' most explosive scorer on a per-minute-basis. He was one of just three AAC qualifiers to average more than 20.0 points-per-40 in conference regular season games.

AAC Games Only // Points-Per-40-Minutes:
1. Quentin Grimes (Houston) -- 21.0 (31.1 mpg)
2. Keith Williams (Cincinnati) -- 20.9 (28.4 mpg)
3. Ricky Council IV (Wichita St.) -- 20.3 (16.7 mpg)
4. Jayden Gardner (East Carolina) -- 19.7 (36.6 mpg)
5. Damian Dunn (Temple) – 19.2 (27.5 mpg)

 

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IN WITH THE OLD:

• The addition of UConn transfer Alterique Gilbert provided WSU with some much-needed experience at the point guard spot.
• Gilbert entered the tournament as the conference's active leader in career assists (307).

American Athletic Conference // Active Career Assists Leaders^:
307 -- Alterique Gilbert (UConn/WSU)
304 -- David Collins (USF)
304 -- Dejon Jarreau (Houston)
299 -- Alex Lomax (Memphis)
290 -- Elijah Joiner (Tulsa)
287 -- Kendric Davis (SMU)
^=Thru 3/10/2021; Stats accumulated while playing for an AAC school

  

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THE SERIES WITH USF:

• Wichita State has won five of the six meetings -- all since joining The American. The Shockers 
• The Shockers swept the season series, winning 82-77 in overtime on Dec. 22 in Tampa and by much more comfortable margin, 80-63, on Mar. 6 in Wichita.

 

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SCOUTING USF:

• USF is in its fourth year under Brian Gregory and won the 2019 CBI championship.
• The Bulls are led by a highly-decorated senior, DavidCollins (12.1 ppg, 3.7 apg). Last weekend he became the seventh 1,500-point scorer in USF history. Collins is also fourth on USF's all-time steals list and is the AAC's all-time leader in free throws makes and attempts.
• Alexis Yetna was conference freshman of the year in 2019 but has battled injuries the past two seasons. He's averaging 9.5 points and 7.3 rebounds.
• Complementing Yetna are a pair of 7-foot center in Michael Durr and Texas Tech transfer Russel Tchewa.
• Freshman guard Caleb Murphy is the team's third-leading scorer (8.8 ppg).
• 6-6 senior wing Justin Brown (8.3 ppg) has appeared in 121 career games.

 

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MATCHUP MASHUP:

• WSU (32nd, 12.47) and USF (15th, 12.95) have been two of the nation's best offensive rebounding teams.
• David Collins and Justin Brown are the only players from either side who have logged time in all six series games between WSU and USF.
• Grad transfer Alterique Gilbert is averaging 8.8 points and 4.2 assists in six meetings against the Bulls (four at UConn, two with WSU).
• Both sides have a Frenchman. WSU redshirt freshman Josaphat Bilau is from La Roche-sur-Yon and USF's Alexis Yetna hails from Paris.
• WSU sophomore Tyson Etienne and USF Sophomore Russell Tchewa spent the 2018-19 school year together at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.

 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... improve their record to 16-4.
... move them into the tournament's semifinal round (2 p.m. CT Saturday on ESPN2 vs. the winner of No. 4 SMU and No. 5 Cincinnati).
... be their eighth-straight and 15th in 17 tries.
... make them 4-2 in AAC tournament games.
... put them in the semifinals of their conference tournament for the 11th-straight time.
... make them 3-0 in AAC quarterfinal games (all against Temple).
... make No. 1 seeds 7-0 all-time in AAC quarterfinal contests.
… give them a 6-1 series lead over USF with five-straight wins.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... eliminate them from the tournament.
... be their first "one-and-done" at a conference tournament since 2008 and end a string of 10-straight semifinal trips.
... snap a seven-game winning streak and be their first loss since Jan. 21 at Memphis.
... be the first quarterfinal loss by a No. 1 seed in seven AAC tournaments.
… be their first loss to USF since January, 2019 and snap a four-game winning streak.
… slash WSU's all-time series lead to 5-2.
… be WSU's first Quad-3 or Quad-4 loss since November, 2018 (LA Tech).