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Joe Pleasant

Shockers Battle Cincinnati Sunday on ESPN

1/14/2022 7:30:00 PM

CINCINNATI (12-5, 2-2 AAC) at WICHITA STATE (9-6, 0-3 AAC)
Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022 | 12:02 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
 
Tickets: 978-FANS (3267) or GoShockers.com/Tickets
TV: ESPN w/ Kevin Brown & Jon Crispin
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
Series: UC leads 25-13 (10-9 in Wichita); Last: Mar. 13, 2021 in AAC Semifinals (UC, 60-59)
 
 
TICKETS:
Purchase online at goshockers.com/tickets or through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS. Seats are available for all remaining games.
 
TELECAST:
The game will air on ESPN with Kevin Brown (PxP) and Jon Crispin (Analyst) on the call.
ESPN subscribers can stream live and on demand via the ESPN App.
 
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. Pregame coverage begins one hour before tipoff.
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • Wichita State looks to snap a rare three-game losing streak this Sunday when it plays host to the Cincinnati Bearcats inside Charles Koch Arena.
  • The Shockers have dropped three-straight for the first time since February, 2020 and are 0-3 in league play for the first time since January, 2019.
  • WSU dropped a 68-67 heartbreaker to Tulane on Wednesday, when Ricky Council IV's buzzer-beating layup was negated by a charging foul.
  • Tyson Etienne scored 20 points, Craig Porter Jr. set new career-highs with 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals, and Council (12 points, 15 rebounds) broke the Shockers' season-long double-double drought.
  • WSU suited up just eight players with starters Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze absent due to illness.
  • A 14-point halftime lead matched WSU's second-largest in a loss (1970-pr.).
  • Cincinnati is 2-2 in its first season under Wes Miller, following Wednesday's 79-71 home victory over East Carolina. Junior wing Jeremiah Davenport is leading scorer (13.6) and rebounder (5.3) for a Bearcat team that ranks among the top-20 nationally in A:TO ratio (1.46) and field goal percentage defense (.378).
  • UC leads the all-time series 25-13 (10-9 in Wichita).
  • The teams split last year with WSU winning in Wichita. The Bearcats upset the top-seeded Shockers in the AAC semifinals in Fort Worth.
  • The Bearcats have taken seven of the nine AAC era meetings, but five of those wins have come down to the final possession.
  • Etienne (team-high 15.0 ppg) matched his career-high with six three-pointers against Tulane and leap-frogged Landry Shamet and Markis McDuffie into a tie for sixth on WSU's all-time triples list with Conner Frankamp (164).
  • Council is WSU's new rebounding leader (5.7) after grabbing a career-high 15 against Tulane.
  • Porter leads the team in the rare combo of assists (3.1) and blocks (1.07).
  • KenPom rates the Shocker defense 37th nationally in efficiency. WSU leads the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.734) and is holding foes to a league-low 28.7% from three.
  • The bad news: WSU is 1-4 in Q-I and Q-II games. The good news: it still has nine more opportunities to make amends. Sunday tips off a stretch of five-straight Quadrant II contests to close out the month of January.
 

LAST GAME:
Jan. 12 in Wichita | Tulane 68, WSU 67
  • Ricky Council IV's would-be game winner wasn't to be. His buzzer-beating layup was negated by a charging foul, and Tulane held on for a one-point victory – its first over the Shockers in seven tries.
  • Jaylen Forbes scored 20 points and Jalen Cook added 18 points and five assists for Tulane, which trailed by 14 at halftime (tied for the second-largest halftime lead in a WSU loss since 1970) and by 16 near the 16:00-mark.
  • Tyson Etienne had 20 points to pace short-handed WSU, which played without starters Morris Udeze and Dexter Dennis due to illnesses.
  • Craig Porter Jr. established new career-highs with 18 points and nine rebounds and four steals and Council logged his first double-double as a Shocker with 12 points and a career-high 15 boards.
  • The Shockers scored the game's first 11 points and led 42-28 at halftime after hitting 8-of-18 first-half threes.
  • Tulane's offense came to life with points on 17 of its first 24 second-half possessions. The Green Waved surged in front at the 7:20 mark after a 14-3 run.
  • The lead changed hands four more times, capped by Kevin Cross' bucket with 1:55 left (the final points for either side).
  • Tulane twice stopped WSU in the last 17 seconds, first tying up Etienne on his way to the hoop. The possession arrow favored WSU with three seconds left, but Nobal Days slipped in front of a driving Council to draw the game-saving charge.
 

TRENDING:
  • WSU has lost three-straight for the first time since February, 2020 (at Tulsa, Cincinnati, at Houston) and will try to avoid its first four-game skid since the 2018-19 season when it dropped games to VCU (away), Memphis (away), Temple (home), and Houston (away).
  • WSU has lost back-to-back home games for just the second time in the last decade and is looking to avoid its first three-game home skid since the 2007-08 season when it dropped five-straight under first-year head coach Gregg Marshall.
  • WSU is 0-3 in league play for the first time since 2018-19. That team knocked off UCF the next game, dropped three more to reach 1-6, and then ripped off wins in nine of its next 11 for a 10-8 finish.
  • The Shockers' last 0-4 conference start came in 2008-09 when they opened MVC play at 0-6. That group rallied to an 8-10 finish.
  • Shocker opponents are shooting a league-low 28.7% from three-point range. UNLV's nine threes on 47.4% accuracy are both season-highs for a WSU foe. No other team has connected on more than 40% from deep against the Shockers this year.
  • Wednesday marked the first time WSU has lost a game when averaging at least a point-per-possession (which is roughly the national average). They're now 6-1 when they do; 3-5 when they don't.
  • In its six losses, WSU has shot a combined 35.4% from the field, including 27.2% from deep.
  • Defensively, WSU has held 10 of its 15 foes under a point-per-possession, going 8-2. They're 1-4 when surrendering more.
  • Ricky Council IV clocked a career-high 33 minutes on Wednesday. His 15 rebounds were the most by a Shocker since Dec. 14, 2019 when Trey Wade snagged 15 in a win over Oklahoma at INTRUST Bank Arena.
  • Council's 10 first-half rebounds also marked the first time since that date that a Shocker has grabbed double-digits in a half. Wade went into halftime with 10.
  • WSU leads the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.734) after ranking last in 2020-21 (.674).
  • The Shockers have had a different leading rebounder in each of the last five games. Seven different players have taken a turn this year.
  • The trio of Morris Udeze (5.5), Dexter Dennis (5.1) and Council (5.7) all average at least 5.0 rebounds-per-game, yet WSU entered the Tulane game as one of just 15 schools without a double-double. Council's 12-point, 15-rebound statline put an end to that distinction. It was the Shockers' first since Mar. 3, 2021 at Tulane when Dennis and Udeze both them.
  • Defense carried the Shockers in non-conference play. They limited opponents to 61.8 points on 39.4% shooting (28.8% from three). WSU's 12 foes combined for 55 more turnovers than assists (0.71 ratio).
  • By contrast, in three AAC games, WSU has surrendered an average of 75.3 points on 48.1% shooting. Opponents have a 1.28 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • WSU's makeshift lineup against Tulane was its sixth unique starting-five in 15 games this year. Brown used just three in 2020-21 and his primary group made over 97% of available starts – remarkable in any year, but especially in the age of COVID-19.
  • Udeze (health & safety protocol) saw streaks of 38-straight games and 36-straight starts come to an end on Wednesday.
  • Dennis had played in 54-consecutive games and started 49-straight before sitting out the Tulane game with a non-COVID illness. His next game will be his 100th in a Shocker uniform
  • Dennis is beginning to shake out of an early season slump with three-straight double-figure scoring games. He's averaging 13.3 points on 5-of-14 three-point shooting in that span (up from 24.4% in the first 11 games). That's much more in line with his career average (36% in his first three seasons).
  • Dennis needs just five more rebounds to reach 500 for his career. While less-celebrated, there are fewer members of WSU's 500-rebound fraternity (42) than of its 1,000-point club (47).
  • Tyson Etienne ranks among the AAC leaders in points (9th, 15.0), threes (4th, 2.64), and minutes (5th, 34.0).
  • Etienne has led the scoring in nine of his 14 games, including each of the last four.
  • Etienne has topped 20 points twice in his last four games. He's done it four times this season and has 16 for his Shocker career.
  • Monzy Jackson now has WSU's longest active games streak (37). He's the only Shocker to appear in every contest the last two seasons. Etienne has the longest start streak at 12.
  • The Shockers are out-scoring opponents by an average of 15.0 points with Jackson on the floor (tops on the team).
  • Jackson is also the Shockers' leading rebounder on a per-minute basis (9.5-per-40-minutes).
  • Over his last six games, Craig Porter Jr. has a sparkling 3.57 assist-to-turnover ratio (25:7).
  • Point guards aren't typically rim protectors, but Porter is averaging a team-best 1.07 blocks-per-game on a Shocker squad that ranks 41st nationally in that category (4.9).
  • As of Friday, 258 Division I players are averaging at least a block-per-game. The 6-foot-2 Porter is the shortest of them all.
  • Per KenPom, Porter ranks seventh on the AAC leaderboard with a 5.09 block percentage (percentage of opponent shots that are blocked by a player while he is on the floor).
 
 
ON THIS DATE IN SHOCKER HISTORY (JAN. 16):
1896 – The first college game between two teams with five players on each side saw the University of Chicago defeat Iowa, 15-12. Neither team used a substitute. Within the next year, five-man teams became the universal norm.
1965 – All-American Dave Stallworth logged a triple-double (19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists) to lead the third-ranked Shockers past Saint Louis, 75-64.
2002 -- WSU snapped a 13-game MVC road losing streak with a 64-63 victory at Indiana State behind double-doubles from Troy Mack (13 pts, 10 reb) and Jamar Howard (12 pts, 10 reb).
2019 -- After an 0-3 start to AAC play, the Shockers bounced back to upset a UCF team that was on the cusp of a national ranking, 75-67. Markis McDuffie scored 23 points for WSU, which went on to finish 10-8.
 

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS:
  • Cincinnati is in its first year under head coach Wes Miller, who is coming off a successful run at UNCG that included five-straight 20-win seasons.
  • UC earned a signature non-conference victory on Nov. 22 when it took down current No. 25 Illinois on a neutral floor (71-51). The Bearcats are out to a 2-2 start to league play that includes home victories over East Carolina and SMU. Losses came at home to Tulane and on the road at Memphis.
  • The Bearcats are winning games with a mixture of defense and ball-security:
  • As a team, they average just 10.2 turnovers and have a 1.46 ratio. Both marks rank among the nation's top-20.
  • Defensively, UC is limiting opponents to 62.7 points on 37.8% shooting (13th nationally).
  • Foes are shooting just 40.7% from inside the arc (4th nationally).
  • The three returning starters from last year's squad (which finished 12-11, 8-6 AAC and upset top-seed WSU to reach the conference tournament final) form this season's nucleus:
  • 6-7 junior wing Jeremiah Davenport is the leading scorer (13.6 ppg) and rebounder (5.3 rpg) and ranks among the conference leaders in three-point shooting (42 on 35.9% accuracy).
  • 6-0 senior guard David DeJulius (12.6 ppg) is in his second season with the program after transferring from Michigan.
  • Junior guard Mika Adams-Woods (8.2 ppg) leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.17). He has 62 assists (3.6 apg) with just 12 turnovers in 17 contests.
  • A pair of transfers round out the starting-five:
  • 6-5 John Newman III (Clemson) averages 7.4 ppg and leads the team with 20 steals.
  • Per KenPom, 6-11 super senior Abdul Abo (Mississippi State) ranks among the national percentage leaders in offensive rebounds (56th, 13.4) and blocks (33rd, 10.2).
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP: 
  • First-year UC assistant Chad Dollar was a member of the Wichita State coaching staff in 2010-11 and helped the Shockers win the NIT Championship with a 29-8 record.
  • When Dollar left Arkansas State in the spring of 2010 to join Gregg Marshall's WSU staff, head coach John Brady replaced him with a guy named Isaac Brown.
  • Prior to catching on with Brady, Dollar was a member of Billy Kennedy's first staff at Murray State (2006-07).
  • Wes Miller is the eighth different Cincinnati head coach that the Shockers have faced and the third in the AAC era.
  • new Cincinnati support staff includes Topeka native and former Kansas Jayhawk walk-on C.B. McGrath as a special assistant.
  • UC's John Newman III was a member of the Clemson team that WSU defeated in the second round of the 2019 NIT. Newman played 27 minutes off the bench and collected four points and a pair of steals.
  • WSU is 0-5 when its opponent finishes with as many or more assists than turnovers (0-3 in AAC games). UC has done that in 11-straight games and in 15 of its 17 overall.
  • WSU is 6-1 this year and 15-1 overall under Brown out-shooting its opponent from the field. UC is 9-1 so far under Miller when the shots fall in its favor.
  • No two AAC teams love the three-ball more than Wichita State and Cincinnati. The Shockers launch a league-high 25.2 attempts-per-game from beyond the arc and the Bearcats rank second at (24.7). WSU's Tyson Etienne leads the conference in attempts (8.4) followed by UC's Jeremiah Davenport (7.3).
 

THE SERIES WITH CINCINNATI:
  • This is series game No. 39. Cincinnati leads 25-13.
  • The teams split last year, with WSU winning in Wichita to end a six-game series losing streak. The return trip to Cincinnati was called off due to a COVID-19 shutdown at UC, but the teams squared off in the semifinal round of the conference tournament. The Bearcats upset the top-seeded Shockers, 60-59.
  • WSU is 2-7 against UC in the AAC era. Six of those games have been decided in the final seconds. Five of the six have gone the Bearcats' way.
  • UC won both meetings in 2019-20 by a combined four points and swept all three 2017-18 matchups, capped by a 66-63 thriller in the semifinals of the 2019 AAC tournament.
  • Both sides went wire-to-wire in the 2017-18 national rankings and split a pair of high-stakes matchups. The Shockers ended No. 5 Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak, but the Bearcats returned the favor in the regular season finale, defeating the 11th-ranked Shockers in Wichita to claim the AAC title outright.
  • UC is 10-9 in Wichita (3-1 AAC era).
  • From 2018-20, the Bearcats won three-straight at Charles Koch Arena. Two of those wins came down to the final possession.
  • The streak was one of the three-longest by a visiting team since CKA's 2003 renovation, joining Southern Illinois (3) and Northern Iowa (4).
  • The Shockers ended the skid on Jan. 10, 2021 with an 82-76 win.
 
 
LAST MEETING WITH CINCINNATI:
Mar. 13, 2021 in Fort Worth | UC 60, WSU 59
  • Life on the edge finally caught up with the Shockers in an AAC semifinal loss to Cincinnati.
  • WSU (10-1 in two-possession games coming in) had a  shot to win at the buzzer, but Alterique Gilbert's long three rimmed out.He finished with a game-high 14 points with five assists.
  • Tyson Etienne added 13 points on 3-of-6 three-point shooting and Morris Udeze tacked on 11 points and seven rebounds.
  • Mason Madsen paced Cincinnati with 10 points.
  • Neither side led by more than seven. WSU matched its largest lead (6) with 8:34 to play, but UC answered with an 11-2 run.
  • The Bearcats missed the front end of two 1-and-1 opportunities in the final 10 seconds but came away with an offensive rebound on the first. WSU secured the second with eight seconds to go but was slow getting the ball up the floor. Gilbert triggered a long, pull-up three from 30 feet that touched the front and back of the rim before spinning out.
  • Both teams shot 40%. WSU made 9-of-22 threes but set new season-lows with six free throws on 12 tries.
  • UC won the rebounding battle 40-31 and limited WSU to five second-chance points on five offensive boards.
  • WSU registered eight steals and forced 16 UC turnovers but committed 14 of its own.
  • The Shockers are 4-0 in AAC first-round and quarterfinal round matchups but fell to 0-3 in the semifinal games. Two of the three losses have come to UC.
 
 
LAST TIME HOME GAME vs. CINCINNATI:
Jan. 10, 2021 in Wichita | WSU 82, UC 76
  • Ricky Council IV scored a career-high 23 points (most by a WSU freshman in 12 years) and the Shockers snapped a six-game losing streak against Cincinnati.
  • Morris Udeze scored 18 points to go with 16 from Tyson Etienne.
  • The trio of Council, Udeze and Etienne combined for 29 of WSU's 33 points over the final nine minutes as the hosts expanded a three-point lead to as many as 16.
  • WSU made 10-of-14 shots over that final stretch.
  • Zach Harvey scored 19 points to lead Cincinnati, which had won each of its first three previous AAC era visits to the Roundhouse.
  • Instead of settling for jumpers as they had in past matchups against the Bearcats, the Shockers spent most of the second half in attack mode. Council and fellow guards Etienne and Craig Porter Jr. took turns driving the lane for baskets and/or Bearcat fouls.
  •  WSU attempted just 12 three-pointers – fewest by a Shocker team since Jan. 17, 2015 when they made 4-of-11 tries in a 20-point win at Evansville.
  • The Shockers went to the line 34 times to Cincinnati's 23 and outscored the visitors 23-16. They also converted 15 Bearcat turnovers into 28 points.
  • Reserves accounte for half (41) of WSU's 82 points, led by Council's 23 and six-points appiece from Porter and Monzy Jackson.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 10-6 and snap a three-game slide.
... Be their first conference win (1-3 AAC).
... Make them 14-25 all-time vs. UC with wins in two of the last three meetings.
... Make them 11-9 against the Bearcats in Wichita.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 9-7 (0-4 AAC).
... Be their first four-game losing streak since the 2018-19 season.
... Be their first 0-4 conference start since 2008-09 when they opened MVC play 0-6.
... Give them three-straight home losses for the first time since a five-game skid during the '07-08 season.
... Make them 1-4 at home against UC since joining the AAC.
... Extend UC's series lead to 26-13 (10-10 in Wichita).
... Be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers hit the road for back-to-back games: Wednesday at Temple (6 p.m. CT, ESPN+) and Sunday at SMU (4 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
  • WSU is winless in two trips to Temple's Liarcouras Center (0-2) but last played there in January, 2020.
  • The Shockers won the lone meeting last season in Wichita.
  • WSU is 4-0 at SMU's Moody Coliseum since joining The American.
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