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Dexter Dennis

Shockers Face No. 12 Houston Saturday on CBS

1/6/2022 4:50:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (9-4, 0-1 AAC) at 12/14 HOUSTON (13-2, 2-0 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022 | 11:06 a.m. CT
Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center (7,035)
 
Tickets: 978-FANS (3267) or GoShockers.com/Tickets
TV: CBS w/ Rich Waltz & Clark Kellogg (Streaming at CBSSports.com)
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
Series: WSU leads 18-15 (3-11 at Houston); Last: Feb. 18, 2021 in Wichita (68-63)
 
 
TELECAST:
The game will air live to a national network audience on CBS (KWCH-TV in Wichita) with Rich Waltz (pbp) & Clark Kellogg (analyst). Fans can stream the game for free (no sign-in or authentication required) at cbssports.com or via the CBS Sports Mobile App.
 
SHOCKER RADIO: 
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen with Mike Kennedy (pbp) and Bob Hull (analyst). Kennedy is in his 42nd season as Voice of the Shockers. Pregame coverage begins one hour before tipoff.
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • The American Athletic Conference's defending regular season and tournament champions, Wichita State and Houston, go head-to-head Saturday morning on CBS.
  • The teams split last year's series with each side defending its home court. Last January at the Fertitta Center, the Shockers let a 10-point second-half lead slip away in a 70-63 setback but toppled the sixth-ranked Cougars in Wichita a month later and went on to capture the league's regular season crown.
  • The Shockers hold an 18-15 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1949.
  • WSU is winless in four AAC era visits to Houston (0-3 at Fertitta Center). Its last series road win over the Cougars came in 1960 at the old Jeppesen Fieldhouse.
  • Houston is one of just two schools that the Shockers haven't defeated on the road since joining the AAC, along with Temple (0-2).
  • Houston's 33-game home court winning streak is the nation's fourth-longest. Its last home loss came Dec. 15, 2019 against Oklahoma State.
  • The Cougars are 52-3 in parts of four seasons at the Fertitta Center, including 26-1 in AAC games with 19-straight wins. The lone AAC loss in this building came Mar. 2, 2019 to UCF.
  • WSU's four-game road winning streak is tied for the nation's third-longest behind Gonzaga (7) and New Mexico State (6). The Shockers are 2-0 on the road this year with victories over 2021 NCAA tournament squads Oklahoma State and Mizzou and have a 7-2 mark in parts of two seasons under head coach Isaac Brown.
  • Houston is ranked 12th in the latest AP Poll and 14th in the Coaches' version. The Cougars opened AAC play with wins over Temple and South Florida.
  • WSU is looking to bounce back from a rough New Year's Day showing against Memphis. The host Shockers shot just 29.5% from the field in an 82-64 setback.
  • Per KenPom, WSU (38th) and Houston (8th) have the conference's two-best defenses.
  • WSU is holding foes to 28.6% from three and grabbing 73.8% of opponent misses. Both marks lead the AAC.
  • AAC preseason player of the year Tyson Etienne is averaging a team-best 14.9 points.
  • WSU fourth-year forward Morris Udeze is a Houston native and 2017 Fort Bend Travis High School graduate.
  • WSU is looking for its first AP top-25 road win since Feb. 18, 2018 when it ended No. 5 Cincinnati's nation-best 39-game home winning streak.
  • Since Jan. 1, 2012, WSU is 13-15 against AP ranked foes.
  • The Shockers are on CBS for the sixth time in five seasons since joining The American (five regular season games, one conference tournament).
 
 
ON THIS DATE IN SHOCKER HISTORY (JAN. 8)
WSU is 15-9 all-time on Jan. 8, last playing (and winning) in 2017 at Northern Iowa.
 
1955 – A Wichita team led by senior All-American Cleo Littleton bounced Houston, 78-67, at the Wichita Forum. Verlyn Anderson paced the Shockers with 19 points and Don Boldebuck led UH with 26.
1976 – Cal Bruton dialed up 12 assists while Robert Gray (24 points) and Robert Elmore (19 points, 10 rebounds) had big scoring nights to key an 81-70 win over Memphis at Levitt Arena. Both teams went on to play in the NCAA tournament.
1998 – After trailing 22-4 to North Iowa, host WSU roared back to win 61-59. Terry Hankton scored the go-ahead basket with less than a minute to play and added a free throw for the final margin.
2014 – Fred VanVleet banked 10 assists in 28 turnover-free minutes and sixth-ranked WSU improved to 16-0 with a 66-47 home win over Illinois State.
 
 
TRENDING:
  • In its four losses, WSU has shot a combined 33% from the field and just 26% from three. Opponents are +2.0 on the glass.
  • Defense set in the tone in WSU road wins at Missouri (Nov. 26) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 1). The Shockers held the two hosts to an average of 53.0 points on 36% shooting, including 8-of-39 from three (.205).
  • WSU is 9-1 when its opponent finishes with more turnovers than assists.
  • K-State (11 A, 7 TO), North Texas (13 A, 10 TO) and Memphis (19 A, 18 TO) are the only Shocker foes that have finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. WSU lost all three games.
  • Memphis shot 52.4% last Saturday in Wichita. Prior to that, WSU had held seven-straight opponents under 41% from the field.
  • As of Thursday, WSU is one of 20 schools without a double-double. AAC rival Temple is also on the list. Houston leads the league with nine.
  • The lack of double-doubles speaks, in part, to WSU's balance on the boards. Over the last seven games, six-different Shockers have taken a turn as leading rebounder. The trio of Morris Udeze (5.9), Dexter Dennis (5.4) and Ricky Council IV (5.0) all average at least 5.0 rebounds-per-game.
  • Shocker teams have routinely dominated the defensive glass over the years. WSU led The American in defensive rebounding percentage two of its first three seasons after joining the league, finishing at .774 in 2018 and .759 in 2020. So it came as a surprise to see the Shockers slip to dead-last out of 11 teams in 2021 (.647). Brown placed a heavy emphasis on rebounding over the off-season and again has WSU atop the heap in 2021-22 with a league-best .738 percentage.
  • WSU has held 10 of its 13 opponents to less than a point-per-possession. North Texas (1.02), UNLV (1.09) and Memphis (1.08) are the exceptions.
 
 
PLAYER PULSE:
  • Point guards aren't typically rim protectors, but 6-2 Craig Porter Jr. is averaging a team-best 1.08 blocks-per-game on a Shocker squad that ranks 33rd nationally in that category (5.15) and is on pace to break the school record set by the 2013-14 Shockers (5.11 during their famous 35-1 season).
  • As of Thursday, 267 Division I players are averaging at least a block-per-game. At 6-foot-2, Porter and San Francisco's Jamaree Bouyea (6-2, 1.14) are the shortest players on that list.
  • Per KenPom, Porter ranks seventh on the AAC leaderboard in block percentage (percentage of opponent shots that are blocked by a player while he is on the floor). Since the AAC's founding, 73 players have posted a block percentage of 5.0-or-higher over a full season. Former Tulsa standout DaQuan Jeffries (6-5) is the only player on that list shorter than 6-7.
  • Porter had been playing some of his best basketball in December, highlighted by a three-game stretch against Norfolk State (Dec. 11), Alcorn State (Dec. 14) and North Texas (Dec. 18) when he tallied 16 assists with just one turnover. He scored a career-high 12 points against UNT but injured his ankle early in the second half and missed the better part of two weeks of practice. He returned for the Jan. 1 Memphis game but the rust was evident (22 min., 2 pts, 1 A, 3 TO).
  • 14 of Porter's team-high 35 assists have been to Morris Udeze.
  • Udeze is a load down low. He's a career 60% shooter who uses his strength and quickness to put opponents at a disadvantage (5.0 fouls drawn-per-game ranks fifth on the AAC leaderboard).
  • KenPom rates Udeze among the top-80 nationally in free throw rate (ratio of free throw tries to field goal attempts) and second among players from the AAC.
  • Udeze is WSU's leading scorer and rebounder on a per-40-minute basis, averaging 19.0 points and 9.4 boards.
  • Once upon a time, Udeze was one of the AAC's worst free throw shooters (46.4% in his first two seasons). This year he's one of the its best. The fourth-year forward ranks 13th on the league leaderboard at 72.2% (39-of-54). He used down time during the COVID-19 pandemic to drill on free throw shooting and improved from 48.2% as a sophomore to 68% last season.
  • Dexter Dennis is beginning to shake out of an early season slump, averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over his last two games.
  • Last Saturday against Memphis, Dennis scored a season-high 16 points and matched career-highs for free throw makes (7) and attempts (9). He put up 14 points and a season-high nine boards in the previous game against PVAM.
  • Dennis is a modest 3-of-7 from deep over this two-game stretch, but it may be the most-encouraging part of his stat line. Prior to it, he was shooting just 24.4% for the season (11-of-45) after hitting nearly 36% over his first three years.
  • Dennis needs just seven 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 (8th, 14.9), threes (t-4th, 2.50), and minutes (5th, 33.6).
  • WSU is 15-2 when Etienne scores at least 20 points (2-1 this season). One of those two exceptions came last year at Houston when he put up 25 in a 71-63 loss.
  • Etienne has been more active defensively with nine steals in his last three games (after totaling just six through the first nine contests).
  • Point guard Qua Grant has 10 assists and five steals over his last two games. He's played over 53 minutes since his last turnover, going back to the second half of the Dec. 16 North Texas game.
  • Six Shockers have earned an AAC freshman of the week honor in WSU's five seasons in the conference, but Kenny Pohto is the first to do it twice (Nov. 29, Dec. 27).
  • Monzy Jackson made the most of his first career start against Prairie View A&M, scoring a career-high 15 points. That was enough to earn him a second (Jan. 1 at Memphis). The Shockers are out-scoring opponents by an average of 17.7 points with Jackson on the floor (tops on the team).
  • Joe Pleasant started the first 11 contests before missing the PVAM game with a hamstring injury. He returned vs. Memphis and logged 15 bench minutes.
 
 
ROAD WARRIORS:
  • In parts of two seasons under Isaac Brown, WSU is 7-2 in true road games with four-straight victories. Only Gonzaga (7-0), Baylor (9-1) and Navy (11-3) have higher winning percentage over that span.
  • Per WarrenNolan.com, WSU's four-game true road winning streak, which began with victories over UCF and Tulane last spring, is tied for the nation's third-longest (as of Jan. 5). Only Gonzaga (7) and New Mexico State (6) have longer active streaks.
  • WSU has finished .500-or-better on the road in 11-straight season (2010-11 to 2020-21). The Shockers' .758 road winning percentage over that span (94-50) is second only to Gonzaga.
  
THREES COMPANY:
  • Tyson Etienne (157 career threes) and Dexter Dennis (155) are both in the top-10 on WSU's career triples list and have a chance to reel in recent Shockers Landry Shamet (8th, 159), Markis McDuffie (7th, 160) and Conner Frankamp (6th, 164) over the next few games.
 
 
SCOUTING HOUSTON:
  • Houston lost four starters from last year's team which finished 28-4 and advanced to the program's first Final Four since 1984. The other – first team all-conference guard Marcus Sasser – suffered a season-ending toe injury last month. Prior to his injury, Sasser was averaging 17.7 points and leading the conference in steals (2.2), three-pointers (3.75) and three-point percentage (.437).
  • Still, the Cougars (13-2, No. 3 in the NCAA NET ratings) keeps churning out wins.
  • Houston has won five-straight and is ranked 12th in the latest Associated Press Poll and 14th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
  • 6-8 forward Fabian White is almost two years removed from a torn ACL that sidelined him for a large chunk of last season. He's averaging 10.1 points and is the team's leading rebounder (6.0) and shot-blocker (17)
  • A handful of impact transfers have also helped elevate the team:
  • Former UConn forward Josh Carlton (11.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) has helped fill the scoring void left by Sasser, averaging 19.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over the last three games. He's coming off a 30-point, 11-rebound night at South Florida on Wednesday.
  • 6-foot-4 Kyler Edwards is a physical defender who averages 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds and has drilled 32 threes on 36% accuracy. A year ago he led Texas Tech with 58 threes on his way to honorable mention All-Big 12 honors.
  • 6-5 shooting guard Taze Moore was a first team All-Big West selection last year at CSU Bakersfield and twice made the league's all-defensive team.
  • True freshman point guard Jamal Shead is averaging an AAC-best 5.5 assists and ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.31).
  • The Cougars have outscored foes by an average of 21.7 points (fourth nationally) and rank among the national leaders in scoring defense (8th, 57.0), field goal percentage defense (10th, 37.2) and turnover margin (11th, 5.9). They also lead the AAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.48), rebound margin (+8.0) and steals (9.5).
  • Houston boasts three of the league's top-10 rebounders in 6-7 redshirt freshman J'Wan Roberts (5th 6.53), White (7th, 6.00) and Edwards (10th, 5.86).
 
MATCHUP MASHUP: 
  • WSU fourth-year forward Morris Udeze is a Houston native and 2017 Fort Bend Travis High School graduate.
  • The Shockers have had at least one Houston native on ever roster since the 2001-02 season. That run began with 1,600-point scorer Randy Burns (Booker T. Washington HS). P.J. Couisnard and Karon Bradley were key contributors on the Shockers' 2006 Sweet 16 team. Toure' Murry (Klein Forrest HS) scored over 1,500 points from 2008-12 and spent parts of two seasons in the NBA.
  • WSU has some experience ending long home winning streaks. Four years ago (Feb. 18, 2018) the Shockers toppled fifth-ranked Cincinnati on the road and ended the Bearcats' nation-best 39-game run.
  • Good teams find a way to win when the shots aren't falling. Opening week games against Jacksonville State and South Alabama marked the 20th and 21st times in the last four seasons that WSU has won while shooting less than 40%. That total ranks second nationally behind Houston, which collected its 24th last weekend at Temple.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 10-4 on the year (1-1 AAC).
... Extend their road winning streak to five.
... Make them 8-2 in true road games under Brown.
... Be their first in five AAC Era trips to Houston (1-4).
... Be their first road win over an AP top-25 foe since Feb. 16, 2018 at No. 5 Cincinnati.
... Be their first AP top-25 win since Feb. 18, 2021.
... Make them 3-6 against Kelvin Sampson.
... Make Brown 2-1 vs. Sampson.
... Up their series lead over UH to 19-15 with back-to-back wins.
... Be just their fourth over the Cougars in Houston (4-11) and first since 1960 (UH's final year in the MVC).
... Make them 1-3 at Fertitta Center.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 9-5 (0-2 AAC).
... Snap a four-game road winning streak.
... Narrow their series lead over UH to 18-16 (3-12 at Houston).
... Make them 0-5 in Houston since joining the AAC.
... Make them 0-4 at Fertitta Center.
... Be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:
  • The Shockers return home for two games next week: Wednesday, Jan. 12 against Tulane (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+) and Sunday, Jan. 16 vs. Cincinnati (Noon, ESPN).
  • Tickets are available for all remaining home games by calling 316-978-FANS (3267) or by visiting goshockers.com/Tickets.
  • WSU swept Tulane last year and is 6-0 against the Green Wave all-time (all since 2017-18).
  • Tulane is out to a 2-1 start to conference play. Its lone loss came Wednesday night in overtime at ECU.
  • WSU defeated Cincinnati last year in Wichita but fell to the Bearcats in the semifinal round of the AAC tournament.
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